Matthew 28:16-17 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some hesitated.
Matthew now compares the response of the disciples to that of the Jewish leaders. These verses recount the two major responses Jesus received throughout his ministry and that Matthew highlights in his Gospel. At the closing of his account, Matthew gives his readers the choice. The evidence has shown who Jesus is: Emmanuel, Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah, the one with the power and authority to heal any disease, cast out demons, raise the dead, teach with prophetic truth, and be raised from the dead.
The disciples obeyed Jesus’ directions passed on through the women who witnessed the proclamation of the angel. Verse 16 hints that the directions were fairly specific to go to a certain mountain. As Matthew often does in his Gospel, the post-resurrection appearances and accounts of Jesus are compressed and very brief. We do not learn of the details found in John’s Gospel about the fishing episode and the restoration of Peter. At this point in the story, the disciples know where to meet Jesus. This may have been a mountain they had spent time on. Matthew does not state that this was the mountain from which Jesus ascended. Many important things happen on mountains in Matthew’s Gospel and throughout the Bible. Special revelations are often given on mountains. This story is similar in that a very important teaching was given to the disciples.
Verse 17 gives the crucial choice we must make when we encounter Jesus. This verse encapsulates the two responses given through the Gospel and particularly illustrated in this chapter. Some disciples worshiped Jesus, just like the women at the tomb. The expected response to being in the presence of the resurrected Son of God should be worship.
Other disciples hesitated (edistasan). The word used here can have a sense of doubt, as many translations take it, or it can have more of a sense of uncertainty and hesitation. Some of the disciples may not have understood or accepted what their eyes were telling them. They had seen Jesus crucified, and some may have witnessed his burial. They knew he had died; yet, he was alive. John recounts the story of doubting Thomas. Some people will respond easily and quickly to Jesus, while others need proof to believe. The slow disciples did not hesitate long, however, as the book of Acts indicates.
Matthew leaves a lot unstated in his account, but he gets the key ideas across. The choice is clear at the end. What will we do with Jesus? Will we accept his authority in our lives and respond in faith and obedience? Or, will we hesitate, which can open the door to doubt. We cannot follow the course of the Jewish leaders who hardened their hearts even to the evidence so clearly before them.
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