Matthew 28
- Who wrote it
- Traditionally Matthew
- Who it was for
- Jewish followers of Jesus
- What was happening
- At the tomb at dawn, then on a mountain in Galilee
What’s happening
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week begins to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to look at the tomb. There is a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord comes down from heaven, rolls away the stone, and sits on it. His appearance is like lightning and his clothing white as snow; the guards shake with fear and become like dead men. The angel tells the women, "Don't be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. He isn't here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. Behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him." They leave quickly with fear and great joy and run to tell the disciples. Suddenly Jesus meets them: "Rejoice!" They take hold of his feet and worship him. "Don't be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me." While they are going, some of the guard go into the city and tell the chief priests everything that happened. The chief priests meet with the elders and give the soldiers a large sum of money: "Say that his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept. If this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and keep you out of trouble." The soldiers take the money, and Matthew says this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. The eleven disciples go to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they see him they worship, but some doubt. Jesus comes and says, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Why the setting matters
The Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday, so the "first day of the week" is Sunday morning. Women are the first witnesses, and the first sent to tell the disciples. Matthew gives no account of the resurrection itself, only its aftermath. The soldiers' cover story assumes the tomb was empty; the dispute is over why. Matthew's remark that the story circulates "to this day" reflects an argument among Jews of his own time over what had happened, and shouldn't be read as a charge against Jewish people as a whole, any more than the cry in 27:25. Galilee is where Jesus' ministry began (4:12-17), and the mountain recalls the Sermon on the Mount and the transfiguration; Matthew doesn't name it. "Some doubted" translates a Greek verb that means to hesitate or waver, and who doubted, and about what, isn't said. "All authority... given" echoes Daniel 7:13-14, where one like a son of man is given authority over all peoples. The command to disciple "all nations" widens the earlier instruction to go only to Israel (10:5-6). Baptism is "in the name," singular, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. "I am with you always" answers "God with us" in 1:23, so the book is framed by the promise of God's presence.
Who’s in this chapter
Mary Magdalene
Goes to the tomb at dawn, and is the first to be told and the first sent.
Mary, mother of James and Joses
"The other Mary," who goes with her.
The angel of the Lord
An angel of the Lord who rolls the stone away and sends the women with a message.
The guard at the tomb
Shaken by the earthquake, and then paid to spread a different story.
The chief priests and elders
Pay the soldiers to say the disciples stole the body.
The eleven
The disciples without Judas, who go to Galilee and meet Jesus on the mountain.
Jesus
Meets the women, then commissions the eleven.
Talk it through
- The women are the first to hear the news and the first to be sent. What do you notice about who Matthew lets tell it first?
- The soldiers are paid to say the disciples stole the body. What does the cover story assume about the tomb?
- "Some doubted" appears right alongside "they worshiped." What do you make of Matthew including that?
- The book opens with "God with us" (1:23) and ends with "I am with you always." How does that frame the whole book?
Read Matthew 28
World English Bible
1Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. 5The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. 6He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. 7Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
8They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word. 9As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!”
They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
10Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”
11Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers, 13saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.” 15So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.
16But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. 17When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted. 18Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources