Children Sunday Liturgy

UNITED THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

BANGALORE

CAREY SOCIETY_- JUNIOR BIBLE FELLOWSHIP SUNDAY

10 February 2013

Call to worship

Morning has gone and evening has come, the sun has set, yet we are here to praise and worship the Lord. Come let us all join together to praise and worship God, let us all worship with singing, dancing, laughter and all that we have to give to God our maker.

Procession (while music is being played the children will enter the chapel)

Asatoma sadgamaya

Tamasoma jyothirgamaya

Mrithyoma amrithamgamaya

Om Shanthi shanthi shanthi…

From Falsehood to truth

From darkness to light

From death to eternal life

Peace, peace, peace…

Opening Prayer

Dear Lord God, we come into your presence, asking you to teach us what you want us to learn today; we commit this service into your hands, be with us and guide us through out as we worship you in truth and in spirit, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Bhajan or a hymn could be sung

Thanksgiving

Let us thank God for being with always and helping us to worship in truth and in spirit

We thank you dear Lord

Let us thank God for giving us life, a life with purpose

We thank you dear Lord

Let us thank God for the whole of creation, especially for the trees, plants, animals, the sun, the moon, the stars and all that we see and also that which we can’t see

We thank you dear Lord

Let us thank God for the lives of our moms and dads, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, friends and neighbours.

We thank you dear Lord

Let us thank God for the United Theological College and her services to the church and society

We thank you dear Lord

Let us thank God for all the fun and laughter at the time of learning and singing in the Junior Bible Fellowship throughout the year

We thank you dear Lord

Action Song

This little light of mine

I’m gonna let it shine (3)

Let it shine, let it shine, all the time

Hide it under a bush, Oh No!

I’m gonna let it shine (3)

Let it shine, let it shine all the time

Won’t let anyone blow it out, fooo

I’m gonna let it shine (3)

Let it shine, let it shine, all the time

Confession

All Children

O God, we humble ourselves and come to you as your loving children. We want to take this time to think about what we have been and what we have done with the gift of life that you have given to us. We realise that many times we did not obey our parents and elders, instead wanted to watch T.V. or kept playing, when we were asked to help or to study. We are sorry Lord for not obeying your word which you spoke through our parents and elders. Lord, you have given us good schools and colleges to study in, teachers to teach, friends to play with, but we often did not study and have brought disrespect to our teachers by not doing our home work and assignments and also by fighting with our friends and neighbours. Lord many times when our friends share that someone touched their body, we have teased them and put them to shame and made them to be silent, and told them not to tell the elders as they would punish them. We are sorry Lord for all the mistakes we have done.

Parents/ Elders

Gracious God we confess our shortcomings to you, we as mere human beings have failed to replicate your parenthood to our children. We have often pressurised our children to study harder so as to help them to have a bright future but we have not understood the feelings and emotions of the little ones. When our children did not do well, we as parents pushed hard on them, comparing with other children. Lord, we have often been insensitive to the cries of our little ones, we have treated them as “yet to be adults” who do not know the world, and needs to be conditioned, taught and monitored all the time. Pardon us Lord for we have been very ignorant especially when the children came to us to tell who did what to them, and snubbed them saying don’t speak like that about that person. Forgive us gracious God for being insensitive and instable in understanding the children who are your gift to us.

All

Lord you are gracious and merciful to forgive, pardon us lord, though we have gone away and broken our relationship with you. Amen.

Act of Forgiveness

Elders: Dear children, it is true that you have committed mistakes and have not been up to what you truly are, now that you have confessed, be sure that God will make us more stable and sensitive to what you go through. God has surely heard you and you have been forgiven of all the mistakes, for Christ Jesus died for us and forgave the mistakes of the world, from now on, your life shall be renewed and you shall live and grow as new beings in Christ.

Children: Dear parents you have been the best always, sometimes you do commit mistakes, but it’s ok, we still trust you. Like God forgave our mistakes, be sure that God has forgiven all your mistakes as well. Let us live a new life in Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.

Bible Reading: Matt 6:24-31

Skit

Children’s Creed

We believe in children whose excitement and energy and creativity inspire us all to be more childlike in our lives and in our faith. We believe in teachers and in their call to nurture and educate our children. We believe in parents who wake up the kids, fix their meals, volunteer at the schools and help with the homework. We believe in friends, who are co-workers and neighbours who step in to help and encourage when the children are discouraged, parents are frustrated and teachers are weary. We believe in the God who created us all. We believe in our friend Christ Jesus who knows what it is to be ‘us’. We believe in the Holy Spirit who inspires us and gives us the strength to get up and do it all again each day. We believe in the church and the joy she brings to all human kind through her work. Amen. 

Choreography

Our talk with God

Lord, the world around us tell us that we need to be the No. 1 in whatever we do, and be selfish and expects us to be stronger, higher and faster than our other friends and puts in us a careless attitude and teaches us, never to let anyone overtake us. We pray for the children of the world who go through these kinds of challenges that the society imposes on them.

Hear our prayer O Lord; hear our prayer (3). O Lord, Hear our prayer[1]

God, the world says we are “yet to be adults” and always fail to hear us when we want to share our problems and when we go through pain. Lord, you know that, we know only few words and we cannot talk like the elders do, make them understand our language and our cry when we try to explain to them O Lord.

Hear our prayer O Lord; hear our prayer (3). O Lord, Hear our prayer

O Lord, at this time we remember all the children who suffer in the hands of the many brutal elders who spoilt their tender bodies for their dirty pleasures. Lord, help the church, your body to shelter us and stop all the evil acts against the children and give us a safe place to live in, a place filled with your love, grace and care.

Hear our prayer O Lord; hear our prayer (3). O Lord, Hear our prayer

Lord you love the children very much and you only created us and gave us life and a purpose to live, give us the courage to face the world and its challenges so that we the leaders of tomorrow never let anything get in the way of the children of tomorrow.

Hear our prayer O Lord; hear our prayer (3). O Lord, Hear our prayer

Closing prayer

Loving God we thank you for being with us throughout the worship. Be with us and guide us as we live a new life renewed in you. Teach us to grow like the seed which germinates in such a busy network, so that our lives in our families are true and fruit-bearing. Let your light shine upon us and through us to all people so that the world will know you are Lord. This we pray in the name of our dear friend, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Lord’s Prayer (Sung)[2]

Our God, who dwells among us,

Hallowed be your name

Your kingdom come; your will be done

On earth as in heaven;

Give us today our daily bread

And forgive as we forgive,

Lead us not into any temptation,

Free us from all evil;

For yours is the kingdom,

Forever and ever Amen

Benediction (Sung)[3]

Bless us and teach us,

Lead us and guide us;

We are your children Lord; we are your children Lord.

