On the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, the liturgy of the Word proposes the concluding pericope of the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 28:16-20). The text is divided into two moments: the journey of the eleven disciples to Galilee and the encounter with the risen one, followed by the last words of Jesus, which confer a mission of universal scope.
They were no longer twelve, but eleven disciples, because Judas (Mt 27:5) eliminated himself. Later, Matthias would be chosen to complete the number of twelve, which refers to the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve apostles are the pillars of the Church, the new Israel.
The women, after verifying the empty tomb, received from Jesus the order to tell "my brothers" to go to Galilee (Mt 28:9-10). The eleven obeyed and went to the mountain that Jesus had indicated to them (Mt 28:16). Although the mountain is not named, scholars suggest it could be the Mount of the Beatitudes, near Capernaum.
Upon seeing Jesus, the disciples worshiped him (proskynéō), recognizing in him the divine presence and the power that overcomes death. However, the evangelist records that "some doubted" (Mt 28:17b). The doubt, expressed by the verb edístasan in the aorist, indicates a passing hesitation, not permanent. This theme echoes the case of Thomas (Jn 20:19-29), who overcame disbelief upon seeing and touching the risen one. Doubt is a distinctive note of the disciples in Matthew, associated with the term oligopistía, or "little faith" (cf. Mt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8).
Jesus took the initiative and approached them, announcing: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Mt 28:18b). The passive aorist (edothē) indicates that the Father conferred upon him full and universal authority. Then, Jesus entrusted to the disciples the mission of making disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe everything he had commanded. The final promise — "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20b) — echoes the theology of Emmanuel, "God with us," present throughout the Gospel of Matthew.