After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, 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, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. 4 The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. 5 Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” 8 Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” 11 While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. 12 They assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy [him] and keep you out of trouble.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present [day].
At daybreak on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James (Lk. 24:10) went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body (Lk. 24:1). It appears as if they had not yet reached the tomb when there was an earthquake and an angel appeared. The earthquake and the appearance of an angel alert the reader that it was a visible manifestation of God’s presence (Ex. 19:16), and something special was about to be revealed by God. Those who experienced a theophany were usually gripped with fear. The purpose was to confirm the physical resurrection of Christ. The stone was not rolled away to allow the Risen Christ to escape (Jn. 20:19, 26), but to let the women see that He Is Risen (v. 6)!
The angel told the women, who were truly seeking the crucified Jesus, not to be afraid. They were not gripped with terror like the guards but were fearful (v. 8). Jesus had been raised as he promised them on three occasions (Mt. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:19) and the angel showed them the empty tomb. The angel told them that they would see the risen Christ in Galilee and they quickly left to tell his disciples. On the way, Jesus appeared to them and after they did him homage, he gave them the same message the angel gave them (v. 10, 7). Some of the guards left for the city to report the matter to the Chief Priests who bribed them to say that the disciples came at night and stole the body.
Almighty God, help us to die to all that is sinful so that we may rise with Christ to new life. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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