 May your Grace, Love and Care; Grace, Love and Care, follow us all the days of our lives, Amen

Closing song

There is a candle in every soul Some brightly burning some dark and cold There is a spirit who brings the fire Ignites a candle and makes his home Carry your candle run to the darkness Seek out the hopeless confused and torn Hold out your candle for all to see it Take your candle and go light your world Frustrated brother see how he's tried to Light his own candle some other way See now our sister she's been robbed and lied to And still holds a candle without a flame

Carry your candle run to the darkness Seek out the lonely the tired and worn Hold out your candle for all to see it Take your candle and go light your world We are a family whose hearts are blazing We raise our candles and light up the sky Praying to our father in the name of Jesus Make us a beacon in darkest hours Carry your candle run to the darkness Seek out the helpless deceived and poor Hold out your candle for all to see it Take your candle and go light your world

---

[1] Sung in the tune of Kum-ba-yah my lord; Kum-ba-yah

[2] Edited and set tune by Vinod Shemron. S.  JBF coordinator.

[3] Composed and set tune by Vinod Shemron. S.  JBF coordinator.

Critical Introduction: Paul's Epistle to the Galatians

The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians

The letter of Paul to the Galatians is the ninth book of the New Testament and the fourth book in the Pauline corpus. This book is also called ‘great manifesto of Christian Liberty’. It is one of the most important documents, both a historical document and a theological document from the early Christians. This document speaks of the early Christian history and gives us information regarding the setting and the background of the same. Theologically it gives us almost the complete statement of the Gentile Christian Theology.

 By the middle of the first century CE, although the early Christian movement was still connected to Judaism, an increasing number of its members were gentiles. The tireless missionary activity of Paul, who saw himself as the apostle to the Gentiles [1:6], had fostered this development. The relationship between these non-Jew converts and Jewish Christian, and between the emerging Christian movement and Judaism, became an issue of burning importance. One crucial issue concerned the status of the Law of Moses. And their burning question was, ‘should the gentile Christians convert to Judaism in the process of becoming Christians? Were they required to observe the Jewish law, or at least a part? This letter of Paul to the Galatians addresses this issue, his view of the controversy and states a position on the Jewish law that will have varied consequences.

It is the most important document that gives us the self-definition in which the new Christian religion is separated from Judaism. ““The epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Katherine.” Thus spoke Luther, who considered Galatians the best of all the books in the Bible. It has been called “the battle-cry of the Reformation,” “the great charter of religious freedom,” “the Christian declaration of freedom.”

Geographical Setting

            When we learn about a particular document it is very necessary that we ought to know about the geographical setting of the particular place or region it was addressed. This letter was addressed to the congregation of ‘Galatia’. This territory of Galatia is located in the north central region of the Asia Minor today’s Turkey around its capital Ankara. The people who gave their name to the area had originally been Celtic tribes from Europe that settled in the third century BCE, and founded their kingdom there. In 25 BCE, Galatia was made a province of the Roman Empire with its capital at Ancyra, todays Ankara, but its boundaries were extended southwards to include not only native peoples such as the Lycaonians, and various cities with a mixed population like those mentioned in the book of Acts: Iconium, Lystra, Dedre and Pisidian Antioch. Since “Galatia can refer to both a territory and to a province, it is difficult to know in which sense the word is used in the New Testament”

HISTORICAL SETTING:

a)      Author:

For a long time the critical studies in the new testament, there have been a very few who have questioned the authorship of Paul in the epistle [1.1]. There were a few critics from the Dutch school of Critics, who regarded this epistle as pseudonymous, Bruno Davis a radical, regarded the four epistles not of Paul but of the second century. This however, was followed by the Dutch school of critics like Loman, Pierson, Naber, Van Manen etc., had a clash between the Palestine and the Judastic pictorial in Gal 2:11-21. They claim that this ideology of Judaism could not have developed at the time as early as the days of the apostle Paul. They also claimed that “the Christology of the Galatians was far too lofty. All of this rest on purely subjective reasoning and is not worthy of further comments”.

 But these criticisms were short-lived and did not have much influence on the scholarly world.  This was confirmed by the literary form, style, argumentative methods, theological content as well as the traditions that it was Paul who wrote this document. Thus, this document is never doubted that it was written by Paul. Using the data drawn from the epistle it is possible to frame a full size picture of Paul, his movements and his methods. A few references to his past pre-Christian life, Paul address’ the audience who partly knew the event and about Paul.

Paul describes his apostleship as intended to underline its divine experience; he regards that his apostolic commission, both its source and its mediation from Christ. This letter to the Galatians bares so much about Paul. The original postscript was hand-written by Paul [6:11]. The remainder of the letter could have been written by a person employed to write. This fact might question the authorship of Paul technically but not substantially.

b)     Date and Place of Composition

The letter to the Galatians can be dated only approximately, since no evidence exits. “Some scholars accept a date close to the first missionary journey of Paul [close to 50 A.D.] and the place as Antioch”[5], but there are a few who accept the date close to the apostle’s Roman imprisonment [close to 60 A.D.]. The former date is well accepted and most enjoyed its popularity amongst many scholars. Scholars have argued on both the early and the later dates as in relation to the other Pauline letters.

Theologically, Galatians reflect close to Thessalonians, while Romans, Paul’s extant last letter, shows the development and revision at important points. Therefore, the earlier date is more probable. The letter however, does not give us clues to a particular place of origin. The Marcionite prologues, say that this letter could be sent from Ephesus, but the subscript in some of the manuscripts of Galatians names Rome and the place from which it was sent. Scholars quite often debate that Galatians was written in the third missionary journey of Paul at Ephesus and a more precisely it could be at Ephesus a few weeks before writing first Corinthians or often first and second Corinthians but for sure before Romans.it could be on the journey from Macedonia to Achaia or at Corinth.

Hendriksen has suggested a few of his theories on what the date and place of composition could be. (a) This letter was surely written after the Jerusalem council as it describes Paul’s relation with the other leaders at that great meeting. The journey mentioned in Gal 2:1 must be identified with the one indicated in Acts 15:1-4. (b) I0t was written after the two previous visits to South Galatia, the first of which is said in Acts 13-14 (this is still debated as many scholars do not agree with the South Galatian hypothesis) this is the interpretation of Gal 4:13. (c) It was composed not long after the conversion of the Galatians, for we see that Paul was amazed that the Galatians are so quickly moving away from God, Gal 1:6. (d) It may well have been written on the second missionary journey, at Corinth, before the arrival of Timothy and Silas (a theoretical position taken by: Zahn, Bakhof, Hiedert, lensk, etc.)

