28 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
Introduction
Israel’s God came to her in the flesh, and ministered to her, calling her to repentance, to turning back to Him. She refused and instead murdered Him. They thought that was the end of it. They had murdered the servants of the Vineyard Owner before, but now they had finally killed the Heir. They thought the inheritance was theirs. They thought they would have the Vineyard all to themselves. But they thought wrong. What they thought was victory was their greatest, most total defeat. Jesus Christ was dead. But Jesus Christ did not remain dead.
He Is Risen (v. 1-7)
The Sabbath has come and gone, a new week has dawned. It is not just any new week, not just any first day of a random week, but rather, it is the very first day of a totally new world. Both Marys, not the disciples, seem to believe what Jesus said about rising on the third day. Remember where the disciples were during this entire episode—nowhere. When Jesus was captured, the disciples fled; during Jesus’s trial, Peter denied Him three times. They abandoned Him when He was at the very bottom. So it should not surprise us that despite Jesus repeatedly saying He would rise again on the third day, the disciples are in hiding. Yet Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (almost certainly Jesus’s mother) apparently do believe Him.
And at the dawn of the third day, the earth trembled. And out of the heavens, an angel descended upon them, and rolled the stone from the door, and sat down. Matthew tells us this angel looked like lightning. Think about this description. What does that even look like? A glow so bright you cannot even look at it. To look at him would burn out your retinas. Such a sight would make battle-hardened men, men who dealt death for a living, quake like the earth. Matthew tells us they became like dead men. Such a sight to them would be utterly terrifying. They might have thought one of their own gods had appeared to them.
But the angel ignores the soldiers. He speaks right over them and addresses the two Marys. He tells them not to be afraid (and as we have just seen there is good reason to be fearful) and that he knows they have come to the tomb to see Jesus who was crucified. But He is not at the tomb. He is risen from the dead. And then the angel says something that you might not catch unless you were marinated in a lot of Bible: “He is going before you into Galilee.” What significance does this have? Where does a phrase like this appear elsewhere in the Bible? When Israel is in the wilderness and conquering Canaan, who “went before” them? Yahweh did, in a pillar of cloud and fire. Now Yahweh in resurrected human flesh goes before them back to Galilee, back to their home. The angel tells them that is where they must go to see Him.
Jesus Appears (v. 8-10)
The women go back to the disciples to tell them what they saw, and as they do, Jesus shows up. And the very first thing He says to them is what? “Rejoice.” The first word out of the resurrected Jesus is “rejoice.” And how do the women rejoice? They fall down on their faces and worship Him at His feet. He then repeats the same message as the angel. Do not be afraid. Go and tell His brothers to go to Galilee to see Him. Why does He repeat to them not to be afraid? He would not have been a terrifying sight to them but one of great relief and great joy. The task that He has set out for them is what might tempt them to fear. They were to announce to the disciples and then to a world hostile to Jesus that He has triumphed over the world and triumphed over death.
Conclusion
Jesus’ resurrection is the pivotal event in the history of the world.
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