Structure of Matthew 27-28

The last sections of Matthew 27 link up with Matthew 28 to form a chiastic closure to the gospel:

A. Jesus’ burial, 27:55-61 (itself a chiasm, as I showed in a post last week)

B. Jews request a guard on the tomb to avoid deception, 27:62-66

C. Jesus rises from the dead, 28:1-10

B’. Jews perpetuate a deception about the resurrection, 28:11-15

A’. Jesus meets with His disciples in Galilee and commissions them, 28:16-20

Several notes on the structure:

First, the A and A’ sections both include references to Galilee (27:55; 28:126) and both use the word “disciple” (27:57; 28:15).  The A section mentions the mother of the sons of Zebedee, while the sons of Zebedee are themselves implicitly present in A’.  Second, the B sections are ironically juxtaposed.  The only alternative to belief in the resurrection is fraud, the kind of fraud that the Jewish leaders say they wanted to prevent.  At the center, appropriately, is the account of Jesus’ resurrection itself, the angel’s appearance to the women, and Jesus’ appearance to the disciples.

Alternatively, chapter 28 can be broken down into two sections: 28:1-8 and 28:9-20.  Each of these has an internal structure of its own.  28:1-8 is chiastically arranged:

A. Women go to the tomb, 28:1

B. The angel’s descent with an earthquake, 28:2-3

C. The guards “die,” 28:4

B’. The angels speaks to the women, 28:5-7

A’. The women leave the tomb to report to the disciples, 28:8

Jesus’ appearance interrupts their flight to the disciples, and He reiterates the angel’s instruction to tell the disciples to gather in Galilee (vv. 9-10).  Verse 11 begins “while they were on their way,” referring to the women heading to meet the disciples, and the episode of the chief priests is embedded within the story of their report to the disciples.  Thus: Jesus commissions the women —> women go to the disciples —> interlude: the Jewish reaction —> disciples (who have heard from the women) gather in Galilee —> Jesus commissions the disciples.  Or, arranged as a chiasm:

A. Jesus greets the women, they worship Him, He instructs them to tell the disciples to come to Galilee, 28:9-10

B. Guards report to chief priests, 28:11

C. Chief priests decide to say that the disciples stole the body, 28:12-14

B’. Guard paid to tell the lie, 28:15

A’. Jesus greets His disciples, they worship Him, He instructs them to go to the Gentiles, 28:16-20