These theories however, can be just suggested hypothesis, not exact, as there has been debating on this issue of the letter and it cannot be said that any undisputable conclusion has been reached. It is very necessary that we need to have concrete evidence to come to a conclusion with regard to the date and place of composition as the letter gives us not many clues as to when and where it was written.

c)      Audience and Purpose

This letter is addressed to the congregation of Galatia [1:2, 3:1]. The location of the area called ‘Galatia’ has been discussed thoroughly but never did we get a definite answer. Most likely the location could be central Anatolia, where wandering Celtic tribes settled in 278/278 B.C.E. less likely in the south of Galatia (province hypothesis) which assumes that Paul meant the ‘Province Galatia” that was established in 25 B.C.E. This included Galatia as well as some of the area to the south like Pisidia, Lycaonia and Pamphylia, which can be connected to Paul’s first missionary journey, as in Acts 13, 14.

But still the information contained in Acts and Galatians cannot be harmonized because Acts 13, 14 does not mention Galatia as all. In Acts 16:8 a ‘Galatian country’ is mentioned but there is not any mission to this place as such. Moreover the citizens or the inhabitants of Pisidia, Lycaonia were not called as ‘Galatians’. Although no archaeological traces seem to be found, Central Anatolia is the most likely location of the church of Galatia.

A one stretch reading of the letter we can understand that Paul was really very angry with the people of Galatia, as he abruptly begins without the usual friendly greetings and it also appears as though Paul has to defend himself against the charges which he is indignantly refuting. He accuses the Galatians of being stupid and foolish enough to be taken in by the agitators who have been stirring up trouble, twisting the gospel into something quite different from what it ought to be.

This letter actually shows us the heart of the problem the early church had to face in the earliest of its days. It was crucial and far more than teething troubles of a growing young church. It was, a rejoicing situation for the early Christian community that there were many convert into the Christian faith, but little did the Judeans in Jerusalem acknowledge the gentiles’ conversion, for it was hard for them to accept that the Gentiles were accepted without circumcision and without following the law of Moses. This agitated the nominal Pharisee converts who were strict in observing the Law of Moses, raised their voice against the Gentile conversion using Acts 15:5 as their main support. And these people were persuading the gentiles to believe that their salvation is in the Torah and circumcision, therefore Paul had to address this issue and write to the Galatians explaining the theological insight in the salvation that is in accepting Christ. Under such critical situation, is when Paul wrote this letter.

Galatians as a Historical Document

            The letter to the Galatians gives us vital pieces of information about the history of the early church, without which the earliest history of the early Christian community would be even more obscure than what it is now. Paul in his writing is to an extent biased, therefore only some data can be driven from this textual document to the Galatians.

Galatians gives us information about: (a) Paul’s own past life: Paul sets aside his past life [1.15] and gives information about his conviction on the road to Damascus and God’s calling of him to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles [1.16]. Paul also speaks of his strict Jewish Orthodoxy and his zeal to persecute the church before his conversion. There is some information of Paul's missionary work at Arabia and Damascus [1.16, 17]. His first visit to Jerusalem occurred three years later [1.18] he first visits with Cephas and James the brother of Jesus. There were a lot more work at Syria and Cilicia. He is also the apostle who remained unnamed to the churches of Judea [1.22] until his second visit to Jerusalem after fourteen years [1.22].

(b) History of the early church: The history of the early church is rich even though it is extensively brief. The mission spread to Syria and Palestine very early; there were apparently no regulation to the ethnic backgrounds. Therefore opposition arose over the practice of making converts from the Gentiles without asking them to circumcise or without asking them to follow the Torah covenant. This lead to dispute between various factions and became three parties. These disputes lead to the Jerusalem conference [2.1-10], where the parties came together: Paul, Barnabas and Titus as delegates of the Gentile mission: James, Cephas and John as the pillars of the Jerusalem Church and the Anti-Pauline opposition called as ‘false brothers’, in which the last group demanded circumcision and observance of the Torah for the Gentiles as well as the Jewish Christians.

 However, the agreement was made at the cost of the third group; Cephas was in charge of the Apostolate of the Circumcision while Paul was appointed the leader of the Gentile mission. And now the Jewish Christians could have table fellowship with Gentile Christians without the former violating the Jewish purity laws. But then Paul stood by the side of the gentile Christians and defended their religious faith and salvation. This dispute was not resolved but resulted in the separation of Paul from the other Jewish Christians, as a result of the crisis in Galatia Paul wrote this letter.

(c) It is equally important of what information we have about the anti-Pauline opponents, whose agitation he traces back to the Jerusalem conference [2.4], as he believes that the intruders believed that the intruders actually persuaded the Galatians believe that their salvation rested in acceptance of the Torah and circumcision, but the question as to who these intruders were, still remains a debate and a matter of controversy. The traditional belief is that the opponents are identified and the false apostles according to the Marcionite Prologues, they were seen as Jewish Christian who sternly prescribed Torah and Circumcision for all Christians.

Galatians as a Theological Document

“Galatians is a testimony to the first radical questioning of Paul’s gospel and theological views by his own church, a challenge, the apostle met by his first systematic apology.” Paul's report about the Jerusalem conference induces that he had to justify his preaching of the gospel to the gentile community and converting them to become Christians.

The account of the Antioch incident suggests fierce debate in which Paul had to defend his position. This letter contains Paul’s line of argument as he justifies his preaching to the gentiles and their acceptance into the church without the Torah and circumcision. The theological legitimacy of this message and mission was questioned by first by his Jewish Christian adversaries and then by the Galatians themselves. Paul then demonstrates by exegesis of scripture [3.6-4.31] what he calls the truth of the gospel [2.5, 14].

 His later arguments reveal that Paul can draw on wide variety of conceptual, spiritual, and doctrinal of the Holy Spirit is fundamental. The preaching of Kerygma of Christ crucified accompanied by the gift of the Holy Spirit, leads to baptism [3.27]. In this ritual the non-Christian is made a Christian and simultaneously becomes a member of the Christian church. The gift of the Holy Spirit continues to serve in enabling the Christian to walk in the spirit [5.16, 25] and to bring the fruit of the spirit, the Christian virtue [5.22-23]. The whole Christian community awaits the coming of the eschatological judgement by living a life that is endowed and assisted by the Holy Spirit.

