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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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The Sabboth daye at even which dauneth the morowe after the Sabboth Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to se the sepulcre.
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Now in the end of the Sabbath, when the first day of ye weeke began to dawne, Marie Magdalene, and the other Marie came to see the sepulchre,
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Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Matthew 28:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 16:1-8 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’ ” They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
- John 20:1-10 Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!” Therefore Peter and the other disciple went out, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter, and came to the tomb first. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying, yet he didn’t enter in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed. For as yet they didn’t know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
- Matthew 27:56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
- Luke 23:56–24:10 They returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again?” They remembered his words, returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles.
- Matthew 27:61 Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
- Luke 24:22 Also, certain women of our company amazed us, having arrived early at the tomb;
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Christ having put death to flight in the sepulcher,…
Christ having put death to flight in the sepulcher, riseth by his own power, as straightway the Angel witnesseth.
At the going out of the Sabbath, that is, about daybreak after the Roman’s count, which reckon the natural day, from the sun rising to the next sun rising: and not as the Hebrews, which count from evening to evening.
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When the morning after the first day after the Sabbath began to dawn: and that first day is the same, which we now call Sunday or the Lord’s day.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1 In the end of the sabbath, as it…
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Ver. 1. The first day of the week] Greek, of the sabbaths, εις μιαν σαββατων. One day of seven is due to God of necessity. This the Scripture calls by an excellency the sabbath day, without a difference; as if it were the eldest brother to all the days of the week, which is called here and elsewhere sabbaths, in the plural, LXXE Psa 24:1, title, "A psalm of David." To this the Greek addeth, "of the first day of the week," which now is the Christian sabbath, called "the Lord’s day," Rev 1:10, in honour of Christ, and in a thankful remembrance of his resurrection. {See Trapp on "Joh 20:1"}
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To see the sepulchre] To see what the Pharisees had done with the Lord’s body the day before (for they knew they had been tampering, and feared the worst, as love is suspicious) and to bring the spices, which by an easy error they had prepared, Luk 24:1. They knew not, belike, that Joseph and Nicodemus had been at that cost and pains before them; neither did any of them consider that what they did herein was superfluous, for that it was "impossible for God’s holy one to see corruption," Act 2:27. But he is pleased to pass by our well meant weaknesses, where the heart is upright.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain We are now come to that part of the…
We are now come to that part of the Gospel which treats concerning the resurrection of Christ, and the converse which he had upon the earth for forty days, Act 1:3, until the time of his ascension into heaven. Matthew and Mark are the shortest in this narration. I shall therefore, only consider what Matthew saith, and what the other evangelists speak as to the same things which he mentions, leaving out what the other evangelists have (not at all mentioned by him) to be discoursed in their proper place. We heard before that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary had prepared spices and ointments to anoint the body of Christ, but the sabbath day being at hand, they would not by that unnecessary action profane the sabbath; as Luke tells us, Luk 23:56, they rested on the sabbath, according to the commandment: The sabbath ended with them at the setting of the sun. They did not go as soon as the sabbath was ended, but after it was ended,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. The first day of the week began with them as soon as the sabbath was ended, so as the first day of the week was a third part spent; therefore Mark reports the time, Mar 16:1,2, And when the sabbath was past; and says that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, had bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. Luke saith, Luk 24:1, that upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
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John saith, Joh 20:1, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre. As to the time, three evangelists say it was upon the first day of the week, early in the morning; about sunrising, saith Mark; while it was yet dark, saith John: these now interpret Matthew’s οψε σαββατων, which doth not signify, in the evening of the sabbath, but in the evening of the sabbaths, the end of the week. The Jews, in honour to the sabbath, called all the days of the week sabbaths, the first of the sabbath, the second of the sabbath, &c.; so as οψε σαββατων is well translated by our translators, In the end of the sabbath, the evening or night following the sabbath, following the seventh day, which was the sabbath. Nor is οψε to be taken here strictly for that time of the night which we call the evening, but for the whole night, which must be reckoned to continue until the sunrising of the first day of the week; and so Matthew expounds himself, adding,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, that is, the first artificial day, as the day is accounted from sunrising to sun setting; otherwise it was upon the first natural day of the week, which began from the sun setting before. Matthew mentions the coming of Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, who, Mark saith, was the mother of James and Salome, to the sepulchre. John mentions only Mary Magdalene, but it is not probable she went alone, and two other evangelists say also the other Mary. Luke saith there were certain others with them: there might be divers with them, though one only be named by John, two by Matthew and Mark as being the principal persons in the company. And though Matthew only mentions their going to see the sepulchre, yet Mark telleth us that they went also to anoint his body, and Luke saith they carried the spices prepared for that end; their faith, as it seemeth, was yet but weak as to our Saviour’s resurrection.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain The Lord of Life was buried upon the Friday,…
The Lord of Life was buried upon the Friday, in the evening of that day on which he was crucified; and his body rested in the silent grave the next day, and a part of the morning of the day following. Thus he arose again the third day, neither sooner nor later: not sooner, lest the truth of his death should have been questioned, that he did not die at all; and not later, lest the faith of his disciples should have failed. And accordingly, when the sabbath was past, and it dawned towards the first day of the week, in the morning very early, before day, Mary Magdalene, and other devout women, go to visit the sepulchre, intending with their spices and odours farther to embalm our Lord’s body.
But observe, Although the hearts of these good women did burn with an ardent love and zeal to their crucified Lord, yet the commanded duties of the sabbath are not omitted by them; they stay till the sabbath is ended, and then early in the morning they go with odours in their hands to perfume his sacred corpse; fearing neither the darkness of the night, nor the presence of the watchmen: how great a tribute of respect and honour is due and payable to these women for their magnanimity and courage! They followed Christ, when his disciples left him; they accompanied him to his cross, and followed his hearse to the grave, when none of his disciples durst appear.
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Learn hence, That courage is the special and peculiar gift of God; and where God gives courage it is not in man to make afraid.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Mark xvi, 1; Luke xxiv, 1; John xx, 1
Mark xvi, 1; Luke xxiv, 1; John xx, 1
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The resurrection of Christ declared by an angel to…
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The resurrection of Christ declared by an angel to the two
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Marys at the sepulchre, 1-6.
They are commissioned to announce this to the disciples, 7.
They go, and are met by Christ himself who promises to meet the
disciples in Galilee, 8-10.
The watch go into the city, and report to the chief priests what
had taken place, 11.
They give them money, to say that his disciples had stolen the
body by night, while they slept, 12-15.
Christ meets the eleven disciples in a mountain of Galilee,
16, 17.
He gives them a commission to preach the Gospel throughout the
earth; to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost; and promises to be with them to the end
of the world, 18-20.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII.
Verse 1. In the end of the Sabbath] Οψε δε σαββατων. After the end of the week: this is the translation given by several eminent critics; and in this way the word οψε is used by the most eminent Greek writers. Thucydides, lib. iv. chap. 93, της ημερας οψε ην - the day was ended. Plutarch, οψε των βασιλεως χρονων - after the times of the king. Philostratus οψε των Τροικων - after the Trojan war. See Rosenmuller. In general the Jews divided their natural day, which consisted of twenty-four hours, into day and night. Their artificial day began at the rising and ended at the setting of the sun; all the rest of the time, from the setting to the rising of the sun, they termed night: hence the same word, in Hebrew, signifies both evening and night. Ge 1:5; Mr 6:47. Matthew has employed the word in this extensive sense here, pointing out the latter part of the Jewish night, that which immediately preceded the rising of the sun, and not that first part which we call the evening. The transaction mentioned here evidently took place early on the morning of the third day after our Lord's crucifixion; what is called our Sunday morning, or first day of the next week.
Came - to see the sepulchre.] That is, they set out at this time in order to visit the tomb of our Lord, and also to weep there, Joh 11:31, and to embalm the body of our Lord, Lu 24:1. St. Matthew omits Mary Salome, mentioned by Mark; and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, mentioned by Luke. The other Mary was the wife of Cleopas, and mother of James and Joses, mentioned before, Mt 27:56. Were not Mary and Salome two distinct persons?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mat 28:1. In the end of the sabbath —…
Mat 28:1. In the end of the sabbath — Or rather, After the sabbath, as οψε σαββατων may be properly translated. Thus, in Philostratus, οψε των Τρωικων signifies, after the Trojan war; οψε μυστηριων, after the mysteries were ended. And in other authors, οψε τουτων is, after these things; οψε νυκτος, after night; see many examples of this in Stephanus. And so this perfectly agrees with the other evangelists, who say what is here related was done when the sabbath was ended, Mar 16:1; or the first day of the week, Luk 24:1; Joh 20:1. And perhaps Matthew here mentions σαββατων, sabbaths, in the plural, because there were two sabbaths in that week, the paschal sabbath on Friday, and the ordinary sabbath on Saturday. As it began to dawn toward, &c. — Τη επιφωσκουση εις μιαν σαββατων, when it began to dawn into the first day of the week, that is, Sunday, or the Lord’s day; for μια των σαββατων always signifies the first day of the week, or the Lord’s day, or the day of his resurrection from the dead: and thus the word μια usually signifies in the Septuagint, when it is joined with days, weeks, or months; as Gen 1:5, The evening and morning were, ημερα μια, the first day: Exo 40:2; Ezr 3:6; Ezr 10:17, ημερα μια του μηνος, is the first day of the month. See note on 1Co 16:2. On this day, in the evening, Christ appeared to the eleven, Joh 20:19; and again, John 20:26; and to the two disciples, Luk 24:13.
Came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, (see on chap. Mat 27:61,) to see the sepulchre — To see if all things were as they had left them the preceding evening. It appears from Mar 16:1, that they were accompanied by Salome: and from Luk 24:10, that they were soon joined by Joanna, and other female friends, who were to meet them there. These women had bought, and now brought with them, spices, which they had prepared to embalm the body of Jesus, to do which, it seems, was their principal reason for visiting the sepulchre so early this morning: from which it is evident, that notwithstanding Christ had repeatedly and explicitly foretold that he should rise from the dead the third day, they had no faith in his predictions. And yet they were truly pious women, and certainly genuine and very faithful followers of Jesus, evidently more attached to him than even the apostles themselves, and more bold and courageous in his cause. So slow of heart are the best disposed of mankind to believe what the Lord hath spoken.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain In the end of the sabbath - The word…
In the end of the sabbath - The word “end” here means the same as “after” the Sabbath - that is, after the Sabbath was fully completed or finished, and may be expressed in this manner: “In the night following the Sabbath, for the Sabbath closed at sunset, as it began to dawn,” etc.
As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week - The word “dawn” is not of necessity in the original. The word there properly means as the first day “approached,” or drew on, without specifying the precise time. Mark says Mar 16:1-2 that it was after “the sabbath was past, and very early in the morning, at the rising of the sun” - that is, not that the sun “was risen,” but that it was about to rise, or at the early break of day. Luke says Luk 24:1 that it was “very early in the morning;” in the Greek text, “deep twilight,” or when there was scarcely any light. John Joh 20:1 says it was “very early, while it was yet dark” - that is, it was not yet full daylight, or the sun had not yet risen. The time when they came, therefore, was at the break of day, when the sun was about to rise, but while it was yet so dark as to render objects obscure, or not distinctly visible.
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The first day of the week - The day which is observed by Christians as the Sabbath. The Jews observed the seventh day of the week, or our Saturday. During that day our Saviour was in the grave. As he rose on the morning of the first day, that day has always been observed in commemoration of so glorious an event.
Came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary - From Mary Magdalene Christ had cast out seven devils. Grateful for his great mercy, she was one of his firmest and most faithful followers, and was first at the sepulchre, and was first permitted to see her risen Lord. The “other Mary” was not the mother of Jesus, but the mother of James and Joses (Mark). Mark says that “Salome” attended them. Salome was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of James and John. From Luke Luk 24:10 it appears that Joanna, wife of Chusa, Herod’s steward (see Luk 8:3), was with them. These four women, Mark says Mar 16:1, having bought sweet spices, came to anoint him. They had prepared a part of them on the evening before the Sabbath, Luk 23:56. They now, according to Mark, completed the preparation and bought more; or the meaning in Mark may be merely that, “having bought” sweet spices, without specifying the time when, they came now to embalm him. John mentions only Mary Magdalene. He does this, probably, because his object was to give a particular account of her interview with the risen Saviour. There is no contradiction among the evangelists; for while one mentions only the names of a part of those who were there, he does not deny that “others” were present also. It is an old maxim, that “he who mentions a few does not deny that there are more.”
To see the sepulchre - To see whether was as it had been left on the evening when he was laid there. To see if the stone was still there, by which they would know that he had not been removed. Mark and Luke say that the design of their coming was to anoint him with the sweet spices which they had prepared. Matthew does not mention that, but he does not “deny” that that was the ultimate design of their coming. It is not improbable that they might have known the manner in which he was buried, with a large quantity of myrrh and aloes; but that was done in haste - it was done by depositing the myrrh and aloes, without mixture or preparation, in the grave-clothes. They came that they might embalm his body more deliberately, or at least that they might “anoint the bandages” and complete the work of embalming.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain And in the end of the sabbath, when it…
And in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week. According to the letter, in the evening of the sabbath, which began to dawn on the first of the sabbath; (or of the sabbaths in the common Greek copies.) This latter translation, which is that of the Rheims Testament, is certainly more according to the letter, and more obscure than it need to be. First, by translating, on the first of the sabbath, where sabbath is taken for a week, as in other places, Luke xviii. 12. Acts xx. 7. and 1 Corinthians xvi. 2. It may therefore here be literally translated, on the first day of the week. Secondly, By the evening, is here meant the night: for in the Scriptures, both the Latin and Greek word, which we find in this place, not only signifies that time which we commonly call the evening, but is also put for the whole night itself, and for the time from sunset to sunrise next morning. Thus it is taken in the first chapter of Genesis, where, in the computation of natural days of 24 hours, all the hours in which it was dark, are called vespere, in the Septuagint. And all the hours in which it was light, are called mane, Greek: proi. et factum est vespere & mane dies unus, i.e. primus. And from the fourth day, on which were created sun and moon, by vespere was understood all the time from the sun setting on such parts of the earth, to its rising to them again: and mane signified all the day, or the hours that the sun appeared to the like parts of the earth. Therefore, the literal and proper sense of the verse is: in the night, i.e. in the latter part of the night of the sabbath, or after the sabbath, towards the morning of the first day of the week. And that in this place is signified the latter part of the night, and not what is commonly called the evening, appears first by the following words, when it began to dawn, or to be light. Secondly, It appears by the other evangelists. St. Mark (xvi. 1.) says, when the sabbath was past ... very early in the morning. St. Luke says, (xxiv. 1,) very early in the morning. St. John (xx. 1.) says of Mary Magdalene, that she came in the morning, when it was yet dark. From all which it is plain, that Mary Magdalene, and the other pious women, came to the sepulchre at the end of the night after the sabbath-day, or when it began to be light, and about sunrise on the first day of the week, on our Sunday. --- There may indeed be some doubt whether the Latin word vespere be not an adverb, corresponding to the Greek opse, sero. And then it may be translated with Dr. Wells: late in the night after the sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week. But this makes no difference at all as to the sense. And the other Mary, &c. St. Mark says, Mary, the mother of James and Salome. St. Luke also names Joanna, who was wife to Chusa, Herod’s steward. These women had rested the sabbath, and as soon as it was over, i.e. after sunset, they bought spices, and prepared them in the night, in order to embalm the body next morning. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Vespere autem Sabbati quæ lucescit in prima Sabbati. Greek: opse de sabbaton, (one Greek copy, sabbatou) te epiphoskouse eis mian sabbaton, (in unam seu primam Sabbatorum.) What must the Latin, quæ, and the Greek, epiphoskouse, agree with? We must understand in the Latin, dies; i.e. die quæ lucescit: and in the Greek, we must understand, emera te epiphoskouse. --- We may also observe, that in the Greek we read not opsia, but opse, the adverb, sero; so that in the Latin to correspond with the Greek, it should also be vespere, late after the sabbath. In fine, that vespera is used in Scripture for the night: see what is said in Genesis, on all the days of creation; and the annotations on Matthew xiv. 15. ---Paulus Burgensis, in his Additions, published with his Glossa on Gen. 1 p, Attendendum quod Hebræi per vespere intelligunt Noctem, quæ incipit a vespera, et terminatur in mane sequenti, &c.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
John Nelson Darby 1862 · Public Domain Matthew Chapter 28
Matthew Chapter 28
I shall examine the details of the resurrection elsewhere Here I only consider its bearing in this Gospel. The sabbath ended (Saturday evening with us-chap. 28), the two Marys come to see the sepulchre. At this moment that was all they did. Mat 28:1-2 are not consecutive, Mat 28:2-4 go together. When the earthquake and its attendant circumstances took place, no one was there except the soldiers. At night all was secure. The disciples knew nothing of it in the morning. When the women arrived at dawn, the angel who sat at the door of the sepulchre re-assured them with the tidings of the Lord’s resurrection. The angel of the Lord had come down and opened the door of the tomb, which man had closed with every possible precaution. [90] They had in truth only guaranteed by unexceptionable witnesses the truth of the apostles’ preaching, by placing the soldiers there. The women, by their visit the evening before, and in the morning when the angel spoke to them, received a full assurance to faith of the fact of His resurrection. All that is presented here is the facts. The women had been there in the evening. The intervention of the angel certified to the soldiers the true character of His coming forth from the tomb; and the visit of the women in the morning established the fact of His resurrection as an object of faith to themselves. They go and announce it to the disciples, who-so far from having done that which the Jews imputed to them-did not even believe the assertions of the women. Jesus Himself appears to the women who were returning from the sepulchre, having believed the words of the angel.
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As I have already said, Jesus connects Himself with His former work among the poor of the flock, afar from the seat of Jewish tradition, and from the temple, and from all that linked the people with God according to the old covenant. He appoints His disciples to meet Him there, and there they find Him and recognise Him; and it is there, in this former scene of the labours of Christ, according to Isa 8:1-22; Isa 9:1-21, that they receive their commission from Him. Hence we have not the ascension of Christ at all in this Gospel, but all power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth, and accordingly the commission given to His disciples extends to all nations (Gentiles). To them they were to proclaim His rights, and make disciples of them.
It was not however the name of the Lord only, nor in connection with His throne at Jerusalem. Lord of heaven and earth, His disciples were to proclaim Him throughout all nations, founding their doctrine on the confession of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. They were to teach, not the law, but the precepts of Jesus. He would be with them, with the disciples who thus confessed Him, unto the end of the age. It is this which connects all that will be accomplished until Christ sits upon the great white throne with the testimony that He Himself rendered on the earth in the midst of Israel. It is the testimony of the kingdom, and of its Head, once rejected by a people that knew Him not. It links the testimony to the nations with a remnant in Israel owning Jesus as Messiah but now risen from the dead, as He had said, but not to a Christ known as ascended on high. Nor does it present Jesus alone, nor Jehovah, as any longer the subject of testimony, but the revelation of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as the holy name by which the nations were connected with God.
Footnotes for Matthew Chapter 28
90: But I apprehend the Lord Jesus had left the tomb before the stone was rolled away; that was for mortal eyes.
John Nelson Darby — Synopsis of the Books of the Bible: the New Testament (c. 1857–1862) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Christ in the Perfection of His Kingly Glory
PART SEVENTH
Christ in the Perfection of His Kingly Glory
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Matthew 28
UPON MATTHEW’S ACCOUNT OF THE RESURRECTION
The relation of this Gospel of the Resurrection to the whole evangelical tradition is to be seen only after a brief sketch of the latter
I. The Appearances in Judæa, in Jerusalem, at Emmaus, belong to the Period of the Israelitish Passover
1. The first Easter1 morning.—Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, proceed to the grave, Mar_16:1. They are to be followed (see Luke) by the other women, who are bringing the spices and ointments. The three who thus went in advance, behold the stone rolled away, and are affected in quite different ways by this sight. The narrative now divides into two portions.
