Telling the Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Telling the Christ - Essay Example The gospels of Matthew and Luke are examples of what has been mentioned earlier and to prove this point, it is encouraged that the authors’ approaches be considered in the retelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reading Matthew 27:45 to the last verse of the book, one could see details of the accounts of Matthew from the time Jesus was crucified until He met with His disciples in Galilee after His resurrection. Luke, on the other hand gives a more detailed descriptive narrative starting from the same time Matthew used until Jesus ascension to heaven, found from the forty- fourth verse of chapter twenty three until the last verse of the last chapter. From these readings, one could determine some similarities and also differences which will bring a clearer picture of the circumstances as we look closer. Matthew and Luke both start their narratives by describing the setting, mentioning and confirming that there was darkness that fell on the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. The two authors probably have seen the importance of making mention of this because the darkness was a fulfillment of the prophecies during the ‘day of the Lord’ mentioned in Joel 2:10 and 31 and, Zephaniah 1:15. Both prophets mentioned the dreadful day of the Lord when the sun stops shining, the moon turns to blood and the stars fail to shine. This similarity is a confirmation of each other, making the claim strong and acceptable in the analysis of the scriptures. Following the introduction of the setting, the two authors mention two different utterances of Jesus as he was hanging on the cross. Matthew quotes Jesus saying, â€Å"Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?† wherein he was understood by the spectators as calling unto Elijah for help. He was given a drink of wine vinegar and cried out in a loud voice before he gave up his spirit (Attridge, 1719). Luke on the other hand quoted Jesus saying, â€Å"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.† This does not mean that Matthew and Luke have different stories of the same event rather, Luke filled in the information that was just mentioned in passing by Matthew. Matthew mentioned Jesus crying in a loud voice before he died and Luke quoted the last words of Jesus. This is what is meant by what was mentioned earlier that the gospels complement each other. Another difference is the mention of Matthew of the guards who were paid to make sure that no one would steal the body of Jesus. The story continues to show that the guards witnessed the rolling away of the stone that covered the tomb and that they have seen the angel of the Lord who was like lightning in appearance. They told the chief priests what happened but they were paid to tell that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Matthew went on to mention that the story circulated and was retold ‘until this day’, meaning even until the day the gospel was written. This part is not mentioned at all by Luke, showing that Luke had other things in mind that he wanted to emphasize in his gospel. Matthew on the other hand, showed how concerned he was in proving the authenticity of the story of the resurrection of Jesus so he made sure to mention the plot of the high priests against the claim of Jesus’ resurrection. After narrating the plot to deny the resurrection of Jesus, Matthew proceeds with his story to the arrival of the eleven disciples in Galilee, meeting with Jesus.