The Outline and Structure

Salutation                                                                    1:1-5

Rebuking and Statement of Thesis                             1:6-10

Thesis concerning the gospel                                      1:11-12

Autobiographical Information                                    1:13-2:21

Further rebuking                                                         3:1-5   

Extended Argument from the scripture                      3:6-4:7

Discussion of Paul’s distress                                       4:8-20

II Argument from the scripture                                  4:21-5:1

Discussion of pastoral concerns                                  5:2-6:10

Spiritual meditation and pastoral exhortations           5:13-6:10

Paul’s autograph and conclusions                               6:11-18

 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Neil, William. The letter of Paul to the Galatians. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1967.

Hendriksen, William. The New Testament Commentary. Baker Book House; Michigan-1971.

Dennis R. MacDonald; Galatia: The Harper Bible Dictionary. Paul J Achtemier; Theological Publication in India: Bangalore 1990.

Hans Dieter, Betz. The Epistle to the Galatians; the Anchor Bible Dictionary. Freedman, David Noel. Bantan Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. Inc. New York-1922.

Marion, Soards. The New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Doob, SakenFeld Katharine. Abingdon Press: Nashville, USA. Vol-2.

Guthrie, Donald. Galatians. Thomas Nelson and sons Limited; printed by: Hazell Watson and Viney limited, Aylesbury, Bucks. 1969

Fung, Ronald. Y. K. The Epistle to the Galatians. Eerdman Publishing Company, Michigan, USA-1986.

Ridderbos. H. N. The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Bromiley. W. Geoffery. The Paterson Press Book-house Australia limited, N.S.W. Vol-2

Vacation Bible School

Christian Ministry: Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a movement in existence since 1952 and has been reviving and transforming children, youth and adults into God honouring men and women. VBS has a rich heritage of pastors, leaders in several Christian institutions and other walks of live who trace their beginnings to VBS. Many of the Christian leaders today have been touched by God during their VBS days.

Churches of all denominations, missionary organizations conduct VBS as an annual feature of their Christian education program. VBS has expanded tremendously in the recent years and more and more children are touched each year.

The acronym for Vacation Bible School is V.B.S.

• V - A school conducted during the VACATION
• B - A school which follows a BIBLE centred course of study.
•  S - A SCHOOL which maintains a regular daily schedule.

           This was the children ministry wing of the South Asia Biblical Seminary. They specialize in ministering to children from various social backgrounds. They cater to address the spiritual needs of the child. This ministry started off with a humble beginning and now it reaches out to north and north east India and slowly moving out even to other nations.

History

It was in the summer of 1898 that Dr. Hawes and his wife moved to New York to practice medicine. The children in their neighbourhood had their vacation. The children in their neighbourhood were as usual mischievous and did not bother about anything, they were like all children playing around and being naughty. The neighbourhood was angry with the menace they created and they kept scolding the children. While the neighbours ill-treated the children Mrs. Hawes was different from them and was very kind to the children, she invited the kids home and gave them snacks and taught them new songs. The children were happy and wanted more of this kind of fun, and the children surprised Mrs. Hawes by asking her if they could do this the next day too, and the answer was ‘yes’.

Mrs. Hawes prepared new songs and lessons from the bible to teach the children. The First VBS was born. Rev. Howard Jones, the Pastor if the local Epiphany Baptist Church was impressed and in 1899 he asked her to conduct the VBS in the Church. The news of the initiative spread and appeared even on papers and thus the VBS ministries came into existence.

VBS in India

In 1937, the World Gospel Mission started the South India Bible Institute (now SIBS Ministries), which in turn gave birth to the Vacation Bible School movement in India. In 1952, in a small village called Kovilpatti in south Tamil Nadu, a VBS session was held with 75 children and 8 teachers. A talented team of P. Samuel, Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Williams, Mrs. Mary Hamilton and Miss Edith Morgan, nurtured the V.B.S. movement and saw it grow.

The V.B.S. Ministry since then has travelled across the nation, present in most of the states in India and in neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Gulf, among others. With God’s blessing and under the leadership of several directors and the direction from the South India Bible Seminary, this ministry has grown from strength to strength.

The VBS Timeline[1]

• 1952 – First VBS was started at Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, by Mr. P Samuel, sister Packiathai and Ms. Edit Morgan a team from SIBS, with 75 children.
• 1953 – Witness march by children introduced
• 1954 – VBS Director’s Handbook, Teachers Handbook, pictures for children and attendance awards were introduced.
• 1956 – A course on VBS was started for SIBS students. VBS started in 3 southern states.
• 1957 –Impact of the VBS among the children and youth was noticed by the church leaders.
• 1958 – VBS travelled to Mumbai, Calcutta, Madhya Pradesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
• 1959 – Introduction of common theme for the devotional sessions, Theme related badges, certificates and awards were introduced.
• 1960 – VBS prayer fellowship resulted in the birth of Friends Missionary Prayer Band -  FMPB
• 1961 – The 3 year course VBS curriculum was written by Mrs. Esther (Faulkner) Williams and Rev. Theodore Williams.
• 1963 – Students workbook was worked out and published by Mrs. M Hamilton and Mr. J D Arulmani
• 1966 – The VBS HQ shifted from Bangarapet to Bangalore.
• 1969 – First Indian VBS Director - Mr. J D Arulmani.
• 1979 – ‘Jesus Loves You’ a material for other faith children was published.
• 1986 – All India VBS Leaders Workshop was instituted for the first time.
• 1996 – Beginner, Primary books were published in the Nepalese language

Aims of VBS[2]

• To bring children to Christ.
• To educate them the Word.
• To train them in Christian Living
• To encourage them to be active in the life of the Church.
• To encourage them to Witness.
• To challenge them for Mission.

How VBS Benefits the church[3]

·        Builds the Sunday School

·        Holds the youth for the church

·        Revives cold hearts

·        It awakens interest for the Unreached

Training programs

Training/Workshop is vital for the VBS ministries to train the Directors and Teachers of the churches and other institutions for effectiveness in establishing God’s kingdom. Well prepared training modules are handled by proficient resource people. Themes like Importance of Christian Education ministries among the youth and children, Leading a child towards Christ, History and Philosophy of VBS - uniqueness of VBS, Child  Evangelism - a difference between Rural and Urban, Methods of Teaching - Biblical teachings in today’s context (inclusive of communication), Kids  Praise and worship, Know your child - child psychology, Equipping the Directors and teachers- linkage of Devotional guide, teaching material , Development of stories and building the skills to impart, roles and responsibilities, Skill of Facilitation are being focussed on.

All India Leaders’ Workshop

Vacation Bible School, Bangalore each year organizes an All India Leaders’ Training Program with a focus to train the Directors from various churches. The following topics are covered each and every year according to the participant’s subjects.