Excitement and ecstasy seize upon Mary Magdalene.—She hurries into the city (and toward the male disciples), reports the facts to Peter and John; hurries back again, sees two angels in the grave, and afterward the Lord. She brings then the message to the disciples. Meanwhile Peter and John have arrived at the grave, and found it empty.
Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, at the sight of the removed stone, collect themselves, advance more closely, and see one angel sitting upon the stone. The Easter message of the angel. They hurry back in great fear and joy (and toward the female disciples), long undecided whether they will announce what they had seen or not. And, in this state, they meet the other women, who are bringing the ointments. All together now visit the empty tomb of Jesus, where they now (see Luke) behold two angels, as the Magdalene had done before (see the author’s Commentary on Mark). After they had started back to the city, they were met by the Lord.
Besides, in the course of the day, Peter also had a manifestation. Hence three messages from the risen Saviour—three messages from the empty grave.
2. The first Easter evening.—Christ appears to the two disciples going to Emmaus (Luke), walks with them, goes into the house, and then disappears. Next He appears in Jerusalem in their evening meeting, on which occasion Thomas is absent.
3. The second Sunday (eight days after the first Easier morning).—Appearance in the evening among the disciples. Revelation of the Lord specially for Thomas (see John). The feast of the Passover continued till the preceding Friday. The disciples would not, of course, set out upon Saturday, or Sabbath. They remained also the second Sunday,2 which shows that it had become to them already a second (a Christian) sabbath, and that they waited on that holy day for the full assurance of the fact of the resurrection to the doubting disciple (Thomas). Probably Monday following was the day of their departure.
II. The Appearances in Galilee, during the Return of the Galileans, Between Easter and Pentecost
1. The appearance at the Sea of Galilee unto the seven disciples (John 21.). Peter’s restoration. The declaration of the future fate of Peter and John in their import for the Church.
2. The great revelation of Jesus in the circle of His disciples upon the mountain in Galilee (Mat_28:16 ff.; Mar_15:18-18; Luk_24:45-49; 1Co_15:6).
3. The special appearance to James. Probably it was not (as the tradition says) to James the Less, but to the Elder: and the object, probably, was to direct the disciples through James to go up to Jerusalem earlier than usual.
III. The Appearances In Jerusalem and on Mount Olivet, About The Time of Pentecost
The history of the Ascension (Mark, Luke, the Acts). We reckon, accordingly, five manifestations upon the first day of Easter3 the sixth upon the following Sunday. The two great and decisive appearances in Galilee, forming the centre, are the seventh and eighth. Then the appearance to James, also without doubt in Galilee. And finally the tenth, which closed with the Ascension.
We must notice this distinction, that in the first five instances Jesus appeared unexpectedly and suddenly, and as quickly vanished. But, for the second grand revelation upon the mountain in Galilee, He issued a formal invitation, and in all probability tarried some time in their midst; and this holds true, apparently, of the last interview, when He walked along so confidingly among His Apostles, from Jerusalem to Bethany, that they might have thought He would now remain with them always.
[The order of the events after the resurrection given by Dr. Lange is very ingenious and plausible. For other arrangements of Lightfoot, Lardner, West, Townson, Newcome, Da Costa, Greswell, Ebrard, Robinson, see the convenient tables in Andrews: Life of Christ, pp. 587–592. Also Nast: Commentary on Matthew and Mark, pp. 629–632. If anywhere in the history of our Saviour, we must look for differences of statement in this most wonderful and mysterious period of the forty days, which deals with facts that transcend all ordinary Christian experience. Our inability to harmonize the narratives satisfactorily in every particular, arises naturally from our want of knowledge of all the details and circumstances in the precise order of their occurrence, and proves nothing against the facts themselves. On the contrary, minor differences with substantial agreement, tend strongly to confirm those facts, far more than a literal agreement, which might suggest the suspicion of a previous understanding and mutual dependence of the witnesses.—P. S.]
Of the rich treasury of these evangelical traditions, Matthew has given us merely the first angelic appearance, seen at the grave by the women, Christ’s revelation to these females, and the appearance of the Lord among His disciples upon the mountain in Galilee. But he has, besides this, introduced into his narrative the account of the bribery of the sepulchral guards (vers.11–15). This last record, and also Christ’s majestic revelation, are peculiar to him.—It is manifestly his chief design to depict Christ’s royal majesty, as revealed by a few decisive transactions. In addition to this, it is his chief interest to make the contrast between the Lord’s kingly glory and the Messianic expectations on the part of the Jews, appear now most distinctly (as this wish may have been his reason for continually designating the New Testament kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven). Hence he places the scene of the most important events in the resurrection-history in Galilee. Galilee was the place to which the disciples were pointed by the angels (Mat_28:7). In Galilee the Lord Himself bade His brethren assemble. Accordingly, it is in Galilee that the chief revelation occurs, during which Christ proclaims His share in the world’s government, institutes holy baptism, and promises His ever-abiding presence in the Church till the end of the world.
All these points are no doubt to be found in the general evangelical history; but it is Matthew who brings them out most strongly, and contrasts them with the chiliastic views of the Jews, who refused to dissever the glory of the Messiah from the external Zion and the external temple. For the same reason, Matthew directs attention to the contrast between the deep misery of unbelieving Judaism, as presented in the narrative of the bribed guards, and the glorious certainty of believing Judaism, in beholding the revelation of the Lord upon the mountain, when He presented Himself in the brightness of His omnipotence, and of the holy Trinity, and instituted as victor His victorious Church. The first section is an expressive type of the Talmud and its supporters, of Judaism sunken in deceit, employed in futile endeavors, and making common cause with heathendom; while the second is a type of the Gospel and the world-conquering Church.
From the brevity and elevated conception that characterize the account given by Matthew, we must expect, however, several inaccuracies. Hence it is that the two reports brought by the women are woven into one; and the second vision of angels, seen by Mary Magdalene, is united with the first, which the other women had beheld. The same is the case regarding the two distinct appearances of Christ to the women. Matthew agrees with John in not stating that the design of the women was to anoint the Lord. This omission was probably intentional Undoubtedly, the ostensible object of the women was to anoint Christ’s body; but, at the same time, a higher motive, of which they were themselves but darkly conscious, drove them to the grave,—the germ of hope, that Jesus will arise, which His promises necessarily produced. This supposition gains some ground from the free, general account, found in Matthew and John, omitting as they do all mention of the anointing. When dealing with the self-manifestation of Jesus upon the mountain, where there were more than five hundred believers witnessing His glory, Matthew mentions only the Eleven, because it was his intention to conclude his Gospel with the apostolic commission which the heavenly King issued to the world, putting it first into the hands of His Apostles, and sealing it unto them with His promise.
The imaginary and real differences between the various accounts of the circumstances of Christ’s resurrection found in the four Gospels, have been pointed out by the Wolfenbüttel Fragmentist [Reimarus], and exaggerated beyond all the limits of historical justice by Strauss, as if they were as many irreconcilable contradictions. As opposed to his views, consult, in addition to the older harmonists, Tholuck upon John; Hug, Gutachten, ii. p. 210; W. Hoffmann, p. 408 ff.; Neander, Life of Christ, p. 771; Ebrard, Criticism of the Gospel History, p. 712 ff. A short resumé of the most striking differences will be found in de Wette’s Commentary on Matthew, p. 244 ff.
One of the most important differences Strauss finds in this, that Jesus commands the disciples, according to Matthew and Mark, to go into Galilee to see Him; while Luke represents Him as issuing the command not to depart from Jerusalem till they should be gifted with power from on high. But this is merely an apparent contradiction. Strauss has overlooked the real state of matters, and has quite forgotten the relations in which Galilean visitors stood to the Jewish feasts of the Passover and of Pentecost. When Jesus had risen, the Passover was almost at an end. Jesus revealed Himself, it is true, at that time and place to the Eleven; but He delayed His appearance to the Church until He arrived in Galilee, partly because He wished not to expose them to the persecution of the hierarchy in Jerusalem in their young faith in the resurrection,4 partly because He wished to remove from the disciples every idea of His manifestation being necessarily connected with the old temple. But it may be easily conceived that the disciples would not lightly leave the scene where Jesus had first revealed Himself, namely, Jerusalem; and that this supposition is true, is proved by the fact, that they tarried still two days after the close of the Passover (which lasted a whole week) for the sake of Thomas, who still doubted, and many others of the larger circle of disciples, who probably doubted with him [comp. Mat_28:17]. On this account, the command of the Lord comes, enjoining them to prepare for their departure. Besides, some of the disciples required some time to prepare themselves for the joy of seeing Him,—especially the mother of Jesus, Accordingly, after that they became convinced of the certainty of His resurrection, they returned homeward, according to their old festive habits. At the time of the Ascension, however, or toward the end of the forty days, the period for going up to the feast of Pentecost was at hand; and on this occasion they were induced, it would appear, to depart at an unusually early date. There is probably a connection between this earlier departure and Christ’s appearance to James. (See the author’s Leben Jesu, ii. 3, 1761.)
The differences, however, between the accounts of the first announcement of the resurrection, found in the four Gospels, are an important testimony, when exactly weighed, to the truth of the history of the resurrection. It is no doubt remarkable, that literal, or external, protocol-like certainty, should be wanting, exactly in the place where the Christian faith seeks and does actually find the beginning of the confirmation of all its certainties. Faith, even here, is not to be supported upon the letter, but upon the substance,—upon the real essence of the facts. This essence, this spirit, comes out here most distinctly, and is manifested exactly through the differences themselves, because these are the indications of the extraordinary effect produced by the resurrection upon the band of the disciples. The evangelical records give no narration of facts, simply for the sake of the facts, and apart from their effects; but they present us with a history, which has individualized itself to the view of the Evangelist. And hence the Easter occurrences are retained and rehearsed as reminiscences never to be forgotten; and differ accordingly, as the stand-points of the disciples vary, and yet preserve a great degree of harmony. In this way it is that we are to explain the remarkable individualities and variations to be found in the accounts of the resurrection and manifestations of the risen Saviour; and in these accounts is contained for all time the joyous fright of the Church, caused by the great tidings of the resurrection. Just as, in a festive motetto, the voices are apparently singing in confusion, seemingly separate, and contradict another, while in reality they are bringing out one theme in a higher and holier harmony; so is it here. The one Easter history, with its grand unity, meets, when all the different accounts are combined, the eye in all its clearness and distinctness. The answer to each of the seeming contradictions is to be found in the organic construction which has been attempted above.
Literature.—See Winer: Handbuch der theolog. Literatur, i. p. 291; Danz: Universal- Wörterbuch, p. 91; Supplemente, p. 11; Göschel: Von den Beweisen für die Unsterblicrkeit der menschlichen Seele im Lichte der speculativen Philosophie, 1835 (see the Preface); Doedes: De Jesu in vitam reditu. Utr. 1841; Reich: Die Auferstehung Jesu Christi als Heihthatsache, 1846; Hasse: Das Leben des verklärten Erlösers im Himmel nach den eignen Aussprüchen des Herrn, ein Beitrag zur biblischen Theologie, Leipzig, 1854; W. F. Besser: Die Leidens- und Herrlichkeitsgeschichte nach den 4 Evangelisten in Bibelstunden für die Gemeinde ausgelegt. Second Part: Die Herrlichkeitsgeschichte, 4th ed., Halle, 1857; Schrader: Der Verkehr des Auferstandenen mit den Seinen, fünf Betrachtungen, Kiel, 1857. The article, Auferstehung, by Kling, in Herzog’s Real-Encyklopädie [vol. i. p. 592 ff. Among English works we refer to Robinson: Harmony, and Andrews: Life of our Lord, p. 570 ff.—P. S.].
Easter (German, Ostern).—The name. “The month of April is called, up to this day, Easter-month (Ostermonat); and as early as Eginhart we find Ostermanoth. The holy festable of the Christians, which is celebrated generally in April, or toward the close of March, bears, in the oldest remains of the old High German dialect, the name ôstarâ; generally the plural form is found, because two Easter-days were observed. This ôstarâ must, like the Anglo-Saxon Eástre, have been the name for some superior being among the heathen, whose worship had struck its roots so deep, that the name was retained and applied to one of the chief festivals of the Christian year. All our neighboring nations have retained the name Pascha; even Ulfilas has paska, not austro, although he must have been familiar with the term, exactly as the northern languages introduce pâskis (Swedish), pask, and the Danish paaske. The old High German adverb ôstar indicates the east; so the old Norse austr, probably the Anglo-Saxon eáitor, Gothic austr. In the Latin tongue, the quite identical auster indicates the south. In the Edda, a male being, a spirit of light, bears the name Austri; while the High German and Saxon stem have formed but one Ostara.—Ostara, Eastre, may accordingly have been the god of the beaming morning, of the rising light, a joyful, blessing-bringing appearance, whose conception could easily be employed to designate the resurrection-festival of the Christian’s God. Joyous bonfires were kindled at Easter; and, according to the myth long believed by the people, the sun made, early upon the morning of the first Easter-day, three springs for joy,—a festive dance of gladness.” Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, p. 247. So also Beda Ven., De temporum ratione: “A dea illorum (veterum Anglorum) quœ Eostre vocabatur.” The other explanation, held to by many, that the name comes from the Germanic urstan,=to rise, must yield to this historical etymology. The similarity of auster goes no farther than the mere sound; but, on the other hand, the Greek name for the morning-red, and for the east, ἠώς, Doric ἀώς, Æolic αὐώς, is to be connected. The transference of the heathen name is explained by the fact, that a popular festival was united with the day of the god of light among the heathen, as with the celebration of the resurrection among the Christians. The people’s festival, not that of the god, was transferred. It became a christianized national festival, retaining the old name; and this occurred all the more easily, because the name signified rather a religious personification than a chief divinity of heathenism, and the celebration of the name symbolized fully the Christian holy day. Just as the festival of the returning (unconquered) sun, as a festival of joy, became united in symbolic import with the Christian festival of Christmas, so the festival of the spring sun, and of the life-fraught morning glow, coming forth in spring out from the winter storms, became a symbolic celebration of the spiritual Easter Sun, which rose out of the night of the grave.
The day of preparation for the Easter festival in the ancient Church was the great or sacred Sabbath (Sabbatum magnum), and was observed as a general fast. The afternoon of that day was a period for a general administration of baptism. In the evening there was an illumination in the towns; and the congregation assembled for the Easter vigils (παννυχίδες), and these lasted till Easter morning. Upon Easter Sunday (τὸπάσχ α, κυριακὴ μεγάλη), the Christians greeted one another with mutual blessings; and the day was signalized by works of benevolence and charity. Easter Monday was the second celebration, as the festival of their unhesitating belief in the resurrection; but the Easter holydays, in the wider sense, did not conclude till the next Sunday (Dominica in albis), which derived its name from the custom of leading those who had been baptized into the church in their white baptismal garments. A new part of the entire quinquagesimal festival began with Ascension Sunday, and closed with the feast of Pentecost, which resembled the Easter festival.—Upon the Easter festival (osterfest), compare Fr. Strauss:* Das evang. Kirchenjahr, p. 218; Bobertag: Das evang. kirchenjahr, 2 p. 155. Strauss: “The Easter festival is the chief Christian festival. It is not simply chief feast, but the feast, coming round in its full glory but once in the year, but yet appearing in some form in all the other holy days, and constituting their sacredness. Every holyday, yea, even every Sunday, was called for this reason dies paschalis. Easter is the original festival in the most comprehensive sense. No one can tell when the festival arose; it arose with the Church, and the Church with it.”
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FIRST SECTION
THE ANGEL FROM HEAVEN AND THE FAITHFUL WOMEN. THE RISEN SAVIOUR AND THE FAITHFUL WOMEN. THE WATCHWORD: “INTO GALILEE!”
Mat_28:1-10
(Mar_16:1-11; Luk_24:1-22; Joh_20:1-18.)
1In the end of the [Jewish] Sabbath [Now after the Sabbath, ὀψὲ τῶν σαββάτων]5, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the [festal] week [εἰς μίαν σαββάτων, i.e., the Christian Sunday],6 came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the [an] angel of the Lord7 descended 3from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,8 and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which [who] was crucified, 6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay 7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8And they departed9 quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run [and ran] to bring his disciples word.10 9And as they went to tell his disciples,11 behold, Jesus me them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Mat_28:1. But about the end.—̓Ο ψὲδ ὲσαββάτων. The peculiar expression is explained by the context. It was the time of the dawn, or of breaking day (ἡμέρᾳ to be supplied in connection with ἐπιφωσκούσῃ), on the first day of the week, Sunday. Similar are the statements of Luke and John; while Mark says: about sunrise. But there are various explanations attached to this expression of Matthew.12 1. De Wette and others explain: After the Sabbath had ended; 2. Grotius and others: After the week had closed; 3. Meyer: Late upon the Sabbath. So that it is not the accurate Jewish division of time, according to which the Sabbath ended at six on Saturday evening, but the ordinary reckoning of the day, which extends from sunrise to sunrise, and adds the night to the preceding day. Meyer’s assertion, that ὀψέ, with the genitive of the time, always points to a still continuing period as a late season, would support this view, if it were true, but it is doubtful13 Pape translates the ὀψέ τῶν Τρωϊκῶι found in Philostr.; “long after the Trojan war.” But the fact, that Matthew makes the first day of the week begin here with sunrise, is decisive in Meyer’s favor.—Μίασββάτων=אחד בשׁבת, Sunday. According to Matthew’s method of expression, which is always so full of meaning, we find a doctrinal emphasis in the words, late in the evening of the (old) Sabbath season, as it began to dawn toward the early morning of the (new) Sunday season.
Came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary.—John names only Mary Magdalene; Mark adds Salome; Luke (Mat_24:10), several others, namely, Johanna, the wife of Chusa, as we learn from Luk_8:3. These differences of the narrations arise from the intention of emphasizing different circumstances. We must begin with Mark. Three women go first to the grave—Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome. Matthew omits Saiome, because he intends to continue his account of the two women, Magdalene and Mary (Mat_27:61). John keeps only Magdalene before his eye, because she is seized with excitement on finding the stone rolled away, and, hurrying away alone to the city, calls the two disciples; and because he wishes to relate this circumstance and Magdalene’s succeeding history. Luke’s attention was occupied chiefly with the women who were bringing the spices and ointments, and accordingly writes of the second body of females, who followed the first three. Meyer maintains that it is impossible to harmonize the different accounts. A judicious critic will, however, only oppose a forced harmony.
To see the sepulchre.—Luke and Mark: to anoint the corpse. We have already seen that the women went in two parties to the grave; and those who brought the ointments came second; the first came for information. This hurrying on before the others is explained by fear, unconscious hopes of a resurrection, longing and impatient desire.
Mat_28:2. And, behold, there was (ἐγένετο) a great earthquake.—Meyer: “It is quite arbitrary to take the aorist in the sense of the pluperfect (Castalio, Kuinoel, Kern, Ebrard, etc.), or to make ἦλθε signify an unfinished action (de Wette).” But arbitrary, also, is the hypothesis, that the women must have seen all. The earthquake was felt by them as well as by all the disciples; the angel was beheld by Mary and Salome, sitting upon the stone rolled away, and perhaps also by the affrighted guard; but that which occurred between, the rolling away of the stone, etc., could have been supplied by the Apostle’s prophetic intuition. The resurrection of the Lord itself was not a matter of actual bodily vision. “The old and general view (see especially the Fathers, as quoted by Calovius) is, that Jesus rose while the grave was still closed, and that the tomb was opened merely to prove the resurrection.”14 Meyer. But this is rather an arbitrary and supernatural separation of the occurrences.15
Mat_28:5. Fear not ye, ὑμεῖς.—Opposed to the terror of the guard, whose fear might have caused them to be filled with wonder. Meyer gives these words their correct explanation, pointing out the false interpretation which had been made of ὑμεῖς.16
[Mat_28:6.—Hilary: “Through woman death was first introduced into the world; to woman the first announcement was made of the resurrection. Chrysostom: Observe how our Lord elevates the weaker sex, which had fallen into dishonor through the transgression of Eve; and how He inspires it with hope, and heals its sorrows, and makes women the messengers of glad tidings to His disciples.]
