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.”
Matthew begins this passage quietly: “After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning” (v. 1). Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb. The darkness is beginning to give way to light, and that setting fits what Matthew is about to announce. The women had already seen where Jesus was buried (27:61). They do not come as confused visitors. They know the place, and they come out of love and devotion.
Then the scene changes at once. “There was a great earthquake” (v. 2) is a sign that God is acting with power. In Scripture, earthquakes and other signs in nature often accompany heavenly events or moments of divine intervention, so Matthew uses this to show that the Resurrection is no ordinary event, but a mighty act of God in history. An angel of the Lord descends, rolls back the stone, and sits upon it (v. 2). Matthew does not describe the moment of the Resurrection itself. He shows its signs and effects: the opened tomb, the angelic message, and then the appearance of the risen Jesus. The stone is rolled back not to let Jesus out, but to make clear that the tomb is empty.
The angel’s appearance is overwhelming, and the guards collapse in fear, becoming “like dead men” (vv. 3-4). That contrast is deliberate. The guards who are alive fall as though dead, while Jesus, who truly died, has been raised. But the women hear a different word: “Do not be afraid!” (v. 5). God’s action inspires awe, but his word directs them toward faith.
The angel says, “I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified” (v. 5). Matthew keeps the identity of Jesus clear. The one who has been raised is the same one who was crucified. Then comes the center of the message: “He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said” (v. 6). The Resurrection is not a surprise that overturns Jesus’ mission. It is the fulfillment of what he had already foretold (16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 26:32).
The angel then tells the women to look at the place where he lay and to go quickly to the disciples with the news (vv. 6-7). They are also told that Jesus is going before them to Galilee (v. 7). Galilee matters. It is where the disciples were first called and where Jesus’ public ministry had begun. They will meet him there, not only to see that he is risen, but to be gathered again after they abandoned him and fled when he was arrested.
Matthew says the women leave the tomb “fearful yet overjoyed” (v. 8). That combination fits the moment. Their fear is no longer simple terror. It is awe before what God has done. Their joy comes from the truth they have just heard. In this Gospel, fear does not silence them. It sends them running with the message.
Before they reach the disciples, Jesus meets them (v. 9). Matthew tells it with simplicity: “Jesus met them on their way” (v. 9). The women approach, embrace his feet, and do him homage. This is worship, but it also shows that the risen Lord is no illusion. He is truly risen. The Jesus who was crucified now stands before them alive.
Jesus then repeats the angel’s instruction, but with one important change. The angel had said, “tell his disciples” (v. 7). Jesus says, “Go tell my brothers” (v. 10). That word reveals something important. The disciples had deserted him, yet he does not cast them off. He speaks of them as “my brothers.” The risen Lord is already restoring those who failed him.
So this passage is not only about an empty tomb. It is about what God has done in Jesus Christ. The Father has vindicated the Son. Death has not held him. The women become the first witnesses and messengers of the Resurrection. Fear gives way to joy, and broken discipleship begins to be restored.
Matthew also makes clear that the Resurrection is not merely a return to ordinary life. Jesus has entered risen life. That is why this passage stands at the center of the Christian faith. The one who was crucified has been raised. The tomb is empty. The Lord is alive. He goes before his people to restore them to communion with him.
Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, strengthen our faith in your victory over sin and death. Teach us to seek you with fidelity, to hear your word without fear, and to follow where you lead. As you turned the sorrow of the women into joy and made them witnesses of your Resurrection, make us steadfast in faith and firm in hope. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011.
- Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 60.
- José María Casciaro, gen. ed., The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 150–151.
- Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 673, para. 166.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 969.
- John J. Collins, Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds., The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition. With a Foreword by Pope Francis. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2020, 1235–1236.
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