There is no strong consensus on the days Jesus spent on earth after His resurrection. We know that He met with His disciples twice in Jerusalem at both ends of the week of Unleavened Bread. The parallel passage at the end of Mark takes place in that second meeting. Mark’s version of the Great Commission is a little different, because Jesus repeated the message several times. John insists that the third meeting was the incident when seven of the men went fishing and met Jesus the next morning.
So it’s only reasonable to assume that the final verses of Matthew’s account takes us to at least the fourth meeting. They gathered at the appointed mountain location. Jesus appeared there, and the majority worshiped Him. He was no longer Jesus the man they all knew. While they had believed in their minds that He was the Son of God, it was now driven home to them in a way words cannot describe. Still, some of the followers struggled with it.
There wasn’t much He could do about it now. As He approached, He gave them a repeat of the same message He had broached back in Jerusalem. He reminded them that, having risen from death, He was now fully vested with His divine authority over all Creation. He would soon return to His throne. They were to carry on the mission that began with His baptism. It was this same baptism they were to use with those who embraced their message.
More to the point, He commanded them to teach everything He had taught. That would include the meaning of the Old Covenant, so that people could connect the miracles of the past with the miracles to come in the New Covenant. The New Covenant was even more of a privilege, and more demanding on the denial of the flesh. But they would have Him always with them, breathing in their souls.
When Luke continues the story into the Book of Acts, he notes that Jesus hung around for some forty days or so. At some point, He had the disciples return to Jerusalem. The final day is the final verses of Luke’s account. Jesus walked with them across the Kiddron Valley, up the long sloping climb over the crest of the Olivet Ridge, and almost into the village of Bethany. Given the circumstances, it’s quite likely this was near the end of that last day. The sun was low on the horizon behind the mount of Jerusalem.
He turned to face them one last time, the evening sun shining in His face. Lifting up His hands, He pronounced a blessing on them. He hardly finished His words when He levitated off the ground, rising quickly into the sky, catching more of the last rays of the sun. They watch Him go, and then turn back to their temporary gathering place in the Bethesda quarter of Jerusalem.
Luke tells us they worshiped daily in the Temple and stayed together in close fellowship for the next few days. There was no compelling reason yet to make a complete break from the Old Covenant worship rituals. There’s no doubt this puzzled the Sanhedrin and other officials. There was no hint of rebellion or even teaching for a while. Everything went quiet.