For I know.—The reason why they need not fear.
Mat_28:7. Tell His disciples.—The Galilean believers, who formed the great body of the disciples, are intended by this term. Though the Lord revealed Himself to a few women, to the disciples of Emmaus, and to the twelve in Judea, His grand self-manifestation took place in Galilee (Mat_28:16). Bengel: Verba discipulis dicenda se porrigunt usque ad; videbetis.—Lo, I have told you, Εῖπον, which marks the formal and important announcement. Corroborative: dixi.—Unnecessary subtilties in the explanation of these words are referred to by Meyer.
Mat_28:8. With fear and great joy.—Mingled feelings. The transition from the dread felt by the women to the blessedness of belief in the resurrection, which they now began to experience, is expressed by this statement; also the final passage from the Old to the New Testament, from the horror of Sheol to the view of the opening heavens. “Corresponding cases of the union of fear and joy are mentioned by Wetstein (Virg. Æneid, 1, 544; 11, 807, etc.).” Meyer.
Mat_28:9. Held Him by the feet.—This is not merely an expression of consternation, although the words μὴφοβεῖσθέ, Mat_28:10, point to such a feeling of dread, but it describes rather the highest joy and their adoration. It is the climax of the feeling alluded to in Mat_28:8. Bengel: “Jesum ante passionem alii potius alienores adorarunt, quam discipuli.” The special experience of Mary Magdalene is incorporated with the vision of the two other women. This account reminds us of the state of mind evidenced by Thomas, John 20.
Mat_28:10. Be not afraid; go tell.—Asyndeton of lively conversation. A sign that the Lord shares in their joy.—My brethren.—A new designation of the disciples, which declares to them His consoling sympathy; makes known to them that He, as the Risen One, had not been alienated from them by their flight and treachery, but that rather they are summoned by Him to become partners in His resurrection. The command was, in the first instance, issued to raise the women from the ground, whom His divine majesty had prostrated.—Tell my brethren that they go.—This proclamation of the resurrection by the women is to lead the disciples, whom the fact of the Lord’s being buried in Jerusalem detained in that city, to make their preparations for an instant departure to their homes.
And there they shall see Me.—As before, in Mat_28:7, the disciples as a body are meant, who, according to Matthew, had followed Him from Galilee. And therefore, when the eleven disciples are (Mat_28:16) specially mentioned, it can only be as the leaders, as the guides of the entire company. Meyer represents that a threefold tradition regarding the resurrection grew up among the disciples: 1.The purely Galilæan, which is found in Matthew’s account; 2. the purely Judæan, which is given by Luke and John, excluding the appendix, Matthew 21; Matthew 3. the mixed, which narrated both the Galilean and Judæan manifestations, and is found in John, when the appendix is added. Meyer is now willing to admit the historical sequence, that the appearances in Judæa preceded those in Galilee; but he holds still, that the account given by Matthew manifests an ignorance of what occurred in Galilee.17 From this he deduces the conclusion, that this portion of our Gospel must be the addition of a non-apostolic hand, because such ignorance on the part of Matthew is inconceivable. But against this critic’s assumption we may educe the following:—1. If this assumption be correct, we should expect even from Mark in his Gospel,18 which was written earlier, and fixed the middle point of the evangelical tradition, only Galilæan appearances, whereas he relates only manifestations in Judæa, 2. Matthew himself relates the Lord’s appearance in Judæa to the women, Mat_28:9; Mat_10:3. A post-apostolic writer would most certainly have resorted to the general tradition, and have related both the appearances which took place in Judæa and those which occurred in Galilee. 4. The assumption of Meyer rests altogether upon the antiquated hypothesis, that every Evangelist intended to narrate, all the facts he knew. On the contrary, we must repeat that the Evangelists arc not to be regarded as poor mechanical chroniclers, but as narrators of the facts of evangelical history, as they assumed in their own minds the form of an organic whole, as one continuous gospel sermon. And here we have an indication that Matthew keeps up throughout the plan of his gospel narrative as distinct from that of Luke. While Luke, the Evangelist of the Gentiles, brings out fully the true prerogatives of Judaism, and describes, therefore, the whole of Christ’s life of activity as a grand procession to Jerusalem, Matthew, the Evangelist of the Jews, endeavors in every instance to disprove the false prerogatives of Judaism, and tarries accordingly mostly in Galilee, describing the Lord’s activity in that district Hence it is that Luke gives, in the introduction to his Gospel, the adoration rendered to the new-born Saviour by Jewish Christians, and closes his history with an account of the Lord’s appearance in Judæa; while Matthew contrasts, in his opening chapters, the adoration on the part of the Gentiles with the persecution of the Jews, and concludes by laying the scene of the grandest manifestation of the Lord in Galilee, in opposition to the city Jerusalem. From this to conclude that Matthew knew nothing more of the resurrection, is a conceit which falls far below19 a lively appreciation of the free Christian spirit of the Gospels. Meyer himself acknowledges that it is evident, from 1Co_15:5 ff., that even if all the accounts in the Gospels be combined, we have not a full record of all Christ’s appearances after His resurrection. Meyer, however, is right in opposing the mythical view which Strauss takes of the history of the resurrection, as well as the conversion of the facts connected with resurrection, by Weisse, into magical effects of the departed spirit of Jesus. The actual existence of the Church, as well as the assurance of faith and joy at death’s approach evidenced by the Apostles, cannot be the effect of a myth or a mere ghostly apparition. (See below.)
[The denial of the historical character of the resurrection and the subsequent manifestations of Christ to the disciples, has assumed different forms: 1. The Wolfenbüttel Fragmentist (Reimarus), like the lying Jewish Sanhedrin (Mat_28:13), resolved them into downright impostures of the Apostles: this is a moral impossibility and monstrosity unworthy of consideration. 2. Paulus, of Heidelberg, the exegetical representative of the older commonsense rationalism, sees in the resurrection merely a reviving from an apparent death or trance. This is a physical impossibility in view of the preceding crucifixion and loss of blood. 3. Strauss: Subjective visions, or more fully in his own words (see his new work on the life of Jesus, published 1864, p. 304): “Purely internal occurrences, which may have presented themselves to the disciples as external visible phenomena, but which we can only understand as facts of an ecstatic condition of mind, or visions.” Similarly the late Dr. Baur of Tübingen (the teacher of Strauss, and founder of the Tübingen school of destructive criticism). This visionary hypothesis is a psychological impossibility, in view of the many appearances, and the large number of persons who saw Christ; as the eleven disciples, and even five hundred brethren at once (1Co_15:6). 4. Weisse: Effects of the ever-living spirit of Christ upon the disciples. 6. Ewald: Spiritual visions in the ecstasies of desire and prayer (geistige Schauungen in der Entzückung der Sehnsucht und des Gebets). These two views are only modifications of the above theory of Strauss, and equally untenable. Ewald, however, is not clear, and makes an approach to the orthodox view when he remarks: “Christ was seen again by His disciples: nothing is more historical.” (Die drei ersten Evangelien, übersetzt und erklärt; p. Matt 362: “Christus ward wiedergeschen von den Seinigen: nichts ist geschichtlicher als dies.”) Renan, in his life of Jesus, passes over this stumbling-block with characteristic French levity, promising to examine “the legends of the resurrection” hereafter in the history of the Apostles. All he says upon it at the close of Matthew 26 amounts to a confession of despair at a satisfactory solution. It is this: “The life of Jesus, to the historian, ends with his last sigh. But so deep was the trace which he had left in the hearts of his disciples and of a few devoted women, that, for weeks to come, he was to them living and consoling. Had his body been taken away, or did enthusiasm, always credulous, afterward generate the mass of accounts by which faith in the resurrection was sought to be established? This, for want of peremptory evidence, we shall never know. We may say, however, that the strong imagination of Mary Magdalene here enacted the principal part!” All these false views resolve the history of Christianity into an inexplicable riddle, and make it a stream without a fountain, an effect without a cause. Dr. Baur (Christenthum der drei ersten Jahrhunderte, p. 40), indeed, thinks that the faith in the resurrection more than the fact of the resurrection was the motive power of the Apostles in their future activity. (So also Strauss, l. c. p. 289.) But it was the fact which gave to their faith a power that conquered the world and the devil. Faith in mere visions or phantoms may produce phantoms, but not such a phenomenon as the Christian Church, the greatest fact and the mightiest institution in the history of the world. Compare also on this subject the remarks of Meyer, Com. on Matthew , 5 th ed., 1860, p. 614 (who is quite orthodox as regards the general fact of the resurrection); Guder: Die Thatsächlichkeit der Auferstehung Christi, 1862; an art of Prof. Beyschlag (against Baur) in the Studien und Kritiken, 1864, p. 197 sqq., and several able articles of Prof. Fisher, of Yale College, against Strauss and Baur, in the New Englander for 1864.—P. S.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. In the end of the (Jewish) Sabbath.—The Evangelist, without doubt, intended by the selection of this peculiar and significant expression to bring forward the fact, that the Christian Sunday had now caused the Jewish Sabbath to cease (and Christianity had now taken the place of Judaism). Sunday is the fulfilment of the Sabbath; but it is not thereby made to be the negation, the destruction of the Sabbath, but its realization in the form of spirit, life, and freedom. Sunday is a new creation, the institution of the Church’s holy day; marked out as such not only by the resurrection, but also by the Lord’s appearances upon that day. But if the external law of the Jewish Sabbath is abrogated for the Church, the Christian State is bound, by its duty to Christ, to see that the law of the day of holy rest is observed, as indeed all the laws of the decalogue, in the spirit of New Testament order and freedom. We see from Act_20:7 : 1Co_16:1-2; Rev_1:10, that Sunday was observed in the days of the Apostles.
2. Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?—This utterance of the three anxious women has become the great symbol of all the sighs of humanity, in its longing for the revelation of the resurrection.
3. The earthquake.—A presage of the resurrection according to that parallel course of development through which the earth is passing along with the kingdom of God. See Matthew 24.
4. The visions of angels.—As the earth, on the one hand, in its grand moment of development, is shaken, and seems rushing to ruin; so, on the other, the heavens unfold. Therefore angels are ever present as ministering spirits at the critical periods in God’s kingdom. But although these angelic appearances are objective, real, and visible, the perception by the on-looking mortals of these heavenly spirits depends upon a state of soul resembling the angelic spirituality; and this disposition of soul depends, again, upon the position occupied in relation to heaven and earth. The more the earth is concealed and buried, like a midnight grave, to the beholders, so much the more clearly do they view the opening heavens. And hence it is that the female disciples were the first to see the angels; and they beheld first one, then two.
5. Fear and great joy.—Transition from the old into the new world, from the old to the new covenant.
6. Into Galilee.—See the Critical Notes.
7. The death and resurrection of Christ considered in and for itself (ontologically).—In the Lord’s death and resurrection a separation took place between the first æon of the natural human world, and the second æon of the eternal spirit-world of humanity (1Co_15:45). Christ’s death is the fulfilment and the completion of death, and therefore also its end, as was already determined in regard to Adam’s death. Where death began, there should it cease, i.e., there should be no death. Physical death is restricted to one zone. This district of death lies between the world of inorganic bodies on the one side, and the spirit-world on the other. The mineral, on the one side, is non-vital; the spirit is non-mortal. Death appears now to extend, between these limits, only over the vegetable, animal, and human worlds. But the death of the plant is well-nigh but allegorical, an appearance of dying: it lives still in the root, the branch, the seed. The dying of the animal, again, is no complete death; there is no full, individual life to resign; it lives only in the general life of nature, and hence it cannot die fully and with consciousness. Actual death begins with conscious man, in order likewise to cease with him, and to be transformed into a new conscious life. Adam was formed, not to die, that is, was not to see corruption; he was to pass only through a death-like process of transformation, and to undergo a metamorphosis from the natural state of man into the spiritual (the tree of life; Enoch; Elijah; 2Co_5:4; 1Co_15:51). But this transformation became subject to the effects and the punishment of moral death, of sin, as God’s condemnation; and thus this transformation passed over into corruption. The “being clothed upon” (symbolized by the metamorphosis of the butterfly-chrysalis) became “the unclothing” (symbolized by the wheat-grain In the earth). Since then was death in the world; the consciousness and the experience of deserved sickness, dissolution, corruption, and imprisonment in the waste death-realm, Sheol. The entire weight of death pressed upon mankind, to their pain and anguish; and yet they were not fully conscious of it (Heb_2:14-15). Christ became our partner in this common subjection to death. He tasted this death (Heb_2:9); received it with full consciousness into His life. Hence death was fulfilled in His life, it was ended, and must again be transformed into the transformation, unto which men were originally destined. Christ’s dying was a death which passed over at once into metamorphosis. Christ’s condition in death was a collision with corruption, in which corruption was overcome; was an entrance into the realm of the dead, which unbound the fetters of that realm. His resurrection was at once resurrection and complete transformation. When the question is asked, Was Christ glorified between His death and resurrection, or during the forty days, or during the ascension? the conceptions of transformation and glorification are confused. The transformation, as the passage from the first into the second life, was decided at the resurrection. Glorification, as His entrance into the heavenly world, could appear in Him even before His death, in the transfiguration upon the mountain, and be viewed by others; and yet after the resurrection, in His first presentation to Mary Magdalene, she mistook Him for the gardener. His actual glorification, decided at His resurrection, became a complete fact upon His ascension; and hence Christ, as the Risen One, is life-principle as well for the resurrection as for the transformation (1Co_15:21; 1Th_4:11).
If we would obtain a closer view and more accurate conception of the resurrection, the death of Christ must be contemplated as the ideal, dynamic, and essential end of the old world and humanity. The world continues to move chronologically according to its old existence, and is still expanding in its members (its periphery); but in its centre, the end has been reached in the death and resurrection of Christ. And this being the case, there is of necessity connected with this end the ideal, dynamic, and essential beginning of the new spiritual world, as the resurrection followed the death of Christ. And this event is, in accordance with its nature, at once an evolution of life (Christ rose), and at the same time an act of God’s righteousness (the Father raised Him). Christ rose from the grave, because He was holy, possessing the Spirit of glory, susceptible of resurrection, and must accordingly cause this very death to become subservient unto life, must overcome this death and transform it. God raised Him, because He, in and for Himself, had endured this death contrary to right; and yet, likewise, agreeably to right, inasmuch as He had surrendered Himself on behalf of man. Thereby this death of Christ has been made by God the world’s atonement. But when these two points are united, the death of Christ and His resurrection stand forth to our view as the grandest act of the omnipotence of God, and the greatest fact in the glorious revelation of the Trinity (Eph_1:19).
8. The death and resurrection of Christ considered soteriologically.—The soteriological effect is here, as always, threefold; He accomplished: (a) reconciliation as Prophet; (b) expiation as High-Priest; (c) deliverance, redemption, as King (see the author’s Dogmatik, p. 793). Christ, as Prophet in His reconciliatory working, has overcome the world’s hate by His love, and sealed the grace of God by the blood of His martyr-death; as High-Priest, in His expiatory working, He has taken upon Him the world’s judgment, and changed it into deliverance; as King, in His redemptive working, He has made death itself the emblem of victory over death, or of deliverance from the power of darkness, which sinners were subject unto through death.
In this threefold character and working, He entered Sheol. As Prophet, He has lighted up Sheol, and made it appear as the translation-state from the first to the second and higher life. As High-Priest, He has likewise changed the punishment of the realm of death by taking the penalty of sins freely upon Himself. As King, He has led captivity captive, and opened the prison-house of Sheol (Eph_4:8).
God has made all this sure by setting His seal to it in His resurrection. God Himself recognizes that courageous love and greeting of peace by which He carries His gospel back into that world which had crucified Him. God Himself sends Him back out of the Most Holy as a living sign of, and witness to, the perfect atonement. As the Redeemer, He comes forth in the glory of that triumph, which He shares with own: “O Death, where is thy sting! O Grave, where is thy victory!”
The unity of these results lies in this, that in Christ mankind have been virtually consecrated to their God, have died, been buried, descended into Sheol, risen again, ascended to heaven, and set down at the right hand of God.
Hence it is that the man who resists with demoniac unbelief this working of Christ, is cut off from humanity, and is handed over to the devil and his angels (Matthew 25).
But to receive the redeeming efficacy of Christ, is to enter into the communion of His life by the communion of His Spirit. This entrance is a prophetic faith, in that we recognize what Christ has become to us; a priestly faith, in that we yield us up to His atoning righteousness; a kingly faith, in that we make, in sanctification, His life our own. The unity of all this lies in the fact, that we die, are buried, rise, and ascend in Christ. As regards his spirit, the Christian belongs to Christ, and in so far all is finished and completed in his salvation; but as regards his nature, he belongs to the world, and in so far he awaits the general end of that world, and a general resurrection with that world.
9. “The intercourse and companionship of the Lord, after His resurrection, with His disciples, during the forty days of joy, bore manifestly a different character from what they did before His death. Through His death and resurrection, the glorification of His body had begun (the transformation of His body was completed);—for, although His resurrection-body bore the marks of the wounds, showing it to be the same body, it was no more subject to the bounds and laws of the bodily existence, as before.” Lisco. For the historic certainty of the resurrection of Jesus, see 1 Corinthians 15; Ullmann: What does the institution of the Christian Church through one who had been crucified presuppose? (Studien und Kritiken, 1832); Lange’s Leben Jesu, ii. 3, p. 1738. According to one explanation of the negative criticism of modern unbelief, Jesus was only apparently dead (Paulus); according to the other, the resurrection was an illusion (Strauss). When the two are combined, they are self-destructive.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Upon the entire .—The risen Saviour as the eternal King, the fundamental thought of this whole Easter history. We see from it: 1. How the storms of earth and the angels of heaven serve Him; 2. how neither Jewish seals nor Roman arms are any hindrance in His way; 3. how He annihilates the spite20 of His foes, and the anguish of His friends, by His resurrection; 4. how He moves along, elevated above the slanderous reports of foes, and the desponding apprehension of the disciples; 5. how unbounded is His power in heaven and earth; 6. how He is able to despatch, in the glory of the Trinity, His servants into all the world, with the message of salvation; 7. how sure, even at the beginning, He is of the homage of all the world; 8. how He is able, notwithstanding His approaching departure, to assure His own of His protecting, ever-abiding presence, as their consolation and their peace.