·        Know Your Child

·        Leading A Child To Christ

·        VBS-The Outline

·        Methodology of Teaching

·        Evangelism & Communication

·        Model VBS

All India Leaders’ workshop is held in different cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Nagaland and Cochin etc. Primarily the workshop is to equip the selected/ nominated Directors from different denominational churches with the significant thrust on that year theme and relate the same with the curriculum of that particular year. The Directors are equipped with all the skills to train further more and more leaders and teachers.  This is conducted every year by the Headquarters at Bangalore, usually during the last week of January or mid of February. Christian educators from all denominations attend this workshop so that they in turn can conduct similar workshops in their respective areas.

Directors training

The Head Quarters encourages and extends its help to conduct VBS training workshop for the Directors in every region or diocese level. Based on the request VBS sends a team and facilitate such programs.  Usually each Church sends its director for this training.

Teachers training

This particular program focuses its content for those who volunteer to teach. They are trained to handle the year’s curriculum, considering the children’s specific age and characteristics, significance and use of different creative materials and tools for learning, and create an opportunity for conducting healthy competitions.  Teachers are being trained to observe special days and lead the children to CHRIST.  Main thrust of this program is to prepare the teacher’s in advance to prepare themselves spiritually.

Syllabus and the way of execution of VBS at various centres

VBS Grades[4]	Age of Students
Beginner	5 years
Primary	6, 7, 8 years
Junior	9, 10, 11 years
Intermediate	12, 13, 14 years
Senior	15, 16, 17 years
Young Adult	18 years

At each age level the needs, interests and abilities of a child change. Therefore the course is planned for 6 main age levels. The children from the various age groups will remain in their particular VBS grade for 3 consecutive years. To meet the need the VBS curriculum that comprises of a 3 year course of study – First year, Second Year & Third Year.

For each year’s course of study the teacher’s handbook and student’s handbook are prepared by the reputed writers from the Children Education Ministry and by the VBS team. The lessons are compiled in such a way that the child who attends VBS from beginners till seniors will cover the entire bible in that span of ten years. It must also be noted that there is a special syllabus for the children of other faiths, which is designed to cater to their needs and help them understand better, the gospel.

            Every year there is a theme, and the songs, skits and devotions etc are being planned accordingly, while the lessons for the class work runs parallel with the biblical themes as mentioned above. This is usually planned for ten days for South India as they conduct VBS in the summer and also a seven days syllabus for north India as they conduct VBS during Diwali holidays.

There are various days celebrated in the ten days or a week’s span, like day of beauty and cleanliness, day of labour, day of inspection, day of love-feast and many more as per the requirement of the church or VBS centre. This program mostly is a half a day program, whereas in some rural areas it is conducted from morning till evening covering two days portions and finishing it in 5 days with the day of love-feast on the next day and the final day program on the following day.

The final day program is conducted to show case what the children have learnt during the course of study in the VBS centre. All class get to show what they learnt from the beginners to the young adults.

Conclusion

We cannot at the same time rule out the existence of various other “VBS’s” that have sprouted after their friction with the VBS ministries. They have come up with the similar pattern of lessons but with a few changes. I must say that they are indeed good, but are suitable only for their specific group of children they focus on. On the other hand this program is designed in such a way that it would cater to both the children of the urban and rural areas.

This program is very essential for the churches in the urban and the rural setup. It does make me happier to speak about the place where I worked for three as the director for the various VBS centres in and around South India. I stand as a testimony to tell you that I have seen the lives of children being transformed and accepting Christ in the days they spend at VBS and in the learning from the lessons from the bible. The many of the VBS centres also conduct follow-ups so that the child continues to be nurtured by committed teachers.

Bibliography

VBS Director’s Handbook, VBS ministries 2007

www.vbsministries.org

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[1] V.B.S. Director’s handbook, VBS ministries 2007 Pg.6

[2] www.vbsministeries.org

[3] V.B.S. Director’s handbook, VBS ministries 2007 pg. 9

Exegesis Matthew 28:1-10

Introduction

The study of the synoptic has made a very remarkable finding and also acceptable worldwide that the Gospel of Mark is supposedly the first written gospel, and this particular finding is to be accredited to the last century. But we have to make note of the point that, from the time of Irenaeus canonised the scripture, Gospel according to Matthew has outweighed not only Mark but also the other gospels.[1] This Gospel provides us with the more information on Jesus’ Jewish lineage and the account of all his disciples, than the other gospels. This Gospel came to us from the Vellum Codices of the New Testament that dates back to the fourth and the fifth century. We can see the Early Christian author Papias refers to Matthew as the author of a collection of Jesus’ Hebrew and Aramaic sayings and oracles, which Irenaeus of Lyons (c.180) speaks of, Matthew as the author of the Greek Gospel according to Matthew. But no Hebrew or Aramaic collection of Jesus’ sayings has survived time, hence leaving this as just a mere hypothesis[2]

The Text[3]

1. after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning; Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

2. and suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

3. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

4. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.

5. But the angel said to the women "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

6. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come; see the place where he lay.

7. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you."

8. So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

10. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

 Historical Background

a)      Author

The author of the book chooses to be anonymous as he fails to attest his name anywhere in the Gospel as in the other gospels. In this search for the author we must have a base to go further in the quest to find the author of this gospel. The early writers and church theologians referred to Matthew as the author of this gospel, people like Papias, Irenaeus in the second century and later by Origen in the third century and Eusebius in the fourth century all ascribe to Matthew as the author of this gospel[4].

Moving forward to find the author, we see a significant clue, that the tax-collector who followed Jesus is named “Levi, the son of Alpheus” in Mk 2:14 and in Lk 5:27 but is named Matthew in this gospel, and an interesting fact that Levi the tax collector does not appear in the list of disciple but Matthew is mentioned in the same as among the twelve.[5]

However there are a few scholars who suggest that the Levi changed his name to Matthew as he began to follow Jesus. Whereas some others say that the author subtly substituted his name in the place of Levi the tax collector who has been less known.

Although no author’s name is mentioned anywhere in the gospel we must try and find clues in the book itself to accept Matthew as the author. The call of Matthew in 9:9 is followed by the meal at home in 9:10. This verse in English makes it feel like it was the house of Jesus, but actually when translated from Greek the last three words of the verse can also mean ‘at home’ that mean the house of Matthew and in parallel with the Mk 2:15 it makes it clear that it was not in the house of Jesus but the house of Matthew. And only when it refers to the author’s house it can mean ‘at home’ can also mean ‘at my home’. Hence we can make firm the argument that Matthew can most probably be the author of this book.[6] This is one major reason why many scholars conclude with the traditional understanding that Matthew is the author of this gospel.

