Mark 1:14-20 tells of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus and the call of the first disciples. The account can also be found in Matthew, but not in Luke. While Matthew associates the beginning of Jesus' ministry with the dawning of the light spoken of in Isaiah 9, Mark points simply to the temporal circumstances of that beginning; it was after John's arrest.

In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus' prayer of thanksgiving becomes an occassion for teaching something about himself and the Father and for inviting all to find rest in Him. In these lines, He comes out as the Son through whom the Father has dispensed all the good things he intends for His children. Only those who have become children of the Father in their adherence to Jesus can know the Father's will as it is revealed through His Son.

Matthew 11:25-30 can be divided into two sets of verses. The first (vv. 25-27) has been called "The Messianic Shout of Joy" (Jubelruf). It is a Q logion that appears in Luke 10:21-22 with some differences. The parallel in Luke appears as Jesus' joyful response to the rejoicing of the seventy-two who return with a positive experience of their mission. In Matthew, Jesus rejoices right after he expresses woes over the towns which have rejected him. Within this saying is a verse that expresses the intimacy that exists between the Father and the Son (Matt. 11:26-27; Luke 10:22) and sounds like something taken from the Gospel of John.

The second set of verses (vv. 28-30) is from Matthew's store of materials, unique to him. Here, the key words or phrases are "give you rest", "yoke" and "burden" and the verb "learn". In "Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 1", Benedict XVI, working on materials provided by Neusner, concurs with this latter in showing that these verses go with the immediately following controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees regarding the Sabbath and is better understood within the Sabbath theme1. However, he also adds that this second set of verses develop further the Messianic Jubelruf.

1. 1. Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth I, pp. 109-110

Matthew's account of the resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10) can be outlined as follows:

• Setting and witnesses (1)
• The Stone Rolled Away (2-4)
• Proclamation of the Resurrection (5-7)
• The Witnesses Meet Jesus (8-10)

Jesus' teaching on Mammon, Worry-Free Living and the Kingdom are found in the immediate context formed by Matthew 6:19-34 which follows the section on Pious Practices in the Sermon on the Mount. Below is an outline that illustrates how Matthew 6:24-34 appears within the Sermon on the Mount.

The righteousness that Jesus teaches his disciples is that of the children of God. Their obedience to the will of God should not be characterized by legalism but by love. In the following two examples, Jesus underlines generosity and kindness in regard to the talion law and the law about loving one's neighbor.

After Jesus calls his audience the salt and light of humanity (=world), he explains how: (a) by adherence to the will of God as expressed in the Torah and interpreted by Jesus himself and (b) by a life of faith that is more perfect than that of the scribes and Pharisees. The rest of the Sermon on the Mount unfolds these two requirements ending with a warning regarding those who just listen but not do what Jesus says (Mt. 7:27).

The text of John 3:16-18 is included in the context formed by 3:9-21. Nicodemus, not understanding how one is born "in water and Spirit" receives an explanation that is centered on the role of the "One from heaven" (see v. 13), the "Son of Man" (v. 13.14) who is further identified in these verses as "God's only Son" (v. 16), "the only Son of God" (v.18). Verses 16-18 is an explanation of vv. 14-15: "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life ."

Introduction

The Commissioning of the Apostles is the last scene that Matthew gives us in his gospel.  There is no account of an Ascension here since Jesus tells his disciples "I will be with you always.¹"  Rather, the Ascension is already a past event, occuring in the Resurrection.  In Matthew's gospel, this is the first time that Jesus appears to his disciples after rising from the dead (see 28:10).  The setting of the narrative is a mountain in Galilee which had been pointed out to them by Jesus earlier (v.16).  Below is an outline of the narrative

In John 14:1 Jesus begins to console his disciples. Judas had just left and Peter's denial has just been foretold and the disciples know that Jesus will be separated from them. Below is an illustration of how John 14:1-14 is placed within the Last Supper Discourses.

John 10:1-21 continues the conversation Jesus was having with the Jews in Jn. 9:40-41. Jn. 10:19-21 recalls 9:16 as to the "schism"; the mention of the opening of the blind man's eyes as a defense for Jesus cements the relationship. Below is a diagram illustrating the relationship of the Good Shepherd discourse with the preceding chapter and how the parts of the discourse cohere to make 1-21 a literary unit.