Upon this particular Section.—The morning of the resurrection-day. 1. The morning-dawn; or, the victory of light over darkness: the earthquake and the angels; the petrified guards and the open grave; the search for the Crucified—the message concerning the risen Lord; the fear and the great joy. 2. The sunrise: Christ’s manifestation; the greeting; the adoration; the commission.—The judgment of God, as revealed by the grave of Christ, compared with the world’s judgment: 1. The Sabbath of the law is passed; the Sunday of spiritual freedom breaks. 2. The earth shudders; heaven, with its angels, is manifested. 3. The stone, with the seal of authority broken, is rolled away; the herald of the risen Saviour sits triumphant upon the stone. 4. The armed guards lie powerless; women become heroines, and the messengers of the risen Redeemer. 5. Judæa is deposed of its dignity; Christ selects Galilee as the scene where He will unfold His glory. 6. The compact of darkness is destroyed; Christ, the Risen, salutes His own.—The gradual unfolding, to be perceived in the message of the resurrection, is a type of its glory.—The ghost-like stillness in which Christ’s resurrection is revealed, is prophetic and characteristic of the Christian life, and the Christian world.—The greatest miracle of omnipotence, in its gentle, heavenly manifestation.—The resurrection-morning the end of the old Sabbath: 1. The creation becomes spiritual, a spiritual world; 2. the rest becomes a festival; 3. the law becomes life.—Easter, the great Sunday, ever returning in the Christian Sabbath, the eternal Easter.—The way to the grave of Jesus: 1. The road thither: the visible grief (to anoint the Lord); the secret hope (to see the grave); the great experience—the stone, the angel, etc. 2. The return: fear and great joy; the salutation of Jesus; the commission.—The Mary of Christmas, and the two Marys of Easter; or, woman’s share in the great works of God.—First to Mary Magdalene; or, Christ risen for the pardoned sinner.—The grave of Christ transforms our graves.—The fact of the resurrection, an invisible mystery, rendered glorious by visible signs: 1. The invisible working of omnipotence, and its visible action; 2. the invisible entrance into existence of the new life of Christ, and the visible earth quake (the birth-pangs of earth); 3. the invisible entrance of the heavenly King into His spiritual kingdom, and the unseen spirit-messenger; 4. the invisible overthrow of the kingdom of darkness, and the visible guards (the servants of that kingdom) as dead men; 5. the invisible, new, victorious kingdom of Jesus, and the beginning of its revelation.—The angel from heaven; or, from heaven the decision comes. 1. Help in need; 2. the unsolving of the difficulty 3. the turning-point of history; 4. the change of the old; 5. the glorious issue of a remarkable guidance.—The angel sitting upon the stone, a representation of Christ’s victory: 1. In its full extent,—over the Gentile world and the Jewish world (soldiers and the official seal);—over the kingdom of darkness. 2. In its fullest completion,—seated in the shining garments of triumph.—The angel’s raiment, the Sunday ornament and attire in which the Easter festival is celebrated.—The twofold effect of Christ’s resurrection: 1. The old heroes tremble and are impotent, the desponding become heroic; 2. the living become as dead, and those who had been as dead become alive.—Fear not ye! And why not? 1. Because they seek Jesus; 2. because He is not in the grave, but is risen; 3. because the view of Himself awaits you.—Jesus the crucified, is the risen Saviour’s title of honor in heaven and on earth.—He is risen, as He said; or, Love is stronger than death; or, This great fulfilment is a pledge for all Christ’s promises.—And ye, too, shall rise, as He has said.—Come, see the place. The disciples’ view of the empty grave of Jesus: 1. The beginning of the certainty of the resurrection; 2. the beginning of the Christian’s blessedness; 3. the beginning of the world’s end.—The empty grave, and the empty graves.—Go quickly; or, whosoever has discovered the resurrection of Christ, must go and make it known.—All Christians are evangelists.—The union of fear and great joy: 1. That fear, which must burst into joy; 2. that joy, which must be rooted in fear.—They ran. The resurrection ends the old race, and begins a new race.—The appearance of the risen Lord: 1. What it presupposes: And as they went. 2. How it proceeds:21 a meeting, a greeting: All hail! 3. What it effects: And they came, etc. (Mat_28:9). 4. What it enjoins: Go, tell, etc. (Mat_28:10).—The relation of the Risen One to His people: 1. The old: they search and find one another, in faith and love. 2. A new: they worship Him; He calls them His brethren.—Joseph’s history is in this case fulfilled: he was sold by the sons of Israel, and yet revealed himself in his princely majesty to his brethren.—The repeated command to depart to Galilee,—its import (see above).—The resurrection of Jesus is the most certain fact of history: 1. It proves itself; 2. hence it is proven by the strongest proofs; 3. hence the proof is for our faith (our love and hope).—The resurrection, the fulfilling of the life of Jesus: 1. The wonder of wonders; 2. the salvation of salvation; 3. the life of life; 4. the heaven of the kingdom of heaven.
Starke:—From Zeisius: An earthquake occurs when Christ dies upon the cross, an earthquake occurs when He rises again, to testify unto the majestic power both of His victorious death and resurrection.—Christ’s glorified body, the great stone could not restrain.—Oh, cunning Reason! how silly art thou in spiritual and divine things!—Canstein: If we find no help on earth to overcome hindrances in the path of duty, help will be sent us from heaven.—We shall live with Him. Where the Head is, there are the members.—2Th_1:10; 1Th_4:13.—Nova Bibl. Tub.: Behold, how glorious, etc. So glorious shall be our resurrection.—As glorious and consoling as Christ’s resurrection is to the godly, so fearful is it to the godless.—Quesnel: God knows how at once to console His own, and to terrify the wicked, Exo_14:24.—Luther’s margin: Fear not ye, fear not ye: be joyful and consoled.—Zeisius: Fearful as the holy angels are unto the unholy, just so comforting are they unto the godly, as companions, in the approaching glory.—Canstein: The servants of the word should exercise the office of comforting angels, or God’s messengers of consolation, unto the anguished.—Bibl. Wirt.: As the woman was the first to sin, so have women been the first to realize Christ’s purchased righteousness.—Nova Bibl. Tub.: The joyful message of the resurrection, and its fruits, are not for coarse, worldly hearts, but for longing disciples.—Those who have really experienced the joy produced by the resurrection, are anxious to impart that joy to others.—Jesus comes to meet us when we seek Him.—My brethren. A designation dating from the resurrection, Heb_2:12. For the disciples, it indicates something great and most consolatory.—Joseph a type of this, Gen_45:4.—The world boasts always of its high titles; but we, who are Christ’s, have the highest, we are called His brethren.—We are heartily to forgive those who have not deserved well of us.
Gossner:—It gleams and flashes once more. Before, all was dark and sad; but now again the rays of crucified truth appear, and they illuminate ever more and more gloriously.
Lisco:—The women hear first that Jesus is risen. Then they see the empty grave, Mat_28:6. Finally, they see, feel, and speak to Jesus, Mat_28:9.—The certainty of Christ’s resurrection, 1Co_15:1-8. Its importance, 1Co_15:12; 1 Corinthians 1. Proof that Jesus is the Christ; 2. that His death is an offering for us; 3. the ground for our hope of a resurrection. By His death, all the preceding testimonies borne unto Him seem to be proved false; by His resurrection, it is proved that nothing has been disproved. His resurrection is the seal of our redemption, the beginning of His glorification and exaltation.—The Easter festival is a call to a spiritual resurrection.
Gerlach:—The Lord’s body now a different body, and yet the same: 1. Free from all the bonds of weakness, of suffering, of mortality. 2. The stigmata;22 He ate and drank (though He needed not food).—The Lord’s appearances, and all the accompanying circumstances, are in the highest degree full of meaning and importance. The women see the angels; the disciples do not. Jesus appears to the Magdalene, to Peter, to disciples on their way to Emmaus, to the Eleven; in each case, with the most tender and exact regard for the state of each.—All the external a revelation of the internal. So shall it one day be in our resurrection.
Heubner:—The awe of the resurrection-morning.—Christ’s resurrection the type of our own.—Every morning should remind us of the coming resurrection—Came Mary: The last witnesses by the grave are the first. We should seek God early.—[Rieger:]—They considered themselves bound to anoint Christ; but Christ must and will anoint them with the Holy Spirit and with power.—The earthquake a type of the awful convulsion of the earth at the last day and the general resurrection.—The angel a type of the appearance of the angels at the last day.—The form of the angel’s appearance. Servants as they are of the kingdom of light, their office is to introduce men into this kingdom.—The experiences of the guards, presages of what the unbelieving and sinners will experience at the last day.—Fear not ye! The higher spirit-world is the Christian’s home.—To seek Jesus is the way to life.—Nothing to be feared on that way.—The Lord is risen. The angel-world cries to the world of men, and all believers should cry to one another: “The Lord is risen.”—“Death, where is thy sting? Hell, where thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15).—Come and see: a summons to self-persuasion.—We should impart, spread abroad, the belief in the resurrection.—Our belief in the future life should thoroughly permeate our earthly life, and glorify it.—Christ’s resurrection reunites the scattered disciples.—Love plans for eternity.—In the case of the women, faith went first, then came sight.—The perfect brotherhood of Christ, a fruit of God’s adoption.—Three classes of topics for Easter: 1. Such in which the fact itself is considered; truth, certainty, power of the resurrection. 2. Such in which Christ’s resurrection is made to introduce a discourse upon our own; e.g., the resurrection, the festival of our immortality. 3. Such in which faith on Christ in general is handled; e. g., faith upon a living Christ.—Braune: The essence23 of Christianity is bound up with the cross, but its form and manifestation with the resurrection.—The Church has been founded by the preaching of the resurrection of Christ.—The Apostles designate themselves, with peculiar pleasure, the witnesses of the resurrection.—As the beginning of every life is hidden, so is the beginning of the life of the risen Lord hidden in mysterious darkness, Act_2:21.—Jesus has not simply taught the resurrection; He it the resurrection.—What caused the guards dismay, freed the women of anxiety.—With every advancing step, the path of eternal truth brightens.—The fear of the women quite different from that of the guards.—To My brethren: first He named them disciples, then friends, then little children; now, brethren.
From Sermons
Reinhard:—The Christian feast of Easter is a festival of perfect tranquillization: 1. Because it dissipates all the uneasiness and sorrow which disturb our peace; 2. because it wakens in us all those hopes which must confirm our peace.—Christ’s resurrection was the impartation of life unto God’s holy Church on earth, which owes to His resurrection; 1. Its existence; 2. its moral life; 3. its unceasing continuance.—Thiess:—The cross illuminated by the Easter sun.—Ranke:—A clear light is poured over the whole life of Christ by His resurrection.—Gaupp:—The Easter history is also the history of the believing soul.—Ahlfeld:—Jesus lives, and I with Him.—Otho; Easter comfort and Easter pleasure: 1. The sanctity of our graves; 2. the glory of the resurrection; 3. all our sins forgotten.—Petri: Christ’s life, our life. Let that be to-day: 1. Our Easter belief; 2. our Easter rejoicing.—Steinhofer: Life from the dead: 1. In the Saviour; 2. in His people.—Rautenberg: The Christian by his Redeemer’s open grave: 1. He lays his care in that grave; 2. he becomes at that spot sure of his salvation; 3. his heart is filled with rapture.—Brandt: Jesus Christ the victorious prince. We may consider: 1. The foes He has subdued; 2. the obstacles He has overcome; 3. the means used to secure this victory; 4. its results.—Jesus, the risen Saviour, an object for holy contemplation: 1. See the counsel of hell brought to nought by Him; 2. see the method of the divine government glorified by Him; 3. the tears of true love dried; 4. the misery of this earthly life transformed; 5. the work of salvation finished; 6. the human heart filled with the powers of God.—Geibel: The Lord’s resurrection, considered: 1. Historically; 2. in its necessity; 3. import; 4. and immediate results.—Fickenscher: What should the grave be to us Christians, now that Jesus is risen? 1. A place of rest; 2. of peace; 3. of hope; 4. of transfiguration.—Rambach: The glorious victory of the risen Saviour: 1. Glorious considered in itself:—(a) the most miraculous; (b) the most honoring; (c) the most glorious victory. 2. Glorious in its effects:—(a) a victory of light over darkness; (b) of grace over sin; (c) of life over death.—Dräseke: How Easter followed Good Friday: 1. As God’s Amen; 2. as men’s Hallelujah.—Sachse:—The stone rolled away. It seems to us: 1. The boundary-stone of blasphemy against God; 2. as the monumental stone of the most glorious victory; 3. as the foundation-stone of the building of Christ’s Church.—Fr. Strauss:24 A long, sacred history is today presented to us, the history of the Easter festival: 1. The long-continued preparation; 2. the glorious manifestation: 3. the continual development 4. the future consummation in heaven.—Alt: The new life to which Easter summons.—Liebner: How we should enter the companionship, and follow the example, of the early witnesses unto the resurrection.—Shultz: The verities of our faith, unto which the resurrection of our Lord bears a certain and irresistible tendency: 1. That Jesus is the Son of the living God; 2. that a perfect atonement has been presented to God for us, in the Lord’s death; 3. that our soul is immortal; 4. that our bodies also will rise.—All the difficulties in Christ’s life are resolved by Hit resurrection.—Heidenreich: What a friendly dawn broke upon redeemed and blessed humanity on the morning of the resurrection!—Schleiermacher: How the consciousness of the imperishable overcomes the pain caused by the loss of the perishable.—The life of the resurrection of our Lord a glorious type of our new life.—Canstein: The joy of the Easter morning in the future world: 1. What shall it be? 2. who shall enjoy it?—F. A. Wolf: The true Christian, upon the festival of the resurrection, looks back as gratefully unto the past, as he gazes joyfully into the future.—Three stages in the spiritual life are to be observed in the history of those to whom the risen Redeemer became the closest friend: 1. A sadness, which seeks Jesus; 2. a hope, which springs up at the first intimation of His presence; 3. the joyful certainty, to have found and recognized the Redeemer.—Tzschirner: The sufferings of time in the light of eternal glory.—Death, the new birth into a new life.—Genzken: The path of faith in the risen Saviour.—Markeineke: The resurrection of Jesus is the, main pillar of our salvation.—Theremin: Christ’s resurrection should awaken us to repentance.—Niemann: The belief in the new world of immortality which opened unto us in the Lord’s resurrection.
Footnotes:
[1][In German: Ostermorgen, and below, sub 2., Osterabend. The Edinb. edition substitutes for these terms morning after the Sabbath, and evening after the Sabbath, and studiously avoids throughout the whole section the mention of Easter (the Christian resurrection-feast) altogether or substitutes for it the Jewish passover, which had now lost its [illigeble]for the Christians; the shadow having disappeared in the substance.—P. S.]
[2][Not: Sabbath, as the Edinb. translation here and elsewhere translates Sonntag, even where Lange uses Sabbath the Jewish sense as in the sentence immediately preceding. By substituting Sabbath in this passage the Edinb. editict[illegible] simply repeats the preceding sentence, and by omitting the sentences which follow altogether, it withholds from the reader an argument for the apostolic origin of the observance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath.—P. S.]
[3][Here again the Edinb. edition translates am ersten Ostertage: the first day after the Sabbath, which must mean the Jewish sabbath, and yet in the same sentence immediately afterward it uses Sabbath (for Sonntag) in the Christian sense, without a word of explanation to prevent the Inevitable confusion.—P. S.]
[4][Literally: Easter-faith, Osterglaube, which the Edinb. edition, in its unreasonable opposition to the term Easter, renders: Passover-faith, which is bad English and conveys a false meaning by obliterating the distinction between the typical shadow of the Jewish passover and the substance of the Christian resurrection-festable. So further below the Edinb. edition has Passover-occurrences, Passover-transactions, Passover-history, and similar heavy ompounds to avoid Easter.—P.S.]
[5]Mat_28:1.—[The usual translation of ὀψὲ (sero) σαββάτων is: toward the end of the sabbath, or late in the sabbath, meaning the closing period near the end, but still during the sabbath; comp. ὀψὲ τῆς ἡμέρας, late in the day, ὀψὲ τῆς ᾑλικίας, late in life. Vulgate: vespere sabbati; Beza: extremo sabbato; Tyndale: the sabbath day at even; Coverdale: upon the evening of the sabbath holy day; Cranmer, Genevan, and Bishops’ Versions: In the latter end of the sabbath day; Lange: um die Endezeit des Sabbaths; Meyer, Alford, Conant, etc. But in this case we must assume with Meyer, Lange, and Alford, that Matthew here follows the natural division of the day from sunrise to sunrise, which seems to be favored by the following definition of time, but which is contrary to the Jewish habit and the Jewish-Christian character and destination of the first Gospel. ὀψὲ, with the genitive, may also mean after or long after, like ὀψὲ τῶν βασιλέως χρόνων (Plutarch. Numbers 1), or ὀψὲ μυστηρίων, when the mysteries were over (Philostrat. Vit Apoll. Mat_4:18). Hence olshausen, dc Wette, Ewald, Bleek, Campbell, Norton, Robinson (sub ὀψὲ, No. 2), Crosby translate: nach verfluss des Sabbaths, Sabbath being over, or being ended, after the sabbath (also the French Version: apres le sabbat). Euthym. Zigabenus, Grotius, Stier, and Wieseler translate: at the end of the week; also Greswell, who translates: Now late in the week, at the hour of dawn, against the first day of the week; for the plural σάββατα, like the Hebrew שַׁבָּתוֹת, means a week as well as a sabbath or sabbaths, comp. Mar_16:2; Luk_24:1; Joh_20:1; Joh_20:19, and Mat_28:1. It is certain and agreed on all hands that Matthew means the time after the close of the Jewish sabbath, the time before day-break on the first day of the week or the Christian Sunday. This is plain from the following τῇ ἐπιφωσκον́σῃ εἰς μίαν σαββάτων, and confirmed by the parallel passages; comp. διαγενομένου τοῦ σαββάτου, Mar_16:1; τῆ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων ὄρθρου βαθέος Luk_24:1; and τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων πρωί̈, σκοτίας ἔτι οὔσης Joh_20:1.—P. S.]
[6]Ver.1.—[Lit.: at the dawning, or as it was dawning into the first day of the week (Conant), or: in the dawn of the first day (Norton), i.e., toward sunrise of Sunday. In connection with τῇ ἐπιφωσκον́σῃ supply ἡμέρᾳ or ὥρᾳ. The term μὶα σαββάτων agrees with the Rabbinical signification of the days of the week: אחד בשכת, Sunday; שני בשבת Monday; שלרשי בשבת, Tuesday, etc. See Lightfoot, p. 500. As σάββατα in the second clause certainly means week and not the sabbath day, it seems natural to understand it the same way in the first clause, as Grotius, Wieseler, and Stier, who renders: Als aber die Woche um war und der erste Wochentag anbrechen wollte.—P. S.]
[7]Ver.2.—[The definite article before angel is not justified by the Greek: ἄγγελος κυρίου, and suggests a false interpretation as if a particular angel, the angel of the covenant, was meant. In Mat_2:19 all English Versions correctly render: an angel, but in Mat_1:20; Mat_1:24; Mat_2:13, and here, they follow Tyndale in prefixing the article.—P. S.]
[8]Ver.2—The words: ἀπὸτῆςθς́ρας, are wanting in B., D., and rejected by other authorities; probably, an exegetical addition. [They are also omitted in Cod. Sinait., ancient versions, and fathers, and thrown out by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Meyer, and Alford.—P. S.]
[9]Ver.8.—B., C.,L, etc., and Tischendorf, read, instead of ἐξελθοῦσαι, ἀπελθοῦσαι; and, judging from internal grounds, this is the more probable reading. [Cod. Sinait. sustains ἀπελθον͂σαι, which is also adopted by Alford, while Lachmann retains ἐξελθοῦσαι. The latter: they went out, would imply that the women had entered Into the sepulchre, to “the place where the Lord lay.”—P. S.]
[10]Ver.8.—[In Greek: ἀπαγεῖλαι. This verb is translated in three different ways in the English Version in this section: to bring word, ver.8; to tell, vers.9,10; and to shew, in ver.11. Such frequent change is hardly justifiable, certainly unnecessary, since tell would answer as well in all these cases.—P. S.]
[11]Ver.9.—The words: as they went to tell his disciples, are omitted in B., D., and many other MSS. and versions. Griesbach and Scholz would insert, Lachmann and Tischendorf omit. Meyer considers the words an explanatory gloss. [Cod. Sinait., Origen, Chrysostom, etc., and of critical editors, Mill, Bengel, Alford, and Tregelles, likewise favor the omission. Scrivener is wrong when he asserts that “Lachmann alone dares to expunge them.” Meyer and Alford correctly observe that ὡς ἐπορεὐοντο is foreign to the usage of Matthew. It is certain that the words can be easily spared; yet on the other hand, they are solemn, and their omission can be readily explained from homœotel., the recurrence of αν̓τον͂.—P. S.]