In addition to the evidence that Irenaeus’ reference to this gospel as the gospel according to ‘Matthew’, we can know that the meaning of the name ‘Matthew’ is ‘Gift of God’, which is fitting for a gospel title. Similarly the name Matthew also sounds somewhat close to the meaning of Disciple in Greek (maqhthvj-mathetes), the word literally means ’learner’.[7] Some scholars feel that if it was not for Matthew, then either his disciple or even a member of the Antioch church could have written this book.

b)      Date

As the other manuscripts this one too does not mention of the date and place of its writing. There are several criteria that point out that it must have been written in the 80’s or the 90’s of the first century C.E. some fifty or sixty years after the crucifixion of Jesus which could have been in 30C.E. There are sources that date the materiel back between 75 and 80 C.E., except for the sources that mention Matthew as the first gospel.[8] Some of them date back between 80 and 100C.E.  But most of them compromise with that fact that it was written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. it has been argued that Matt 22:7 and Ch: 24 accept the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. But the language used in the same is based on Israel’s apocalyptic terms and shows no specific knowledge as to what happened in 70 C.E. On the other hand the gospel seeks to contain evidence of facilitating with an ongoing cultic life of the temple, its worship and the collection of temple tax (5:23-24; 23:16-22; 17:24-27)[9]

There could be two possible reasons to date the materiel just after 70 C.E. It is a common understanding among a wide range of scholars that Matthew uses Mark as one of his sources. Matthew rewrites Mark, sometimes eliminating, editing, abbreviating, and adding material. Mark was probably written in or just before 70 C.E. or in the later 60’s. And Matthew was written years after Mark, it could maybe be a decade or two after Mark was written. There are three main critical issues that make this gospel’s date later are, synoptic problem, the fall of Jerusalem and the Church’s relationship with Judaism in the first century.[10]

c)      Place

To understand why the author wrote this gospel surely does not need just one reason. The suggestions are such that say, Matthew could have written it to a predominant Jewish Christian community. It was written for the congregation to read and follow Jesus’ teachings by reading it in public, it was also meant to convince the Christian Jews about the truth. In short, we can say that the gospel of Matthew was written by and for a Christian community. [11]

d)      Purpose

As we read along the text we can subtly get to know that the Matthean community was probably based itself in a city with Jews, Greeks and other groups of people mixed in it. We can also say that the Christians were more in number whose ancestral past is Judaistic. Hence with all indications we can get to know that the place from which the gospel was written is from Antioch in Syria, at that time the third largest city in the Roman Empire. It was a place of trade, exchange and commerce between the West and the East. It is believed that the Christian community moved here and Hellenistic refugees after the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem.

e)      Source

The author of Matthew’s gospel has mostly used sources from the oral tradition as he depends on this oral tradition very much, and most probably he must have had a copy of the Gospel of Mark and it seems like he has taken most of the work and made the necessary editing and compiled a gospel according to himself. We can see that as we read the gospel with parallels in comparison with Luke and Mark. Matthew did not compose this gospel on his own, but developed it by depending on the earlier sources like Mark and Q source. This is the two source hypothesis that many scholars have accepted. There is always a debate on the synoptic gospels.

Matthew draws much of the storyline from Mark. The baptism of Jesus at the river Jordan, the concentration of most of his ministry of teaching and the healing at Galilee, the fateful journey to Jerusalem, the climatic events in the temple area and the passion story itself, followed by the discovery of the empty tomb and the proclamation of the resurrection are fundamental elements of the Matthew’s story that was drawn from Mark.

We must note that the details that seem not so relevant are being dropped so that the Matthean version of the story is shorter than that of Mark (Matt 9:20-22=Mark 5:24b-34). The grammar and the linguistic style become more polished, though this is not always apparent in English translations. The inaccuracies are being corrected (King Herod in Mark 6:14 = Herod the tetrarch in Matt 14:1). Minor changes are made to make the material more relevant to the Jewish Christians, to an urban setting, or to a more prosperous audience (Matt 10:9, Mk 6:8). The power and dignity of Jesus are generally enhanced, (Matt 13:58, Mk 6:5), as is the character of his disciples (Matt 16:5-12, Mk 8:14-21). The portrait of the religious leader of Israel becomes more negative (Matt 22:30-34, Mk 12: 28-40).

Matthew’s access to the Q source leaves a remarkable impact on the gospel. Most of the Q material is the sayings of Jesus that Matthew combines with Markan material and shapes into discourses of Jesus that appear throughout his narrative. The most important is the first discourse of Jesus, the famous Sermon on the Mount (5-7) which serves as a foundation for all the rest of Jesus’ teaching. The other discourses are the mission discourse (10), the parable discourse (13), and the community discourse (18).[12]

Matthew’s use of the sayings source is a bit more complicates than his use of Mark. For sure we can understand that Q is the material found in both Matthew and Luke and not in Mark. Hence most scholars agree that Matthew was more creative than Luke in the usage of words in the adaptation of the Q which is the speeches of Jesus. The placing of Q is very prominent in the narratives of the Sermon on the Mount found in chap. 5-7.

Parallels[13]

Matthew 28:1-10	Mark 16:1-8	Luke 24:1-11
1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning; Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.  4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come; see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."	1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.	1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.

Methodological Concerns

                        The gospel writer emphasises on the Messianic promise that is fulfilled in Jesus the Christ. Who was sent to restore and renew Israel, the royal Son of God enjoys the extraordinary intimacy with God and reveals God’s will, the Son of Man who suffers humiliation and rejection yet will come in glory to judge all the people to the end of time. The author portrays Jesus as a teacher, is a prominent theme that is found in the gospel. With this theme he shows the strong Jewish nature of the text in his rabbinic approach. In this gospel Jesus challenges his disciples to lead a life of righteousness and justice. It is in this essence that has the saying; ‘the one who does the will of God’ is an authentic disciple.[14]

In this we can understand the two important clues of the overall issue of the text that is, the author and the community’s Jewishness and the portrayal of Jesus as teacher or rabbi. We also see that the author is very negative on the Judaistic teacher and Judaism itself. We at this moment cannot deny the author’s concern for the gentiles as he believes that Israel alone does not deem the elect status but that the salvation of Christ is for the gentiles too (8:5-13; 21:043; 28:29).[15]

The ‘kingdom of heaven’ is often used in Matthew and is synonymous with the phrase, ‘kingdom of God’ as used in other Gospels and occasionally in the gospel of Matthew (6:33). Matthew would opt to refer to it as the kingdom of heaven as it makes him and the readers not to utter ‘God” which is a Holy word for the Jews. Either of the phrases refers to the reality of God ruling, an incident not limited to time and space. In other words, the kingdom of heaven is not just a place where God lives, but is a sphere of God’s influence.[16]

Literary

a)      Genre

Hence the actions, teachings and evaluations of Jesus are contained in a narrative which resembles to a limited extent and ancient Greco-Roman ‘life’ of a person. The goal of the ancient ‘life’ is not a detailed historical accuracy and completeness as in a modern biography, but to encourage the reader to a life of virtue. In some ways Jesus’ ‘life’ in the gospel of Matthew resembles that of the lives of the early prophets which stress on the role or task to which the prophets are dedicated and often sufferings which they must undergo.

