but do not mean that this event was subsequently interpreted or
An Exegetical Study of Matthew 28:16-20 57
unique event is the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth
(Rev. 21:1; 2 Pet. 3:13), of the Last Day, of the glory of God in the flesh (Jn. 1:14). It is the presence of the eschaton. Such an event could only be described in incomplete and contradictory terms, such as are used in the Easter narratives. Think of the rela-
tionship between the reports of Matthew and Luke, or of the Synoptics and John, or of the Gospels and 1 Corinthians. It is impossible to construe from these reports a history in our under-
standing of the term. The topographical and chronological preci-
sion is lacking. There is no clear differentiation of the various
scenes and no corroboration by impartial witnesses of the events
described. These narratives are recounted not in the style of history
but, like the story of creation, in the style of historical saga. The
content bars any attempt at harmonizing. All these narratives deal
no doubt with a common subject and are in basic agreement. Yet
each of them needs to be read independently, as a unique testimony
of God's decisive word and intervention at the turning point of the
eons. Quite obviously each narrative needs to be consulted to
clarify the others.
2. These texts speak of an "historically" inconceivable event, but do not mean that this event was subsequently interpreted or construed, much less invented by the faith and piety of the Church. They unequivocally refer to an event which laid the foundation of, and gave shape to, the faith of the emerging Christian community. The crux of it was that Jesus' presence among his own revealed God to them. This revelation in Jesus' presence, placing the faithful in the center of time, disclosed to them the past and the future will and work of God. It is therefore both a recapitulation of the history of Israel, culminating in the earthly life of Jesus, and an anticipation of the history of Jesus' reign in the Church and in the whole world. God's action, past and future, was present in those forty — days as if it were still going on, or already going on.
One more preliminary remark about Matthew 28:16-20 as it relates to the other Easter stories. Two sets of narratives are to be distinguished among them.
1. The stories of Jesus and the women. These padesears the — manifestation of the fact of the Resurrection (the empty tomb) and — the identity of the risen Lord with the crucified (28:1-6 and 9). Add to it the charge to the women to tell the disciples what they es ; had seen (28:7—8 and 10). This charge is particularly significant