[12][Comp the translator’s Critical Note No. 1 above.—P. S.]
[13][Meyer, In the fourth and fifth editions of his Commentary, admits that ὀψέ, sero, with genitive (which occurs nowhere else in the N. T.), means also: lange nach, long after, and quotes Plut. Numbers 1; but the length of time is not necessarily implied, comp. ὀψέ μυστηρίων, after the mysteries, in Philostratus, Vita Apoll. Mat_4:18.—P. S.]
[14][So Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustine. The fathers compare the resurrection from the closed tomb to the birth of Christ from the closed womb of the Virgin, ut ex clauso Virginis utero natus, sic ex clause sepulchro resurrexit in quo nemo conditus fuerat, et postquam resurrexeisset se per clausas fores in conspectum apostolorum induœit (Greg. M.). See the quotation from Jerome in the translator’s note on Mat_27:60, p. 536. The orthodox Protestant commentators likewise assume generally that the resurrection took place before the stone was rolled away.— P. S.]
[15][The Edinb. edition translates supernaturalistische by unnatural. But every tyro in divinity ought to know the essential difference between supernatural or superrational, i. e., what is above nature and above reason (as is every miracle and specific doctrine of Christianity), and unnatural or irrational, i e., what is contrary to nature and to reason. Lange does not mean to characterize the view of the fathers as unnatural, but as unnecessarily adding another miracle—the passing through a stone—to the resurrection itself. Burkitt and M. Henry assume, that while Christ could have rolled back the stone by His own power, He chose to have it done by an angel, to signify that He did not break prison, but had a fair and legal discharge from heaven. In the case of Lazarus the stone was removed from the grave before he was raised by Christ to a new natural life. But the stone could hardly be a hindrance to Him who raised Himself by His own power to an eternal heavenly life and who afterward appeared to the disciples through closed doors (Joh_20:19; Joh_20:26). The stone may have been rolled away merely for the sake of the women and the disciples, that they might go into the empty tomb and see the evidence of the resurrection. This at all events is the more usual orthodox interpretation.—P. S.]
[16][Similarly Wordsworth: ὐμεῖς] emphatic: Let the Roman soldiers fear (ver.4)—not ye,—weak women though ye be.” Meyer (in the fifth edition) maintains against de Wette and others that the personal pronoun is always emphatic in the N. T., even Mar_13:9; Act_8:24.—P. S.]
[17][So also In the fifth edition, p. 613, although he expressly admits the historical character of the appearances of Christ both in Judæa and in Galilee. “Dass Jesus Sowohl in Jerusalem Als Auch in Galiläa den Jüngern erschienen sei, ist schon aus dem Bestehen der Judäischen und der Galiläischen Ueberlieferung neben einander als geschichtliches Ergebniss zu schliessen, wird aber zweifellos durch Johannes, wenn, wie anzunehmen, Kap. 21 das Work des Apostels ist. So kommt man allerdings zu dem Geschichtsbestande, dass die Judäischen Erscheinungen den Galiläischen vorangegangen sind; aber dabei ist nicht zu übersehen, dass der Bericht des Matthäus nichts von den Judäischen Erscheinungen weiss, weil im Zusammenhang seiner Erzählung nirgends ein Platz für sie ist.” Meyer regards this supposed ignorance of the first Gospel as one of the arguments for his hypothesis that in its present Greek form it is not the work of the Apostle Matthew. This conclusion is too rash. It is sufficient in the case to say, with the late Dr. Bleek, one of the most careful and conscientious critics, that Matthew’s account is a brief condensation. But see Dr. Lange’s forcible remarks above, which Meyer ought to have noticed in the fifth edition.—P. S.]
[18][The Edinb. edition omits the name of Mark, and refers this sentence to the early written Gospel of Matthew, to which it does not apply at all, since Matthew relates the Manifestation of the risen Saviour in Galilee.—P. S.]
[19][Not: unworthy of one who, etc., as the Edinb. ed. mistranslates Lange, who opposes opinions only, and never indulges in personalities which would mar the dignity of s commentary.—P. S.]
[20][Not: consolation, as the Edinb. edition reads, evidently mistaking the German Trotz for Trost.—P. S.]
[21][In German: Wie sie vor sich geht, which the Edinb edition renders: How it anticipates itself!—P. S.]
[22][In German: die Wundenmaale, the technical term a for the marks or traces of the five wounds of the Saviour, the prints of the nails in the hands, etc., which Thomas wished to handle, before submitting to the belief in the fact of the resurrection (Joh_20:25; Joh_20:27). They are here referred to as a proof of the identity of the body of our Lord. The Edinb. edition makes here another ridiculous and incredible blunder by translating this familiar German expression (composed of Wunden, i. e, wounds, and Maale, i.e., moles): meals of wonder, as if the text spoke of Wunder-malzeiten.!—P. S.]
[23][Das wesen, which the Edinb. edition mistranslates: the existence (dus sein, Dasein, die Exisitenz). The existence of Christianity and the founding of the Church depends rather on the resurrection, as is expressly stated is the sentence immediately following.—P. S.]
[24][Court preacher and professor of practical theology in the university of Berlin, died 1862, a man of altogether different spirit from his namesake of Leben Jesu notoriety.— P. S.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain § 145. — THE WOMEN’S FIRST VISIT TO THE…
§ 145. — THE WOMEN’S FIRST VISIT TO THE SEPULCHRE, Mat_28:1; Mat_28:5-8.
closed at sunset. As it began to dawn — John says, “when it was yet dark;” Luke says, “very early;” Mark says, “very early… at the rising of the sun.” There seems to be here at first sight a contradiction or two as to the precise time. No complotters to fabricate a tale would have allowed such discrepancy, and the narratives are therefore independent.
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Now the visit to the sepulchre is a transaction which may have covered hours; extending from the first start from home until they left the sepulchre. Be it then that the Marys started at four o’clock, and after the company gathered proceeded on their way. By some unknown means, (perhaps the delay in the opening of the city gates,) they may not have arrived until the east was reddening with solar rays, and the sunrise may without difficulty be supposed to have shed its first beams upon them at the sepulchre. Yet it may be easily shown that the phrase rising of the sun may indicate not merely the time when the sun has visibly risen above the horizon, but the time when he is sensibly about rising to it.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary — The other Mary was sister to the virgin Mother. Both were left by the evangelists at the sepulchre, Mat_27:61. Mark says that Salome (the mother of James and John) was with the Marys. These women came, not expecting the resurrection, but bringing spices for the embalmment. They had no knowledge of the watch or the sealing, but wondered who should roll away the stone. Little dreamed they that the body was embalmed with immortality; or that angel’s hands had opened the door of the tomb.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. as it began to dawn] At the rising…
1. as it began to dawn] At the rising of the sun, or properly, “when the sun had risen” (Mark). Both St Mark and St Luke mention that they brought spices and ointments.
Ch. Mat_28:1-8. The Resurrection
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Mar_16:1-8; Luk_24:1-12; Joh_20:1-18
The discrepancies are slight, and may be accounted for by the agitation of the witnesses of this momentous scene. To the women named in this Gospel St Mark adds Salome; St Luke, Joanna and other women; St John names Mary Magdalene only. St Luke and St John mention the visit of Peter to the sepulchre, St John adding “that other disciple.” This Evangelist also records the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene in the garden.
The order of events was probably this: First, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, having come early to the tomb, were addressed by the Angel and saw the empty sepulchre; they hasten to inform Peter and the other disciples; Peter and John visit the tomb and depart; Mary Magdalene, left alone, beholds her Lord, whom at first she does not recognise; soon afterwards the Lord appears a second time to Mary Magdalene, now in the company of other women.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) It will probably help the student to place…
XXVIII.
(1) It will probably help the student to place before him, in their right order, the recorded appearances of our Lord Jesus after His resurrection:—
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(1.) To Mary Magdalene, Joh_20:14; Mar_16:9.
(2.) To Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, Mat_28:9.
(3.) To Peter, Luk_24:34; 1Co_15:5.
(4.) To Cleopas and another disciple at Emmaus, Luk_24:13-35.
(5.) To the eleven, or more strictly, the ten Apostles at Jerusalem, Mar_16:14; Luk_24:36; Joh_20:19.
(6.) To the eleven Apostles at Jerusalem, Joh_20:26.
(7.) To the disciples—five named, and others—by the Sea of Galilee, Joh_21:1-24.
(8.) To the Eleven on a mountain in Galilee, Mat_28:16; Mar_16:15.
(9.) To the five hundred brethren, possibly identical with.
(8), 1Co_15:6.
(10.) To James the brother of the Lord, 1Co_15:7.
(11.) To the Eleven at Jerusalem before the Ascension, Mar_16:19-20; Luk_24:50; Act_1:3-12.
In the end of the sabbath.—Literally, late on the Sabbath; St. Mark, “when the Sabbath was over;” St. Luke, “very early in the morning.” St. Matthew’s addition, “as it began to dawn,” brings his narrative into harmony with St. Luke’s. The order of facts appears to have been as follows:—(1) Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of James the Little, watched the burial just before the Sabbath began on the evening of the day of the crucifixion. (2.) They stayed at home during the twenty-four hours of the Sabbath. (3.) On the evening of that day (the Sabbath-rest being over) they bought spices for the embalmment. (4.) At earliest dawn, say about 4 A.M., they set out to make their way to the sepulchre, and they reached it when the sun had risen (Mar_16:2).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 1-10. Jesus rises from the dead, and appears…
Vers. 1-10. Jesus rises from the dead, and appears to the holy women. (Mar_16:1-8 Luk_24:1-12Jo Luk_20:1-10) It is to be noted that there are great and important variations in the four (or, with St. Paul"s, 1Co 15., the five) accounts of the events of the Resurrection, which have given welcome occasion to the sceptic to cast doubts upon the whole transaction. The divergences in the narratives are plainly to be ascribed to the facts that the writers did not depend upon one another, nor draw their accounts from one source; that each gives only an incomplete history, introducing those details with which he was familiar, or which it suited his plan to recount. On all main points the agreement is perfect, and every difference could be easily reconciled, if we knew the whole of the circumstances and the exact sequence of each word and act during this momentous period. Attempts at harmonizing the various accounts have been made with more or less success by writers from St. Augustine to the present time; but as they vary in many particulars, and have no authoritative basis, dependence cannot be placed upon them. The narrative in St. Matthew is brief and imperfect, and we shall chiefly confine our remarks to the exposition of the actual text before us, without importing much matter from the other evangelists.
In the end of the sabbath; oqe sabbatwn : late on the sabbath; Vulgate, vespere sabbati. The expression is obscure. In the parallel passage of St. Mark we read, "When the sabbath was past." We must take it that St. Matthew is thinking of the sabbath as extending, not from evening to evening, but till the following morning. "So that it is not the accurate Jewish division of time, according to which the sabbath ended at six on Saturday evening, but the ordinary civil idea of a day, which extended from sunrise to sunrise (or at least adds the night to the preceding day)" (Lange). We have, then, now arrived at the commencement of the first Christian Easter Day. As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week; eiv mian sabbatwn : in prima sabbati (Vulgate); literally, unto one day of sabbath; i.e. one day after the sabbath, the Jews reckoning their days in sequence from the sabbath, and Christians at first carrying on the same practice, as we see in Act_20:7 1Co_16:2. Later Christians named the days of the week in sequence from the Sunday, which was the first day, Monday being the second day, feria secunda, and so on. Came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (see on Mat_27:61) to see the sepulchre. Love cannot abandon its object, living or dead. There were probably other women with these two, or perhaps there were two separate bands of women who in this early morning visited the sepulchre. Among these Mary Magdalene stands prominently forward, first in love and first in care. She and the rest evidently knew nothing of the sealing of the stone or the posting of the guards. St. Matthew"s expression, "to see (yewrhsai , "to gaze upon," "contemplate") the sepulchre," conveys only a partial notice of the object of their visit. They came not only to take a view of the tomb, but also to embalm the Lord"s body, for which necessary preparations had been made, the approach of the sabbath on the evening of the Crucifixion having cut short the arrangements. We know from St. Mark that they were perplexed about the difficulty of removing the stone, and St. Matthew may be referring to a preliminary inspection made in regard of this impediment. Our Gospel omits mention of the intention of embalming the corpse, as the Resurrection rendered it impracticable; and, indeed, the Lord"s body had already been anointed for his burial by Mary of Bethany.
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Vers. 1-10. The Resurrection.
I THE ANGEL AT THE SEPULCHRE.
1. The holy women. The great sabbath was over. It had been a busy day in the temple; all had been done as usual. The priests little thought, while performing their elaborate ritual, that the one great Sacrifice, Oblation, and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, the Sacrifice of which all their sacrifices were but figures, had been offered up on Calvary. Yet the great darkness and the portents which had marked the moment of the Saviour"s death must have excited attention at Jerusalem, must have harrowed the consciences of many, and filled the whole city with uneasiness and doubt and awe. Strange anxieties must have disturbed the rest of that sabbath. Men went about asking strange questions of one another. Strange forebodings filled the air. The priests especially must have been full of excitement and anxiety. Their chiefs had been foremost in urging the Crucifixion; and the rent veil must have filled them with wonder and terror. What could it mean? The holy of holies lay exposed the awful place, which no human being might behold, save only the high priest, and that but once a year, with solemn rites of expiation. It must have seemed to them a tremendous portent, foreboding some great change, some stupendous event. Even the cold indifferent Sadducees must have been stirred into anxious expectation by a prodigy so significant, so startling, so plainly preternatural. This feeling had constrained them to apply to the hated Gentiles even on the sabbath. Herod had employed his soldiers to slay, if it were possible, the infant King of the Jews. The chief priests employed the Roman soldiers to prevent, if it were possible, the resurrection of him whose cross had borne the title which the Wise Men from the East had attributed to the holy Child Jesus. But if that sabbath had been a disturbed and anxious day to the enemies of our Lord, what must it have been to his disciples? They had watched, some few of them, the awful scene on Calvary. Most of them had fled in terror. The Lord had put forth no supernatural powers, as perhaps they had hoped; there had been no armies of angels coming to his help, no display of Divine glory to crush his foes. He was dead, buried out of their sight. They forgot all that the prophets had spoken, all that the Lord himself had said about his resurrection on the third day. Even the circumstances of his death, its calm majesty, its attendant wonders, did not restore their lost faith. "We were hoping," they said, "that it was he which should redeem Israel." But now their hopes were crushed, their faith was gone. The one terrible fact of his death had overwhelmed them in utter despair. They had expected an earthly kingdom in spite of all his many warnings. That Jewish notion of the Messiah"s reign had taken entire possession of their hearts. And now that hope had vanished altogether. The Lord had not taken the throne of David; he had died upon the cross, the death of extremest ignominy. They were sunk in misery and disappointment and despondency. The chief priests called to remembrance that they had been told of his predicted resurrection. Hatred is sometimes more keen sighted than love. The disciples seem to have had no hope at all. That sad sabbath day must have been clouded by many remorseful memories of broken promises and selfish fears how all, save one, had left him at the last, and forsaken him in his agony who had loved them with so great a love. But the long hours of that sorrowful sabbath were over at last; the first day of the week was dawning that day which was to be the first day of a new life, which was to be consecrated throughout the great Christian Church as the beginning of new hopes, new aspirations; the first great Easter Day was shedding its faint glimmering light through the surrounding darkness; and the holy women came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and afterwards, it seems from St. Mark and St. Luke, Salome and Joanna. They had watched the burial some of them, at least. Perhaps they were not allowed to approach at the time; perhaps only Joseph, who had obtained the governor"s leave, and Nicodemus, a man of rank and authority like Joseph, were permitted on that Friday afternoon to touch the body of the Lord. But the women followed after, and beheld where he was laid. They were last at the sepulchre on the first Good Friday; they were the first to see the empty tomb on the first great Easter Day. They came to see the sepulchre anoint," St. Mark says, the body of him whom they had regarded with a Jove so deep and reverent. They had prepared spices and ointments before the sabbath; they came as soon as the sabbath rest permitted to fulfil their work of love. But that very love, deep and true as it was, expressed itself in preparations which showed that they understood not the Saviour"s words, or at least that the awful events of Friday had shaken their belief and destroyed their hopes. Neither Joseph and Nicodemus nor the holy women seem to have had any thought of seeing the Lord in life again. Joseph willingly gave his own new tomb to receive the dear remains. Perhaps he thought that one day his own bones might rest with the honoured body of him whom he so loved and reverenced. None of the followers of the Lord, not even those apostles who had been nearest to him, seem to have remembered those words of his which ought to have been their greatest comfort in the hour of darkness. The shock had been so great; they were so horrified, terror-stricken, bewildered. So it is with us sometimes in great pain, in overwhelming sorrow. We cannot collect our thoughts; we can scarcely pray; there seems to be no hope, nothing but darkness. It may give us some comfort to think that even saints, even apostles, shared this human weakness. But let us remember that in their despair they still loved the Lord; if they had lost hope, they still came to the sepulchre; if they thought that he could give them no help, that they had a living Lord no more, at least they clung to his sacred memory, and came to watch over and to care for his lifeless body. Let us in our sufferings try to keep the thought of the suffering Lord close to our very hearts. If there are times when we cannot find joy in the thought of his glory and majesty, let us try to find peace in the thought of his cross, his death, his burial. Let us pray that our anguish may be made the means of bringing us into closer sympathy with the suffering Lord, into "the fellowship of his sufferings; for if we have become united with him by the likeness of his death, we shall be also by the likeness of his resurrection.
2. The descent of the angel. The women had said among themselves, "Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?" It was a task beyond their strength, and they were troubled. There was no need for their anxiety. So we often trouble ourselves about the future; we wonder how this or that difficulty shall be overcome; who shall save us from this or that threatening calamity. "Let not your heart be troubled," saith the Lord; "ye believe in God, believe also in me." "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." Those fears of ours, those anxious thoughts which almost wear us out, come from want of faith. How often the event proves that there was no ground for them! We fretted ourselves vainly, we made needless vexations for ourselves; for after all the threatened trouble never came; or, if it did come, it was not so terrible; God gave us strength to bear it. It was so now. One stronger than they had rolled away the stone. There was a great earthquake. A mighty angel had come down from heaven; his appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow. What could the Roman soldiers do in the presence of that effulgent, blinding radiance? For fear of him the watchers did quake (the very earth had quaked at his approach), and became as dead men. The mere sight of one angel of the Lord affrighted them into utter helplessness. How would it have fared with the presumptuous multitude who seized the Saviour in Gethsemane, had he, who is the Lord God of hosts, summoned those heavenly legions? Then he meekly yielded himself; for he willed to suffer and to die that we might live forever. Now his humiliation was over, the hour of his triumph was come; one angel of the Lord scattered the Roman guard. The strength of man is helpless to withstand the will of God.
3. His address to the women. He had done what the women knew was beyond their strength; he had rolled away the stone; they found him sitting on it in his glorious beauty. The blessed angels terrify the enemies of the Lord; they bring joy and gladness to his chosen. The soldiers lay on the ground prostrate, like dead men. The holy women started at the glorious vision, but the heavenly music of the angel"s voice soon gave them peace and joy. "Fear not ye ," the angel said. The pronoun is emphatic. The guards had cause to fear; not so those faithful women. The angel knew what had brought them there their love and devotion for the crucified Saviour. But there was no need of their ointments and spices; there was no use for them; for the angel said, "He is not here; he is risen, as he said." There was something, perhaps, of gentle reproof in those words. The Lord had said again and again that he would rise again the third day; his disciples should have remembered his words; they should not have been thus hopeless and despairing; they should have looked forward, despite the agonies of the cross, despite the sealing of the tomb, to the glory of the Resurrection. That prophecy was now fulfilled; they might see the empty tomb: "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." They entered into the sepulchre, St. Mark tells us; they saw that the Lord was gone. The angel sent them to bear the great Easter tidings to the apostles. The apostles had not shown the courage, the affectionate devotion, of these holy women. St. John alone had stood beside the cross; no apostle, as far as we are told, had witnessed the burial. The women, too, were the first to visit the sepulchre; their devotion was rewarded; they first heard the glad tidings; they had the privilege of bearing the blessed news to the apostles, who were to be the witnesses of the Lord"s resurrection and to preach his glorious gospel throughout the world. Holy women have often been the means of bringing to the faith of Christ those who have afterwards laboured most abundantly in the Saviour"s cause. The angel repeated his charge: "Lo, I have told you," he said. They might not doubt; they had heard the great truth from an angel"s lips.