Some scholars have fruitfully compared the gospels to aspects of the so-called Greco-roman romances or novels, which stress on the interaction between the hero and the heroine with god’s and their escapes from danger. On the other hand the gospels lack the highly emotional and erotic motifs common with one another than with Hebrew or Greco-Roman literary types and constitute an identifiable genre of its own.[17]

b)      Form

Matthew’s written sources depend predominantly on the oral tradition. As we see that the various events of the life and teachings of Jesus was orally transmitted and followed before it was put into writing. Through this we can understand that the orally transmitted stories were not as part of the life of Jesus but were witnesses to the event of Jesus’ life and teaching. Hence all these were theological witnesses of the Christ event that helped in formulating the meaning of Christian faith and was subject to continual expansion, modification, interpretation, reinterpretation in order to communicate the meaning of the faith to the changing situations.[18]

c)      Redaction

“The study of how the author of the gospel selected, arranged, modified and added to the tradition in the composition of the gospel is called redaction criticism”.[19] In the gospel according to Matthew we see redaction as the editing and the rewriting of Q and Mark. The attention is to be given to the theological understanding of the author as it is seen in the additions, omissions and modifications of the sources. As we see the writing of Matthew and Mark as parallels we see a lot of places where Matthew has been redacted. For example in the chosen text we can see the differences in the Matthew as he uses Mark, for example in the first verse Matthew omits ‘Salome’ which Mark includes as the third woman, and as we see further, Matthew replaces the word ‘young-man’ in Mark into an ‘angel’ and later in the text Matthew omits the mane of Peter whom he addresses very often but fails to do so in this pericope. These are the few examples of redaction in spite of the Synoptic similarities.

Exegesis

v1. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning; Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

After the Sabbath, as Matthew starts the narration by denoting the time of the event that means the Sabbath has ended (at sunset on Saturday). This phrase appears parallel to Mark, but it seems like it was on the Saturday as portrayed in Mark, but Matthew goes on to explain that is was in the dawn of the new day[20]. Hence it has to be the Sunday morning as traditionally accepted as the day of Easter.  Matthew significantly omits the mane of Salome the third woman in his narration. They bought spices maybe after the shops opened on the Saturday evening so that they may go in the morning of the Sunday.

The use of the verb ‘to see’ has a clue to offer to us, ‘seeing’ or ‘to see’ in the gospel has important meaning, that is to denote understanding or insight into Jesus’ teaching and experience. They for sure have heard of his accurate teachings of death and resurrection, therefore they have come ‘to see’ as they have waited to see. It is significant to note that this particular privilege of seeing the empty tomb was given to the women who in those days were not regarded as well as the men on even greater than the disciples themselves, they were the marginalised and were not among the elite, to be receptive to God’s purpose.[21]

v2. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

The great earthquake was explained by the coming of the angel to roll away the stone door in front of the tomb. The angel then sat on the stone, remaining at the tomb entrance. The angel did not come to let Jesus out of the tomb as Jesus had the stone rolled away for Lazarus to come out of the tomb alive when He called Lazarus to come out. Jesus passed through the stone walls, for the women found the tomb empty and they did not see Jesus walk out of the tomb when the angel rolled away the stone. Jesus later passed through walls or a closed door to appear to His disciples.

v3. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

The angel appeared to both the guards and the women. The women were not confused about where Jesus was buried or the location of His tomb (Matt 27:61). The guards reacted with fear, similar to the guards’ terrified response when Jesus died on the cross and there was an earthquake (Matt 27:54). In the case of Jesus’ resurrection, both guards and women were aware of the angel coming to the tomb and they were overwhelmed at his appearing. The lightening like appearance asserts God’s sovereignty even over death, something the empire cannot duplicate.[22]

v4. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men

The Roman guards had both a physical and mental reaction to the angel. Rather than bravely stand their ground as they had been taught and challenge the angel over his actions, they shook with fear and fell to the ground. Perhaps they had also learned from the guards at the crucifixion (or were the same guards) that Jesus was the Son of God, so they expected immediate execution from an angry God at the hands of the angel. The guards fell unconscious and the women witnessed their respons

v5. But the angel said to the women "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

The young man dressed in as in white Mark becomes an angel in Matthew[23]. The angel disregarded the guards, and sought to comfort the women who had come to honour Jesus by caring for his dead body according to their burial practices. The angel made it clear the fact that Jesus had indeed been crucified; that in fact He had died and had been buried at that exact location where he appeared. The women were right to come there looking for Jesus, but they were not accurate in their thinking because they expected to find Jesus still dead.

v6. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. “Come; see the place where he lay.

The angel corrected their thinking and invited them to become witnesses regarding the empty tomb. He declared they would not find Jesus’ body because Jesus had been raised (though at one time Jesus had been laid in the empty tomb, in which no other body had ever been laid). Jesus’ resurrection had occurred sometime prior that day, prior to the opening of the tomb by the angel and the earthquake. The angel’s perfect timing made it possible for the women to see the guards guarding the tomb, experience the earthquake, and see the stone rolled away before they entered the tomb. There could be no confusion or doubt about someone having come to the tomb earlier to remove Jesus’ body.

v7. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you.”

