Biblion Bible Commentary
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He Is Not Here
Matthew 28:1-10
1 Now 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. · WEB
The stone is rolled away for the witnesses, not for him — and the first people told are two women.
Now 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 Matthew 28:1.
The same two who sat opposite it on Friday evening are back at first light. They have come to see the tomb — not to meet anyone.
Behold, 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 Matthew 28:2. The account is given in the earlier telling Mark 16:1–8. The stone is moved after the resurrection, not to let him out but to let them in, and the angel sits on it, which is not the posture of someone who has just done something difficult.
For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men Matthew 28:4. The trained soldiers collapse; the women stay standing. It is the only detail of its kind in the resurrection accounts and Matthew, who has tracked the guard since Saturday, keeps it.
"Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said" Matthew 28:5–6.
Just like he said is the sentence the whole book has been waiting to use. Nothing has happened that was not announced, four times, in plain words, to people who did not want to hear the ending.
"Come, see the place where the Lord was lying." They are invited to inspect it, which is how this Gospel treats the claim throughout — evidence offered, not belief demanded.
"Go quickly and tell his disciples... he goes before you into Galilee" Matthew 28:7. The message is the promise made at the table on Thursday night Matthew 26:32, repeated word for word to men who ran anyway. The appointment stood through the desertion.
They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy Matthew 28:8. Both at once, which is the honest description.
Behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" Matthew 28:9. The first word out of his mouth after the resurrection is an ordinary greeting — the everyday hello of that language — and they take hold of his feet, which settles what kind of body it was.
"Go tell my brothers" Matthew 28:10. Not my disciples. The men who scattered are called brothers by the first sentence he sends them, and the first commission of the risen Christ is given to two women in a garden.
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