II THE RISEN LORD.
1. The women on their way. They went at once, they ran. Their hearts were filled with mingled feelings. There was fear, they could not look upon that form, bright as the lightning flash, without something of dread; but there was a great joy which overcame their fear. The Lord was risen. The thought was too great for them; it thrilled their hearts with strange, unwonted throbbings. But they went as they were bidden; and as they went a holier than an angel"s voice fell upon their ears. The Lord manifests himself to those who work for him, who in obedience and faith carry to others the blessed story of his cross and his resurrection.
2. The meeting with the Lord. Jesus met them on their way. Suddenly, in a moment, they saw the gracious form of their beloved Master; they looked once more upon that holy face, no longer stained with blood or fixed in death, but gazing on them with his wonted look of heavenly love in the full majesty of manifest Deity. "All hail!" he said; "rejoice!" Fear and joy were struggling in their hearts; but joy was the right feeling; there was no need to fear. "All hail! rejoice!" it was an ordinary formula of salutation; often a mere conventional greeting, but coming from those lips it spoke volumes; it was full of meaning, deep, holy, blessed meaning. It was the fulfilment of those precious words of his, "Ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." The presence of the Lord bringeth joy. There is no joy so full and so holy, so sweet and so abiding, as that joy in the Lord which is granted to those who in patience and humility have taken up the cross, denying themselves daily for Christ"s sake, recognizing in their hearts and lives the great truth that, since the Lord died for all, they which live should live no longer unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. These women loved the Lord; they had ministered to him; now they were going to tell the glad tidings of his resurrection. He met them himself; he bade them "Rejoice!" There, and there only, is true joy to be found, in the love of Christ, in work for Christ, in communion with Christ. They came and held him by the feet and worshipped him. They bowed themselves to the ground beore him in lowliest adoration. They felt something of that great awe mixed with exceeding joy which the next Sunday forced from the lips of the once unbelieving Thomas the exclamation of adoring faith, "My Lord and my God!" Their joy was too great for words; they could only offer him the worship of their hearts, prostrating themselves, holding those holy feet which three days before had been nailed to the cruel cross, scarcely able to look into his face for awe and wonder and overpowering joy. So the Christian falls down in adoring worship when the Lord reveals himself to the longing soul. When we see him by faith, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, when he manifesteth himself to his chosen as he doth not unto the world, when he saith, "Rejoice!" then they feel the truth of that most precious beatitude, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed;" then, though they see him not as the Marys saw his gracious face, yet, believing, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. In such moments his people offer up to him a holy worship worship in spirit and in truth, such as, in his condescending love, he seeketh; a worship not selfish, not prayer for our own sakes, for the supply of our own needs, but higher than prayer; a worship which thinks not of self, but only of the Lord, which loses sight of self in the contemplation of his love, his holiness, his majesty, his glory. Such is the worship of his saints in heaven; so we must seek to worship in our poor way on earth.
3. The message. The Lord calmed their agitation. "Be not afraid!" The angel had said the same, but the Lord"s words were sweeter music even than the angelic voice. Fear was mingled even now with their great joy; human nature cannot but fear in the awful presence of God. But the Lord in his tender mercy taught them that, though risen now from the dead, he was still, not only very God, but also very Man. He sent them with the first Easter greetings to the apostles to his brethren, as for the first time he deigned to call them. It was a message of love, a message of forgiveness. They had not acted as brethren should; they had forsaken the Lord in the hour of danger. But he recognized the truth of their love; he forgave their weakness, their terrors; he was "not ashamed to call them brethren." It was a gracious message indeed, full of sweetness to the sorrowing, conscience-stricken apostles. They were to meet the Lord in Galilee; there he would announce to them his assumption of Divine power and majesty; there they should receive the full apostolic commission and the promise of his continual presence unto the end. There were other meetings during the great forty days; but St. Matthew, who was led to dwell mainly upon the majesty and glory of the risen Lord, hastens to that great meeting, so full of momentous consequences, when the Lord in his royal power gave authority to his apostles to baptize all nations into the most holy Name.
LESSONS.
1. The holy women loved the Lord. Let us imitate that affectionate reverent love.
2. They said, "Who shall roll us away the stone?" Let us trust in God; the Lord will provide.
3. The angel said, "Fear not ye." The holy angels minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation.
4. The Lord met the holy women; he said, "Rejoice!" May we share that holy joy!
5. They worshipped him. Let us learn to worship here, that we may one day worship in heaven.
HOMILIES BY MARCUS DODS Vers. 1-10. Lessons of the Resurrection.
The four evangelists concur in setting forth the three successive steps in the evidence by which our Lord"s incredulous followers were at length persuaded of the reality of his resurrection. These are:
1. The fact of the sepulchre being found empty.
2. The testimony of the angels who were seen in it.
3. The appearances of our Lord himself.
On these points we shall not now particularly dwell, but direct attention to certain side lights which the narrative affords. Thus it teaches us
I THAT THERE ARE SPIRITUAL BEHIND THE MECHANICAL AGENCIES IN NATURE.
1. This is evident in the angels work.
(1) The earthquake is attributed to him. "Behold, there was an earthquake; for an angel of the Lord," etc. The rolling away of the stone, in like manner, is ascribed to him. Whatever mechanical agencies were in commission here, angelical energy was behind them.
(2) This is not the sole example of the exertion of such energy in the production of physical effects. Angels smote the Sodomites with blindness, and brought down a torrent of fire and brimstone upon the cities of the plain. (see Gen_19:11, Gen_19:13) They brought the pestilence upon Israel in the days of David, by which seventy thousand were destroyed, and in the days of Hezekiah they smote a hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians. (see 2Sa_24:16 2Ki_19:35) An angel dissolved the chain that bound Peter in Herod"s prison, and made the doors fly open before him. (see Act_12:6-11)
(3) Within narrower limits human spirits exert energy in the material world. The microcosm, the body, responds to the will. Through the medium of the body we act upon the macrocosm around. We change the course of rivers, tunnel mountains, cut waterways through continents, modify climates, alter the flora and fauna of a country, give direction and development to instincts in animals.
(4) The universe is dual, viz. spiritual and material. These complements mutually act and react. The spiritual cannot be divorced from the physical. Any system of natural philosophy that tails to recognize this is essentially deficient.
(5) One grand use of miracles is to force this truth upon our consideration. A miracle is not necessarily an inversion of the laws of nature, though to a limited knowledge such may appear to be the case. It is rather the evidence of the presence behind materialism of a superior spiritual agency. "The works which none other did". (see Joh_15:24)
2. In the manner in which he impressed the senses.
(1) He rendered himself visible. The watch saw him, and were in consequence stricken with terror. This terror was deepened by their having felt the earthquake and seen the rolling away of the stone. He sat upon the stone in tranquil triumph in their presence, as if defying the armies of earth and hell to repined it or to hinder the resurrection of the Redeemer. The women also saw him. His appearance generally was that of a young man. (see Mar_16:15) But his countenance, or rather his whole form, was bright, "like lightning." His raiment was white as snow whitened by the lightning brightness transmitted from his Person. This white radiance was the emblem at once of purity, joy, and triumph, and eminently suitable to the tidings he bore. (cf. Act_1:10 Act_10:30)
(2) He rendered himself audible. He used the voice and language of humanity to give to the women comfort, instruction, and direction.
(3) Whether, however, these visual and audible impressions were made upon the physical organs of the witnesses or upon the spiritual senses in them corresponding, is not certain, though the presumption is that the physical senses were addressed, since mechanical force was undoubtedly exerted in producing the earthquake and in the removal of the stone. We should ever recognize God in nature.
II THAT THE RESURRECTION BODY IS ENDOWED WITH ETHERIAL PROPERTIES.
1. Such was the case with the body of Jesus.
(1) His resurrection was not witnessed by the watch. They felt the earthquake; they saw the angel; they witnessed the rolling away of the stone; but Jesus they saw not. Note: He does not reveal himself to the incredulous and disobedient. He did not appear even to the women until he had first tried their faith and obedience by his ministering angel.
(2) The resurrection of Jesus appears to have taken place before the stone was rolled away. Taking the narrative as it lies before us in Matthew, the women appear to have seen the angel roll away the stone and seat himself upon it, and witnessed also the effect of the vision upon the watch. The accounts in Mark and Luke may be harmonized to this view. Then, descending from the stone, he conducted them into the tomb, where they saw a second angel, but otherwise a vacant sepulchre. "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." The stone was not removed to let the Saviour out, but to let the witnesses in to see that he was already gone.
(3) The presumption, then, is that the body of Jesus had undergone such a change that it passed out of the sepulchre through the pores of the stone, as the electric matter freely passes through concrete substances. The following remarkable words are ascribed to the Rabbi Judah Hakkodesh: "After three days the soul of Messiah shall return to its body, and shall go out of that stone in which he shall be buried.
(4) This same etherial property was afterwards exhibited whenever Jesus vanished from the sight of those to whom he had appeared. It was likewise remarkably exhibited on those occasions in which he stood in the midst of his disciples when they were assembled with closed doors. (see Joh_20:19-29)
2. But the body of Jesus is the pattern resurrection body.
(1) "As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly". (cf. Rom_8:29 1Co_15:20, 1Co_15:44, 1Co_15:48, 49 2Co_3:18 2Co_4:11 Php_3:20, 21)
(2) The bodies of the saints that arose after his resurrection exhibited the same etherial qualities. (see Mat_27:53)
(3) This will let in light upon the subject of the mingling of the saints of the first resurrection with living men during that great period of the reign of Christ, which is the burden of prophetic hope. (cf. Rom_8:17 2Ti_2:8-12 Rev_5:10 Rev_20:6)
(4) Jesus rose the third day, not only to answer the type of the Prophet Jonah, and to verify his own words, (see Mat_12:40) but to indicate the time of the first resurrection of his saints. (cf. Hos_6:2) "A day is with the Lord as a thousand years.
III THAT THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST BRINGS HEAVES NEARER TO BELIEVERS.
1. It brings them into communion with angels.
(1) The appearance of the angels to the women evinced that through the risen Saviour we come to a heavenly communion. (see Heb_12:22) Angels own Jesus as their Lord as well as we. Their communication is concerning him.
(2) The women had comfortable assurance in their action. It announced to them that the Lord who had been delivered for our offences had rendered satisfaction to Divine justice, and therefore received his legal discharge from the prison.
(3) They had this also in their words.
(a) "Fear not ye." The watch were left to their fears. Not so the women. True daughters of Sarah. (see 1Pe_3:6)
(b) "For I know that ye seek Jesus, which hath been crucified." Love seeks Jesus because he hath been crucified. Those who seek the Crucified One need never fear.
(c) "He is not here: for he is risen, even as he said." Those who seek Jesus crucified will find him risen. "He is risen! " This is joyful news, not only to the women, but to all disciples of Christ in every age. The risen Christ is our consolation. If we find him not immediately in sensible comfort, the assurance that he is risen will be followed by that comfort in good time. Henceforth let us seek Jesus as One that is risen, viz. not with carnal thoughts of him, (see 2Co_5:16) but with heavenly mind and spiritual communications. (cf. Rom_10:6-8 Php_3:20 Col_3:1-3)
(d) "Go quickly." Those sent on God"s errands must not loiter.
(e) "Tell his disciples." The disciples of Jesus are more honoured than kings. The apostles should believe without seeing. The women are sent to testify to them, and thus to test their faith. We must not monopolize our comforts. (see 2Ki_7:9) "It is more blessed to give than to receive.
(f) "Behold, he goeth before you into Galilee." Angels are in the secret of the Lord.
2. It brings them into new relations with their Lord.
(1) He spiritually manifests himself to them. The women were highly honoured to be the first to whom the risen Lord appeared. That favour expressed the removal from the sex of its ancient reproach. (cf. 1Ti_2:14)
(2) He speaks comfortable words to them. "All hail!" equivalent to "Rejoice ye!" Let joy triumph over fear. The risen Christ is his people"s Joy. "All hail!" equivalent to "All health! spiritual and saving health to you!
(3) He affords sensible proofs of his love. "And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him." They were now sure it was no phantasm, but the very body of the real Jesus.
(4) He gives them his gracious commission: "Fear not; go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me." He went to Galilee to multiply his witnesses. The greater part of his disciples were Galilaeans. There it was probably that "he was seen of more than five hundred brethren". (cf. Act_1:15 1Co_15:6)
(5) He calls his disciples his "brethren." Here for the first time we find him using this condescending and endearing appellation. The Resurrection, which declared him the Son of God with power, declared also all the sons of God to be his brethren. The spirit of the servant now gives place to that of the son. First we are "servants," then "friends", (see Joh_15:15) finally "brethren". (see Mat_25:40 Joh_20:17)
(6) The Christian discipleship is now constituted into a sacred brotherhood. J.A.M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John A. Broadus 1886 · Public Domain Mat 28:1-15.
Mat 28:1-15.
The Resurrection Of Jesus
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Found also in Mar 16:1-11 Luk 24:1-12 Joh 20:1-18. Compare 1Co 15:1-8. The five narratives of our Lord’s resurrection and appearances differ much as to the details, but only in the way common when there are several independent and brief accounts of the same series of events. If the narratives are found to agree substantially, then the differences of detail show them to be independent, and really strengthen their credibility. The details in this case can all be harmonized by reasonable suppositions. If at some points the only explanations thus far offered seem artificial and strained, we must remember that the total information given on the subject is quite limited and yet embraces a great variety of distinct matters, and it could not be expected that the relations between these would be everywhere made perfectly clear; also that the progress of research is in every generation clearing up some question that was long considered difficult. The sacred writers do not treat their Lord’s resurrection as a doubtful point, needing to be established by their statements, but as an unquestionable fact. Each of them gives such information concerning it as bears upon the design of his particular writing. Thus in Matt. the earthquake connects itself with that of Mat 27:51; the report of the guard bears upon a story current among the Jews; the prominence given to Galilee accords with the large space occupied in this Gospel by the Galilean ministry; and the Great Commission shows the true nature of the Messianic reign, as spiritual, and destined to be universal.
This section of Matt. divides itself into Mat 28:1-4, Mat 28:5-7, Mat 28:8-10, Mat 28:11-15.
I. Mat 28:1-4. Certain Devout Women Find The Stone Rolled Away From The Sepulchre
In the end, etc. The Rev. Ver. begins with now, the Greek de, the usual particle of transition. It might here be rendered ’but,’ expressing an opposition between the precautions of the rulers and the events which here follow. End of the Sabbath, (Rev. Ver., late on the Sabbath day,) as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. This opening expression is not easy to interpret. ’Late on the Sabbath day’ is the only natural and well supported meaning. But the Jewish Sabbath ended at sunset, while Matthew’s account indicates, and the other Gospels distinctly declare, that our Lord’s resurrection occurred in the early morning. The other expression, ’as it began to dawn,’ might refer to the beginning of the new day after sunset, as it apparently does in Luk 23:54. There are three ways in which Matthew’s opening phrase may be understood, so as not to conflict with the other Gospels. (a) It may perhaps mean ’after the Sabbath,’ and many insist that this is made necessary by what follows and by the other accounts. It is not clearly made out, but is maintained by such authorities as Fritzsche, Grimm, Godet, and others, that the Greek phrase can have this meaning. (b) ’Late on the Sabbath day’ may perhaps reckon the following night as a part of the Sabbath, departing from the Jewish usage. This interpretation is given by Meyer, and vigorously stated by Morison: "The difficulty vanishes if we suppose that the method of adding diurnally the night to the day, rather than the day to the night, had got more or less into common use among the Jews, so that there were two ways of reckoning complete astronomical days; namely, first by night-days, and secondly by day-nights. Here the Evangelist was thinking of day-night (see next clause), and hence ’late in that day-night’ would mean about the end of the night that followed the day of the Sabbath." This explanation is possible, but is certainly strained. (c) ’Late in the Sabbath’ may be taken in its ordinary sense of before sunset, and we may understand, with McClellan and Westcott on John, that Matt. here mentions a previous visit by the two women, quite distinct from the visit of next morning. This also is possible, but difficult; for ’the women’ of Luk 23:5 are almost necessarily understood to be those of Luk 23:1; and after seeing the guard, if not the seal, on the previous visit, how could they expect admission into the tomb? Thus no one of the explanations is easy, and entirely satisfactory; but as each of them is possible, it will not do to say that Matt. is here in irreconcilable conflict with the other Gospels. If compelled to select, we should prefer (b), and understand that Matthew’s opening statement refers to the morning dawn. Mark has it, ’very early on the first day of the week.... when the sun was risen,’ which may mean only the first rays of morning light, which really come from the sun; Luke says, ’at early dawn’; John ’while it was yet dark.’ The Orientals have always been accustomed to early rising. The gates would be closed at sunset, and opened at dawn. The first day of the week is, in Greek, a peculiar expression, answering to a well-known Rabbinical phrase (Lightf.), but there is no doubt as to its meaning. Came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary; the mother of James the Little and of Joses, Mat 27:56 Mar 15:40. Mark adds (Mar 16:1) Salome; Luke (Luk 24:10) adds Joanna, (compare Luk 8:3) and indicates that there were yet others. There may have been two different parties, that of Joanna and others coming later; so Westcott, Edersheim. To see the sepulchre. The verb means to behold, as a spectacle; so in Mat 27:55, and a kindred term in Mat 6:1. They designed also, if it should appear practicable and appropriate, to ’anoint him’, (Mar 16:1) and brought with them spices (Luk 24:1) which they had provided the evening before, when the Sabbath was past. (Mark.) As they went, (Mar 16:3, Rev. Ver.) they were concerned about the question, "Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?" for they knew from observation of the interment that "it was exceeding great " (Mar 16:4, Rev. Ver., compare Mat 27:60), and a man’s strength would be necessary.
And behold. Matthew often thus introduces matter of special wonder; and here it was peculiarly appropriate. The account in Mat 6:2-4 is found in this Gospel only. The great earthquake is here distinctly supernatural, but that does not prove that the same was true in Mat 27:51.[1] As to angels, see on "Mat 18:10". The comparison of the angel’s appearance to lightning and his raiment to snow, recalls the Transfiguration. The general term rendered "appearance" (R. V.) was unwarrantably restricted by Tyn. and successors to the countenance, perhaps from comparison of Dan 10:5. The keepers, or watchers, same word as in Mat 27:54. Shake, quake, same Greek root as in the word rendered ’earthquake.’ Matthew’s language would allow, but does not require us to believe, that the women saw the angel roll away the stone;[2] Mark shows the contrary, for while discussing, as they approach, the question who shall roll it away, ’looking up,’ they see that it is rolled back (perfect tense), they see the result, not the process; and so Luke and John. They "were perplexed" (Luke) by finding the sepulchre open, but it does not occur to them that the Lord has risen. See below Mat 27:5 f.
[1] The margin of Com. Ver. here gave ’had been’ for ’was’ to indicate that the earthquake, etc., preceded their coming. But Matthew’s connection leaves that doubtful. There should be great caution about translating the aorist by the pluperfect. It is only the connection in the Greek that shows one action to be prior to the other, and the connection can show it in English.