After the women saw where Jesus had been laid and the angel once again emphasized that Jesus had been dead and had been raised from the dead, the angel told them that Jesus also had the ability to travel to Galilee. Jesus would later need to demonstrate His fully human resurrected powers by appearing to them in a locked room to convince them that He was alive and well and that they should travel to Galilee to see Him again. It is surprising that Matthew, who elsewhere, shown a special interest in Peter (10:2; 16:17), does not retain Mark’s special mention to him: ‘Tell his disciples and Peter’. This maybe because Matthew is concerned of the accusation, which the disciples staged, what they were expecting to take place.[24]

v8. So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

The women believed the angel because he was no ordinary man and miracles accompanied his appearing. They saw the guards fall in fear. They saw the empty tomb. They felt the earthquake and the earthquake’s perfect timing. They saw the angel roll the stone away without the help of other angels or people. Most probably, the disciples felt the great earthquake where they were in hiding, and the women could explain the cause of the earthquake. The two women could give good and sufficient reasons for the disciples to believe that Jesus had been raised from the dead, but the disciples were foolish and slow to believe (Lk 24:25-26).

v9. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

The Bible teaches the need for two witnesses in case of a trial. Two witnesses to an event should be believed in they are known to be trustworthy. The Hebrews knew that witnesses would be held accountable by God for bearing false witness or lying. In addition to the events surrounding Jesus’ resurrection, both the angel and the living, resurrected Lord Jesus bore witness to the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead. At this point in time, the women worshiped Jesus as would all those in the early Christian church. Jesus received their worship as the right as the Son of God. Angels and the apostles, no matter what miracles they worked, always refused the worship of others, saying only God deserved to be worshiped. Jesus did not refuse to be worshiped. He willingly received the worship of others as God.

v10. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

This was the second time that the women were told not to be afraid. Though Jesus is the Son of God, He called His disciples “brothers” (Heb 2:11). He reaffirmed what the angel told the women; again we have two witnesses to the command because the command was given to them twice by two different persons. Obedience to this command would become a test for the disciples, and they failed the test by remaining in the locked room until Jesus appeared to them to convince them He was raised from the dead—which also gives us more good reasons to believe that the facts presented regarding Jesus’ resurrection are true.

Theological Implication

            The resurrection is an eschatological event that has taken place as the ultimate event in the history of humanity and not merely a spectacular event in the life of Jesus. Hence this is not just the belief of the dead body that was back to life or jus that the tomb was empty. This act of Jesus is the most significant of all, as this is where it could be noted as the starting point of Christianity, where many scholars believe that Christianity began with the ‘open tomb’. Jesus’ resurrection is not the same as he brought from the dead the three people as mentioned in the gospels, but a different one, which denotes the victory of Jesus over death.

This is the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, as we also say in our creeds, “…and he rose again on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures...” It is the foundation of Christian faith that resurrection was the fulfilment of the promise of God to the people of Israel, as in Micah and other prophetic literature that a son will be born to save humanity and that he will die an unpleasant death and will rise on the third day to return to heaven. In this resurrection was the hope of a new life for humanity. The resurrection event is not only an ordinary happy ending to the tragic end of the life of Jesus, but a hope of a new beginning. It for sure is not the final accomplishment but the continual presence and a symbolism of a God who lives among humanity and suffers along with the victims and the one who died a human death.

Application

             As I went through the passage there were two important themes that showed me light. Believe and Share. The two very important themes that can be reflected upon, firstly believe, the belief the women showed when the angel said ‘go quickly’ they ran with fear and joy, that shows they did not doubt what the angel told to them but believed it and obeyed the message they had received. Secondly share, the women who were said to share what they heard ran quickly to share to the disciples and hence they shared their experience to the people.

            The same passage on the other hand can be presented as the women being a preferential option of God, over all the other people who were indeed of higher status in the society, to reveal God-self to humanity, as they were the first ones to know about the resurrection and were meant to pass on the message to the other disciples, thus, making God the God of the marginalised, the victimised and the poor, who died and rose again to live with the people forever.

 Bibliography

Albright & Mann, Matthew; Doubleday & Company Inc, Garden City, New York, 1973

Allan, P. Mark Harper Collins Bible Commentary, Harper Collins Publishers, San Francisco, 1988

Black, Matthew. Peake’s Commentary; Thomas Nelson Printers 1964

Carter, Warren. Matthew and the Margins; Theological Publications in India, 2007

Davidson, A New Bible Commentary; London, the Inter-Varsity Fellowship 1965

H. L. Ellison, ed. F. F. Bruce. The international bible Commentary; Marshall Morgan & Scott publication-1986

Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew; Oliphants, London, 1972

Keck, E. Leander. The New Interpreter’s Bible; Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995

Leske, Adrian. ed. Farmer, William. The International Bible Commentary; Marshall Morgan &Scott Publication-1986

Mitch, Curtis & Sri Edward. The gospel of Matthew; Baker Publications 2010

Plummer, Alfred. An exegetical Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956

Saldarini,Antony J. ed. Dunn, D. G. James. Rogerson, John. W. Eerdmans, Commentary on the Bible; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Cambridge, U.K. 2003

Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Gospel of Matthew; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, U.K. 1987

Senior, Donald. Matthew. Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1998

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[1] Davidson, A New Bible Commentary, London, the Inter-Varsity Fellowship 1965-pg.771

[2] Adrian Leske, ed. William Farmer. The International Bible Commentary, Marshall Morgan &Scott Publication-1986, pg. 1319

[3] NRSV

[4] Alfred Plummer. An exegetical Commentary on the  Gospel of Matthew, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956 pg. i

[5] Matthew Black. Peake’s Commentary, Thomas Nelson Printers 1964 pg. 769

[6] H. L. Ellison, ed. F. F. Bruce. The international bible Commentary, Marshall Morgan & Scott publication-1986 pg. 1121

[7] Warren Carter. Matthew and the Margins; Theological Publications in India, 2007 pg.15

[8] H. L. Ellison, ed. F. F. Bruce. The international bible Commentary, Marshall Morgan & Scott publication-1986 pg. 1121

[9] Adrian Leske, ed. William Farmer. The International Bible Commentary, Marshall Morgan &Scott Publication-1986, pg. 1320

[10] Curtis Mitch & Edward Sri. The gospel of Matthew, Baker Publications 2010 pg. 20

[11] Rudolf Schnackenburg. The Gospel of Matthew, William B. Eerdmans Publishing company, U.K. 1987 pg.5

[12] Donald Senior. Matthew. Abingdon Press, Nashville, Pg.25

[13] NRSV

[14] Donald Senior. Matthew. Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1998 pg. 28

[15] Ibid pg.29

[16] Mark Allan Powell. Harper Collins Bible Commentary, Harper Collins Publishers, San Francisco, 1988 pg.870

[17] Antony J. Saldarini, ed. James DG. Dunn, John W. Rogerson. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. William B. Eerdmans Publishing company, Cambridge, U.K. 2003 pg. 1002

[18] Leander E. Keck. The New Interpreter’s Bible; Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995 pg. 92

[19] Ibid pg. 92

[20] Albright & Mann. Matthew, doubleday & company inc, Garden City, New York, 1973 pg. 107

[21] Warren Carter. Matthew and the Margins; Theological Publications in India, 2007 pg.544

[22] Warren Carter. Matthew and the Margins; Theological Publications in India, 2007 pg.545

[23] David Hill. The Gospel of Matthew; Oliphants, London, 1972 pg. 359

[24] David Hill. The Gospel of Matthew; Oliphants, London, 1972 pg. 359