[2] ’The stone’ stands without addition in à B D, several cursives, Old Latin, and Vulg., Æth., Origen. Many documents added ’from the door,’ and some also added ’of the tomb,’ by assimilation to Mar 16:3.
The Fourth Gospel, which gives an account of the movements of Mary Magdalene, says that seeing the stone taken away she ran to Peter and John and said, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him." Observe that ’we’ accords with the statement of Matt. that she had gone in company. She had evidently no idea that the Lord had come to life. (Compare also Joh 20:13) Peter was probably at John’s place of residence in the city. (Job, Mat 19:27.) They appear to have been old friends (compare on Mat 26:17); John had secured Peter’s admission to the court of the high priest, where the mournful fall occurred, and now received Peter, penitent and ashamed, to his own abode. So Peter and John set forth, running towards the tomb, (Joh 20:3 f.) followed by Mary Magdalene.
II. Mat 28:5-7. An Angel Tells Them That Jesus Is Risen
(Mar 16:5-7 Luk 24:4-8) The angel is here obviously the one that had rolled away the stone. Mark, who has not told how the stone was rolled away, says that "entering into the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe." Rev. Ver. As this young man said what Matt. ascribes to the angel, we understand that he was the angel. Luke says "two men stood by them in dazzling apparel," Rev. Ver., and gave them the same information. Some understand that this was at a later point, and that is possible. But we have had several instances of one person mentioned in a narrative, and two persons in another narrative of the same event. (Compare on Mat 8:28, Mat 20:30) We have only to suppose here, as in those cases, that one of the two was more conspicuous and acted as spokesman, and the variety of statement becomes natural. John also tells that Mary Magdalene presently saw "two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." The images used in the several narratives to describe the appearance of the angel or angels, differ precisely as at the Transfiguration. The different positions and postures mentioned are readily understood as obtaining at different times during the rapid series of events. Such slight points of disagreement only add to the naturalness and verisimilitude of the total report.
Answered (compare on Mat 11:25), responded to their look of perplexity, amazement, and fear (Mark and Luke). Luke says that in affright they "bowed down their faces to the earth," Rev. Ver. And said unto the women. We know from John that Mary Magdalene had now left, but we have seen that Salome and Joanna, and apparently others, were present with ’the other Mary.’ Fear not ye, with emphasis on ’ye,’ as it is separately expressed in the Greek; not so in Mat 28:10. The guard might well he alarmed (Mat 28:4), but these who came to seek Jesus had no cause for fear. For I know This gives a remedy for fear by telling the great reason they have for joy comp, Mat 28:8. Jesus, which was crucified, or simply ’Jesus the crucified.’ For he is risen, as he said. In Luke (Luk 24:6 f.) they are bidden to remember how when still in Galilee he predicted that he would be crucified and rise again the third day. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ’Where he lay’ (margin, Rev. Ver.) is probably correct.[1] John vividly describes (Joh 20:5 ff.) the appearance of the tomb, as seen (a little later) by himself and Peter; and intimates that the orderly disposition of the linen cloths and the handkerchief, showing that here was no work of robbers, nor removal of a dead body to another tomb, caused him to "believe," viz., that the Master was alive again. This same impressive situation the women beheld. And go quickly, and tell his disciples. "Quickly," so that they may the sooner have opportunity to rise out of their distress and despair. And behold, same word as ’behold’ in Mat 28:2 and Mat 28:9. He goeth before you into Galilee, as Jesus had promised in Mat 26:32; and the same verb is used here as there, meaning ’he goes before and leads you,’ as a shepherd his flock. (Joh 10:4) The present tense represents the action as sure and near. There shall ye see him. This does not necessarily exclude the possibility of their seeing him elsewhere, before or after, and we know from Luke and John that they saw him in Jerusalem and vicinity, both before going to Galilee and after returning. But the emphasis here laid on their seeing him in Galilee accords well with the view (compare below on Mat 28:16), that on a certain mountain in Galilee was to be the great meeting, where many disciples should receive the Great Commission, thus differencing this coming event from the appearances on that same day at Jerusalem to a comparatively small number. Notice Luke’s statement (Luk 24:9, R.V.) that the women "told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest." Did they not then understand a message to ’the disciples’ as not merely to the eleven but to all the known disciples then present at Jerusalem? Now most of these had come from Galilee, and when the feast of the Passover was over it would be natural that they should ’depart into Galilee.’ (Mat 28:10.) Remember, too, that already on the evening before the crucifixion Jesus had promised to meet them in Galilee. (Mat 26:32) There is also force in the suggestion (McClellan) that in Galilee their minds might be more rapidly weaned away from the notion of a temporal kingdom, which partially reasserted itself afterwards when they returned to Jerusalem before the ascension. (Act 1:6)—Lo, I have told you. Here Mark, who has agreed with Matt. almost word for word through several lines, has ’even as he told you.’ Some "Western" documents changed Mark to be like Matthew.
[1] It is found without ’the Lord’ in à B, 33, 102 Memph., Arm., Æth., Origen, and some other Greek Fathers. ’The Lord’ would be easily inserted from some student’s marginal note, but was not likely to be omitted. The addition is what Westcott Hort call "Western and Syrian."
III. Mat 28:8-10. Jesus Meets Them As They Hasten Away
Mar 16:8. Quickly, as the angel bade them, Mar 16:7; and did run. The word sepulchre, Rev. Ver., tomb, changes from that of Mar 16:1 (compare on Mat 27:61), though there is no important difference in substantial meaning. With fear and great joy. The fear (Mat 28:5) has not ceased, but it has become mingled with great joy. Mark (Mar 16:8. R.V.) says strongly, "for trembling and astonishment had come upon them." He adds,"and they said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid," i. e., they spoke to no one they met on the way, being too much occupied with the fear produced by what had occurred. To bring his disciples word. The most of the disciples were not at the same place as Peter and John. It has been suggested that they probably retired to Bethany, as they and the Master had been wont to do every evening. (Luk 21:37) Jesus met them saying, All hail. This is simply the common Greek salutation, rendered ’hail’ in Mat 26:49, Mat 27:30, and there is no reason for rendering it otherwise here. The ’all’ was introduced by Tyndale. The common text prefixes ’as they went to tell his disciples,’ but this is a mere explanatory addition brought in from the margin. Held him, literally, seized or ’grasped,’ the action showing great humility and veneration. This was not censured, and yet the Saviour said to Mary Magdalene, (Joh 20:17, Rev. Ver. margin) "Take not hold on me; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father." The most probable explanation of the difference is that Mary supposed this was only the Master’s "spirit," as the disciples did the same evening, (Luk 24:37) and was proposing to test the reality of the bodily appearance, which experiment Jesus rebuked. Worshipped. Bengel: "Jesus before his passion was worshipped, by others rather than his disciples." Go tell my brethren. It was special kindness thus to speak of them, (compare Mat 12:50, Mat 25:40 Joh 20:17) when they were likely to feel special humiliation at the thought that they had all forsaken him, and one of them denied him. It was apparently for the same purpose that the angel had expressly added the name of Peter, (Mar 16:7) lest the sadly fallen one should fear to think that a message to the disciples of Jesus could any longer be regarded as a message to him.
Meantime Peter and John arrived at the tomb, saw it empty, and returned home. (Joh 20:3-10) Mary Magdalene remained behind, standing without, weeping. And presently Jesus appeared to her, in that affecting interview which John describes in Joh 20:11-18. If the expression ’he appeared first to Mary Magdalene’ (Mar 16:9) be regarded as genuine and chronological, then it may be thought that as she departed to tell the disciples, (Joh 20:18) Jesus also departed, and overtook the other women. As he suddenly appeared that evening in a room with closed doors, (Joh 20:19) there was already, from the resurrection onward, something supernatural in his bodily condition and movements, and so it may be that he overtook them, though they were running. But if Mar 16:9-20 be considered spurious,[1] or if ’first’ be there understood to mean simply the first ’of the three appearances which that passage describes, then we can dispense with the supposition just made as to locomotion, and suppose that Jesus ’met’ the other women a few moments after their departure, and then, returning to the tomb, appeared to Mary Magdalene.
[1] This is a question which, in the present state of knowledge, it is very hard to determine. But the external and internal evidence against the passage is so strong (see Westcott Hort, Appendix, p. 28-51), that we think it should not now be appealed to for proof texts, nor insisted on in harmonizing the Gospels at this point.
The question has been frequently discussed, why these angelic appearances, and first appearances of the Lord himself, were made only to women. The women went early, and being the first believers present, gained the first knowledge of what had occurred. But why did neither the angels nor the Lord appear to Peter and John? If we adopt the simpler view as above, that Jesus appeared first to the women on their way (perhaps to Bethany), and then returning appeared to Mary Magdalene, it might be enough to suppose that he did not reach the tomb till after Peter and John left. As to the angels, it would be a question whether the women received the angelic communication because of their faith, or needed it in order to faith. John believed, merely from observing the order that prevailed in the empty tomb; and Peter was the first person to whom the Lord afterwards appeared in the course of the day. (Luk 24:34)
IV. Mat 28:11-15. False Report By Some Of The Guard
This is found in Matt. only. It was natural that he, rather than the other Evangelists, should give it, because he wrote especially for Jews, among whom this report had spread. (Mat 28:15.) When they were going. The events were exciting, and nobody delayed. Some of the watch came into the city; perhaps the rest remained until officially authorized to leave. And shewed unto the chief priests. These had taken them out to the sepulchre, (Mat 27:65 f.) and very likely stated their fear that the disciples of the buried one would come and steal him away.. At any rate, the chief priests had stationed them, by Pilate’s permission, and to the chief priests they reported. According to Roman discipline, they were liable to very severe punishment for losing what they guarded. They thought that an account of the angelic appearance and the stone rolled away would have influence with the Jewish authorities, and so their crime as soldiers might somehow be forgiven. Accordingly, they told the chief priests all the things that were come to pass. The story must have excited great surprise and alarm, but it wrought no repentance. Alas! for these bad men, they were now, like Pilate, so entangled by previous wickedness, that it seemed they must go forward. They had said, "Let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him"; (Mat 27:42; Rev. ver.) behold, he has done something still more wonderful, yet they do not believe, no, nor make further inquiry, but simply bribe the witnesses to report a stupid falsehood. Large money, or ’quite a number of silver (pieces),’ which would most naturally mean shekels, Mat 26:15. His disciples... stole him away while we slept. The statement is absurd on its face, for if asleep they did not know it, and if one of them knew, he could have awaked the others. It also confesses on their part a criminal breach of discipline. If this come to the governor’s ears; so Tyn., Cram, and K. James. It much more likely means, with Geneva and margin, Rev. Ver., ’come to be heard before the governor,’[1] be tried before him. (See Buttm., p. 336.) We will persuade him (’we’ being emphatic), not simply by argument and personal influence, but by the consideration they had just brought to bear upon the soldiers themselves. Wet. gives several passages of Greek authors in which mention is made of persuading men by means of money. Philo expressly states (see on "Mat 27:11") that Pilate was a bribetaker, as we know was true of Felix. (Act 24:26) And secure you, literally, and make you to be without anxiety, the same root as in Mat 6:25 if. And did as they were taught. The rulers, doubtless, kept quiet until after Pentecost, when the disciples began to declare and to prove that Jesus was risen, and then made the soldiers tell their false story. Until this day, the time when Matt. wrote his Gospel, compare on Mat 27:8. Justin Martyr says to the Jew Tryphon (ch. 108),"You (the Jews) selected men and sent them rote all the world, proclaiming that a certain atheistic and lawless sect has arisen from one Jesus, a Galilean deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole him by night from the tomb, and deceive men by saying that he has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven."The absurd and blasphemous medieval Jewish legend called "Toldoth Jeshu" expands this allegation.
[1] B has here a Western reading, found in B D, and Latin versions, hupo instead of epi making it mean ’be heard by the governor,’ which was manifestly introduced for simplification.
Attempts are still made, by men whose theories cannot be otherwise maintained, to set aside the fact of our Lord’s resurrection. No intelligent critic now holds that Jesus did not really die, or that he died, but his resurrection was a mere imposture on the part of his disciples. The now common theory of unbelieving critics is that it was a vision, or, in some way, an illusion, on their part. These men are not mere disinterested inquirers after truth, as they sometimes assert; they have to account for Christianity, as having in it, according to them, nothing supernatural, and yet as a great power in the world; as affording the noblest ethical teachings, and presenting the unrivalled character of Christ, and as unquestionably based by its propagators on belief in a risen Saviour. Of course, men so ingenious will make some plausible show of explaining away the evidence, or flinging around the subject some appearance of doubt, as skilful lawyers know how to do with the weakest case. See an examination of their theories in Milligan, Lect. III, and brief and vigorous discussions in Geder, Weiss ("Life"), and Edersh.; see also a curious and powerful refutation of these sceptical theories by Keim, on grounds as rationalistic as their own.—The great fact stands. Westcott ("Gospel of the Res."): "It has been shown that the resurrection is not an isolated event in history, but at once the end and the beginning of vast developments of life and thought; that it is the climax of a long series of divine dispensations which find in it their complement and explanation; that it has formed the starting-point of all progressive modern society, ever presenting itself in new lights, according to the immediate wants of the age."Then after restating the evidence, he adds," Taking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no single historic incident better or more variously supported than the Resurrection of Christ."And let it be remembered how much this great fact carries with it. The resurrection of Christ establishes the divine origin of his mission and teachings; it gives God’s sanction to all his claims, and he claimed to be the Messiah, to speak by divine authority, to be one with God. Rom 1:4. Hanna: "Jesus had publicly periled his reputation as the Christ of God, on the occurrence of this event. When challenged to give some sign in support of his pretensions, it was to his future resurrection from the dead, and to it alone, that he appealed. (Joh 2:20 Mat 12:38-41) Often, and that in terms incapable of misconstruction, had our Lord foretold his resurrection. It carried thus along with it a triple proof of the divinity of our Lord’s mission. It was the fulfilment of a prophecy, as well as the working of a miracle; that miracle wrought, and that prophecy fulfilled, in answer to a solemn and confident appeal made beforehand by Christ to this event as the crowning testimony to his Messiahship."
Homiletical And Practical
Mat 28:5. Seeking the Crucified, finding the Risen One.
Mat 28:7. "Go quickly." (1) Religious excitement should prompt to religious exertion. (2) Where others are sorrowing, we tell twice if we tell quickly, the news that will cheer them.—"Lo, I have told you." Henry: "Those messengers from God that discharge their trust faithfully, may take the comfort of that, whatever the success be. Act 20:26 f."
Mat 28:8. Euthym.: "With fear, at the strange things they saw; with great joy, at the good news they heard."
Mat 28:9. It was while they were hastening to honour the Saviour and rejoice his disciples, that he met them.
Mat 28:10. The Saviour recognizes the importance of repetition in giving instruction. (Compare Mat 28:7.)—"My brethren." (1) This suggests humility, at our utter unworthiness of the honour. (2) It encourages return if we have forsaken him. (3) It stimulates to diligence in doing the will of God, Mat 12:50. (4) It reminds us that we can serve him by serving the least of his brethren, Mat 25:40. Hall: "Beloved Jesus, how dost thou raise the titles of thy followers with thyself! At first they were thy servants, then disciples, a little before thy death they were thy friends; now, after thy resurrection, they are thy brethren."
Mat 28:11-15. The chief priests and the guard. (1) No multiplication of evidence will convince those who are stubbornly resolved not to believe. (2) Think of religious teachers serving God by a purchased lie. (3) Bribery required further and heavier bribes; first a trifle to Judas, now large money to the soldiers, and presently, perhaps, the governor. (4) A falsehood will be long-lived if it suits men’s prejudices. (Mat 28:15.) (5) Efforts against the truth sometimes help its progress; the seal and the guard only make it more clear that the Saviour rose from the dead.
Mat 28:13. Schaff: "Men in the infatuation of unbelief will believe any story, however improbable."
Mat 28:15. Chrys.: "Seest thou again the disciples’ love of truth, how they are not ashamed of saying even this, that such a report prevailed against them."
The resurrection of Christ is not only a pillar of Christian evidence, but has important theological and practical relations. (a) It completed his work of atonement, and stamped it with divine approval; Rom 4:24 f.; Rom 8:14; 1Co 15:15. (Rev. Ver.) Accordingly, to believe that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead is to believe the gospel; Rom 10:9. See Milligan, "Leer." IV. (b) It is the ground and pledge of his people’s resurrection. (1) Of their spiritual resurrection, to walk in newness of life; Rom 6:4 Col 2:12 f.; Col 3:1-4. See Westcott, "The Gospel of the Resurrection"; Liddon, "Easter Sermons," 2 vols., 1885, (treating numerous aspects and relations of our Lord’s Resurrection). (2) Of the resurrection of the body; 1Co 15:20, 1Th 4:14 Php 3:10 f. See Candlish, "Life in a Risen Saviour" (Lectures on 1 Corinthians 15); Liddon. (c) It is represented in baptism; Romans and Colossians (as above). (d) It is celebrated on the Lord’s Day.
John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (American Baptist Publication Society, 1886) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain In the end of the Sabbath.
Mat_28:1
In the end of the Sabbath.
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The meaning and memories of Sunday
Let us consider some of the religious principles which have given and preserved this holy day to us.
I. The first day of the week is a day of mighty memories-memories that we cannot let die.
1. The celebration of the Lords Day has never lost sight of that precious fact in all revelation and religion-the creation of the world and of man, and consequently all the claim of Gods law upon our conscience, and of Gods goodness on our gratitude. The main idea of the Sabbatic rest is that man should occasionally lift his eyes from the clouds of earth and gaze into the face of his Creator.
2. The first day of the week is full of the memories of redemption.
3. The first day of the week is the great memorial of the giving of the Holy Spirit of God to man. It is the memorial of the beginning of that great work in human nature by which it becomes like Christ, and is made one with God-the incarnation of the Holy Ghost.
II. The first day of the week is a day of happy and noble associations. It is rich in memories of the past great acts of God, but it comes down burdened with all the brightest and most beautiful thoughts of earth; great revivals of human friendships; great, stirring conflicts with evil; the great, prosperous changes and revolutions of nations-the deliverance of untold millions from the slavery of sin and the power of death; have all left their impress upon it.
III. It is a day of holy anticipations. Memory is blessed; but what would men do without hope. The first day of the week predicts perpetually the Sabbath of Gods love-the end of conflict, the light of heaven.
IV. It is a day of holy duties. It is the first day of the week, not the last, the day of activity, not of indolent repose. This day will lend a meaning to your other days. Hallow Gods Sabbaths. (H. R. Reynolds, B. A.)
The day of resurrection
Philip Henry used to call the Lords Day the queen of days, the pearl of the week, and observed it accordingly. His common salutation of his family or friends on the Lords Day in the morning, was that of the primitive Christians-The Lord is risen, He is risen indeed; making it his chief business on that day to celebrate the memory of Christs resurrection; and he would say sometimes, Every Lords Day is a true Christians Easter Day.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 1. In the end of the sabbath. After the…
1. In the end of the sabbath. After the Sabbath in which Jesus had lain in the tomb. As it began to dawn. All the gospels mark the precious moment when the great news first became known. Mark (16:2) says they arrived at sunrise Compare Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:1–11; John 20:1–21; 1 Cor. 15:1–20. The first day of the week. The Lord's day, or Sunday. Came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. Mary, the mother of James and Joses. Also Salome (Mark 16:1). Late on Friday evening they had watched the sepulcher (Matt. 27:56). Now, after the Sabbath, they came with spices (Mark 16:1) in the hope that they could anoint the body. These disciples would not break the Sabbath, even to preserve the body of their beloved Lord. The Sabbath ended at sunset, so that Jesus had been dead and buried Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning, beginning at the previous sunset, three days according to Jewish reckoning. See 1 Sam. 30:12, 13; 2 Chron. 10:5, 12.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Mat_28:1. In the end of the Sabbath.—Late on the…
CRITICAL NOTES
Mat_28:1. In the end of the Sabbath.—Late on the Sabbath day (R.V.).—We must assume, with Meyer, Lange, and Alford, that Matthew here follows the natural division of the day from sunrise to sunrise, which seems to be favoured by the following definition of time: “As it began to dawn,” etc.… It is certain and agreed on all hands that Matthew means the time after the close of the Jewish Sabbath, the time before daybreak on the first day, of the week, or the Christian Sunday (Schaff). Cf. Mar_16:2; Luk_24:1; Joh_20:1. The other Mary.—The mother of James and Joses (Mat_27:56).
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Mat_28:2. From the door.—Omitted, on good authority, in the R.V.
Mat_28:3. Countenance.—Appearance, R.V. Like lightning.—As regards the intensity of effulgence or radiance (Morison).
Mat_28:5. Fear not ye.—The “ye” here is emphatic, to contrast their case with that of the guards.
Mat_28:7. Into Galilee.—To which these women belonged (Mat_27:55).
Mat_28:9. As they went to tell His disciples.—Omitted in best MSS. and in R.V. All hail!—Lit., Rejoice! The Greek salutation, both on meeting and on parting (Carr).
Mat_28:10. My brethren.—The general view is that the Lord referred to His brethren by spiritual relationship. See Mat_12:49; cf. Joh_20:17; Heb_2:11.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_28:1-10
A double dawn.—Three successive and well-defined stages mark the literal dawn: that greatest darkness which concludes the night; the “scattering” of that darkness which we call the twilight; the sunrise itself. In the figurative sunrise of the passage before us, three similar steps may be noted. There is utter darkness, in the first place; waning darkness, in the second place; unshadowed light, in the last.
1. Utter darkness.—What else, on the one hand, do we read of here, as things were at first, in the way of expectation? The “women” spoken of in verse I have evidently been, for some time, in a condition of waiting. They had seen the Saviour placed in the sepulchre just before the sunset beginning of the first day of the week. After that, the sanctity of the Sabbath and the darkness of night had prevented them from returning to see it. But now, at the first opportunity, they are coming to do so; starting for the place, in all probability (Joh_20:1), before the darkness had gone. So much are their hearts set on the object in view! And yet how sorrowful, on the other hand, is the object in view! What are they looking for except to see the “place,” and perhaps the face, of the “dead” (Mat_28:1; Mar_16:3)? And what are they hoping to do, at the best, except that which is usually done for the “dead” (Mar_16:1)? Of the presence of “life,” of any hope of it, they have not a thought. Much the same is true, next, in the way of experience. It seems most natural to suppose of what is told us next, in Mat_28:2-4, that the descent of the angel and removal of the stone were over before the women arrived at the place, and that what they beheld (and afterwards described to the disciples) was the form of the angel seated on the stone, and the effect of his presence as manifested so terribly in the fainting forms of the guard (Mar_16:4; Luk_24:2; Joh_20:1). Most probably, also, they were near enough to the place to have felt something of that accompanying “earthquake” of which we are told (Mat_28:2). Altogether, therefore, there must have been everything to fill them, at first, with the very direst alarm. What with the terror of the earthquake (and nothing physical is said to be worse); and the greater terror of the supernatural; and the almost irresistible terror of seeing the terror of courage itself (Mat_28:4),—awful indeed in this respect must their condition have been, even banishing the thought, for the moment, of that exceedingly sorrowful comfort in hope of which they had come. Could any “darkness” be worse?
II. Waning darkness.—This we find brought about entirely by what the angel here says to the women (Mat_28:5-7). By what he says to them, first, in regard to the present. How encouraging his words on this point! “Fear not”—be not afraid; things are not so bad as they seem. How discriminating also! How clear and direct! “Fear not ye”—ye, to whom I am speaking. Be assured that ye have no cause for alarm. How full, again, of sympathy and approval (end of Mat_28:5)! Your object is mine as well. Ye honour Jesus. So do I too. Infallibly and sensibly would the inward darkness of these trembling women begin to lessen under words such as these! And that, of course, all the more, because of the quarter they came from! Nothing is more assuring than the assurances of authority! Nothing more gracious than the graciousness of the great! The angel’s language, next, with regard to the past. See how his opening words on this point prepare the way for the rest! “He is not here” where you saw Him laid. Something has happened meanwhile of vast importance. How his next words follow this up! That which has happened is this; “He has risen again.” How the words that then follow fortify these! This is only what He Himself used to tell you. Remember how often He said so. How the angel’s yet further words do this still more! How they give actual proof, in part, of the truth of his language! “See the place where the Lord lay.” See, therefore, that He is certainly gone, as I said. In these successive utterances there would be a still further lessening of the gloom of these women. Most surprising, no doubt, was the purport of these utterances. Hardly less so would be their utter falseness. With such assurances, and such recollections, and such tangible proofs, they might begin to believe. The angel’s language, lastly, with regard to the future. How it confirms what he has told them before! It is all so sure—so he tells them now—that they may safely tell it in turn. So joyful, also, that they cannot do it too soon (beginning of Mat_28:7). How it supplements what he has told them before! The Saviour is not only risen, He is still upon earth; He is going to where they have often seen Him before, and where also, before long, they shall see Him again (middle of Mat_28:7). How his language, finally, seals all he has told them before. They have his full authority for all they have heard. His having uttered it once, he reminds them, is sufficient. It would not only be foolish, it would be wrong, to doubt him. Let the last remnant of unbelief cease at that thought (end of Mat_28:7).
III. Unshadowed light.—This, first of all, in their faith. There is still about them, very naturally, a certain awe and solemnity; but there is no shadow of doubt now to interfere with their “joy,” or to make them hesitate about making it known (Mat_28:8). Oh! what tidings they feel, rather, they have to communicate! Oh! for wings to reach those they desire! Oh! for breath to tell all! Similar “light,” in the next place, in their experience. Suddenly, as they fly, they are standing transfixed. Can it be? Yes, it must be. It is the Master Himself! His own aspect! His own voice! His own greeting once more (beginning of Mat_28:9)! And yet, withal, is He quite the same as He had been to them of old? Why, if so, do we behold them now “worshipping” Him on their faces? Why embracing His “feet” (end of Mat_28:9; contrast Mat_26:7)? Evidently, with no less affection, there is even deeper awe than before. The reason seems plain. Not only now are they seeing the Saviour. They are seeing the “risen” Saviour as well. All that they used to admire in Him is there still. All the old consideration for those to whom He is speaking. “Be not afraid” (cf. Mat_14:27; Mar_5:36). All the old gentleness to the fallen and weak. “Go, tell my brethren (see Mat_26:56; and Mar_3:34-35). What they see further is what has been added thereto. This, at last, is fulness of light!
In this story of these first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus there is much which is characteristic of the gospel:—
1. In the persons selected.—Not the world at large, as represented by the heathen guard. Nor yet the general body of believers, as represented by the disciples. But those faithful women who were both last and first at the sepulchre of Jesus (cf. Luk_24:22-24; also Act_10:40-41). It was not necessary, neither was it ever meant, that the risen Saviour should appear to more than a few. If any have seen Him, that is proof enough to the rest (cf. Joh_20:29).
2. In the method pursued.—Cf. Mar_8:22-25; Mar_4:33; Joh_16:12; Pro_4:18.
HOMILIES ON THE VERSES
Mat_28:1-10. Christ’s resurrection.—
I. The place.
II. The time.—The day is important, for it was the first Easter Sunday, and the event of that morning has caused Sunday to be observed as a holy day throughout the Christian world.
III. The visitors.—What motive led them to this act? It was love, the mightiest power in the universe.
IV. The messenger.—We know but little concerning angels, but their mission is stated in Heb_1:14. Never did celestial messenger bring more joyful news than fell from the lips of the angel on that morning!
V. The meeting.—A few moments before Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene; now He appears to the other women.—
1. A living Saviour, not the ghost of a dead man.
2. A comforting, encouraging Saviour. “Be not afraid.”
3. A brotherly Saviour (Mat_28:10).—J. L. Hurlbut, D.D.
The resurrection: the victory won.—
I. The seeming defeat.—
1. Jesus dead.
2. Jesus buried.
II. Victory.
III. Victory proclaimed.—
1. By the angels.
2. By the disciples.
IV. The results of Christ’s victory.—
1. It is a proof of His being the Son of God (Rom_1:4).
2. It is a pledge that salvation is finished (Rom_4:25).
3. It is a pattern for our changed lives (Rom_6:4; Rom_6:13).
4. It is a promise that our bodies will rise too (1Co_15:20; 1Co_15:49).—I. L. Trotter.
Mat_28:1-6. The women at the sepulchre.—
I. Great courage where least expected.
II. Heavenly light breaking on earthly gloom.—Anon.
Mat_28:5-6. The angel’s comforting words.—
1. By the same means the Lord can terrify His adversaries, and comfort His people; those He suffereth to lie still in their terror, these He comforteth.
2. Such as are seeking after Jesus may take comfort, whatsoever come; for upon this ground the angel saith, “Fear not, I know ye are seeking Jesus.”
3. We have no reason to be ashamed of Christ’s cross, when the angels avow Christ crucified to be the Lord.
4. If God should use kings and emperors to be preachers of Christ’s cross and resurrection, it should be no disparagement to their high place, for this message is worthy of such an angel as this to be messenger, and even the angels do not so much honour the message as they are honoured by it; and who is he who thinketh himself too good to be a preacher of the gospel?
5. Christ’s body after His resurrection retaineth the natural properties of a body; it is in one place and not in another; the Scripture knoweth no ubiquity of His body. “He is not here; He is risen.”
6. No rest for our faith save in our Lord’s word; if it be once received, then other things serve to confirm faith; for first, “He is risen, as He said,” saith the angel, and then biddeth them “Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
7. It is a sufficient argument to prove that Christ’s body is not present in a place, if sense perceive it not present, for the angel proveth that Christ is not in the sepulchre by this reason, “Come, see the place where the Lord lay; He is not here.”—David Dickson.
Mat_28:6. The place where the Lord lay.—The angel here appeals to the senses of those who stand about the tomb to attest the truth of Christ’s actual resurrection from the dead.
I. The empty tomb at once proclaimed the actual resurrection of the Saviour.—The resurrection is proclaimed to be a fact—
1. By the testimony of human witnesses. The disciples were men of probity, and had no worldly advantage to acquire from the publication of such a circumstance, but quite the opposite. They had known Christ, surely, long enough to recognise Him again when He appeared amongst them; and with one concurrent voice they testify, “He is risen from the dead.”
2. This is strengthened by the testimony of angels, and by their various appearances as bearers of the news.
3. The resurrection of Christ was not denied, even by His enemies, but was covertly recognised and admitted, even while the Jews agreed to a traditional falsehood to conceal from their posterity that which they knew to be a fact.
4. The Apostles constantly attested the fact, as also did the Fathers of the primitive Christian Church—Ignatius, Polycarp, and the other venerable custodians of the truth.
5. Christ rose, likewise, in precise accordance with Scriptural types and predictions, and with the same body as that in which He had lived and died.
II. The language of the text expresses the great humiliation of Jesus Christ.—“Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
III. We cannot meditate beside the place where the Lord lay without learning something of the infinite love of God.
IV. Neither can we look upon His empty tomb without being convinced of the Divine faithfulness.—Faithfulness as to promises, types, shadows, and predictions.
V. This visit to the place where the Lord lay must bring with it, too, a striking evidence of His Divine sovereignty.—“I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again.” And if He thus held in His sovereign hand the issues and the destinies of His own career, He can, in like manner, overrule and control the destinies of His people.
VI. Is not this vacant tomb an almost satirical evidence of His triumph over His enemies and ours?
VII. “Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” that you may behold in it the certain and the glorious pledge of a perfected salvation.—A. Mursell.
The resurrection of Christ and the inspiration of the Bible.—
I. The resurrection of Christ is an historical fact, and, as such, it can be proved like any other fact in history.
II. The resurrection of Christ, once established, carries with it other great truths, such as His divinity and the infallibility of His teaching.
III. Having established His divinity and the infallibility of His teaching, we have a short and easy method to prove that the Bible is the Word of God, and the expression of the will of God. Christ, possessing Divine wisdom and never erring in a single statement, declares that the Old Testament prophets spoke by the Holy Ghost, or that God spoke through them. He quoted “the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms”—which included the whole Old Testament as we now have it—as the Word of God. This stamps the whole Old Testament with Divine authority. He also promised to guide the Apostles in what they were to record (Joh_14:26; Joh_16:13). As a matter of fact, this promise was fulfilled when they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and “spake with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The fulfilment of this promise, confirmed as it was by signs and miracles, stamps the teaching of the Apostles with the imprimatur of God. Thus we see that in dealing with doubt and difficulty respecting doctrine and belief, the first thing to be done is to satisfy the intellect about the historical Christ and the great facts of His life. Once establish the resurrection of Christ as an historical fact, and you have also established His divinity and the inspiration of the Bible.—S. Macnaughton, M.A.
Mat_28:7. The risen Christ in Galilee.—Why did Christ make an appointment with His disciples in Galilee? Why did He make that distant place the scene of the main evidence of His resurrection? Why not here in Jerusalem? Whether they were consciously aimed at or not, certain results were secured that could not have been gained had His appearance been confined to Jerusalem.
I. His resurrection was thus separated from all those superstitions known as ghosts or apparitions.—These, men have always believed in; but they are an indirect, left-handed witness to a consciousness in man that he is more than he seems to be, and that death is not what it appears to be. The ghost haunts its former scenes; it is seen where the body was buried. The action of the mind in this respect is singular, and is governed by a sort of logic; it feels that the other life lies close to this, and that the two lives of men cannot be far divorced from each other. But these beliefs are superstitions, and they were rife at the time of Christ. The one thing to be feared in connection with the resurrection was that it would be regarded as an ordinary ghost story. It has been so interpreted in later days—as a part of a great, common superstition. But, as if to meet in advance this interpretation, and to separate it in the minds of the disciples from everything of the sort, it is made under conditions utterly unlike those of apparitions.
II. This appointment in Galilee was a testing lesson in faith.—Is it, after all—we can imagine them saying—worth the while to make the journey to Galilee? Can He who died on the cross, whose feet were pierced with nails, journey thither? That He should appear here is possible; we have heard the like before; but will He appear in Galilee? So their minds may have acted; and as they made the journey, every step and every hour must have tended to throw them out of their belief and hope. For there is nothing that so tests our faith in an event difficult of belief as to get out of the atmosphere of it. The wonder lessens as we go away from it. But if this experience of the disciples was a trial of their faith, it also strengthened it. For faith is not hurt by doubt until it yields to it. The very weakness and faltering of faith may be turned into strength by pressing on in its path, fighting doubt, and resisting the appeals of the world. This journey of simple trust and stout adherence to hope was a fine preparation for harder experiences soon to follow. There would come times when not merely the faltering of their own hearts was against them, but all the powers of the world; times when their only refuge would be their faith in the risen and ascended Lord. Then the memory of this experience, crowned by actual sight of their Master, would come to their rescue.
III. We find another explanation of this meeting in Galilee in the fact that Christ saw fit to give them their great commission on the scene of their common labours.—For it was in Galilee that they had been called and set to their work. It was in Galilee that the great sermon had been spoken which lay at the bottom of the gospel; and here His mighty works were chiefly done. His presence in Jerusalem was incidental to His life, and not the main field of it. Nor did Jerusalem so well represent the world that was to be discipled as the northern province. It is not improbable, also, that He thus intended to convey to the disciples some further and closer conception of the nature of their work. “Go ye, and make disciples of all nations.” “How?” they may have asked. “As I have done in these fields and villages before your eyes. There I turned water into wine: go, turning the common and dull things of earth into glorious and inspiring realities. There I fed the multitude: go, taking the Bread of life to the multitudes of earth—Bread that shall also become literal bread to all the poor and starving of the world. There I stilled the storm: go, carrying the all-conquering peace of God to the stormy and warring nations. On that hillside and by those shores I preached the gospel to the poor: go, carry everywhere the same gospel of consolation. In all these villages I cured the sick and the lame and the blind in answer to their faith. Take My words to them again, and tell them that by faith in Me they will be delivered from all their groaning miseries. Teach them that there is a Divine, delivering power at work in the world; that God is the Father, and that He has sent His Son into the world to save it, and to restore to Him all who believe on Me.” More vividly still He was able to impress upon their minds His comforting assurance: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” “I was with you as we trod all these paths from city to city; I never failed you; I taught and cheered and inspired you by My constant presence. So it will be to the end.” These things are for us also. We have a Leader who is also a sharer in our life.—T. T. Munger, D.D.
Mat_28:8. Believing and testifying.—
1. Such as know what a heart grieved for want of Christ meaneth, will be very ready to comfort such as are in such a grief, as these holy women are glad to carry good news to the heart-broken disciples.
2. Mixed affections, fear and joy, at one time, may well consist in the heart of a believer. One may tremble at the majesty of God, and rejoice in His friendship, manifested by any means which He pleaseth, for thus are these godly souls affected.
3. It is a choice good disposition to believe the Lord’s word, and diligently to go about the obedience of it, in fear and trembling, such as here is to be seen in these women; having believed the glad tidings, they run quickly, with fear and joy, to bring the disciples word.—David Dickson.
Woman witnessing to Christ’s resurrection.—I. The false message which brought sin into the world, and all our woe, was given first to woman, and by her was communicated to the man. The resurrection of the Lord, the healing of that early death-wound, was communicated in the same way. From an angel to woman, and from woman to man, and from man to the world, came death. From an evil angel, through the link of woman to mankind, the evil tidings spread and covered the earth. From a good angel to woman, and from women to men, and from men to the world came life, the life of the world.
II. It is not much preaching we get from angels’ lips; but there is a little here, and that little very precious. The angel gave their spirits the cordial before he imposed the race upon their limbs. The angel knew his part well, for the whole theory of missions is here.
III. “They did run to bring the disciples word.”—It was the word within them that impelled them to hasten; it was the word in their heart that made them run with the word on their lips. I detect a grand key-note here. It is not only the message, carefully learned and correctly told; it is not only the faithful witness-bearing, whatever danger may be incurred. Over and above all this there are an eagerness, an enthusiasm, and a haste, in bearing the message of redemption, which are in keeping with the case, and mark the conduct of true disciples in all places and at all times.—W. Arnot, D.D.
Mat_28:9-10. Meeting Jesus.—
1. Such as obey the directions of God’s servants, and do use prescribed means that they may meet with Christ, shall find Him ere they be aware. These women meet Christ before they looked for Him; as they went on His errand, Jesus met them.
2. Joyful is the meeting which a soul hath with Christ.
3. A humble sinner may be homely with Christ.
4. Such as believe God’s word in the mouth of His messengers shall find confirmation of it by Christ Himself; for here the Lord bids them do the same things which the angel had commanded before—to carry news to the Apostles.
5. For all that can be said unto us, our faith is still mixed with some doubtings, which breed fear, and Christ only can remove them; therefore saith He here, “Be not afraid.”
6. The weakest of believers are much beloved and esteemed by Christ. “Go, tell My brethren.”
7. The place wherein Christ is most welcome to preach shall be most honoured by His presence. “In Galilee shall they see Me.”
8. Howsoever our Lord be purposed to give sensible satisfaction to His people in due time, yet doth He ever require some belief of His word in the mouth of His servants, and some obedience of faith to go before it; therefore saith He, “Tell them that they go to Galilee,” and addeth, “There shall they see Me.”—David Dickson.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain Mat 28:1. “And at the end of the Sabbath,…
THE WOMEN GO TO THE SEPULCHER
Mat 28:1. “And at the end of the Sabbath, at the dawn, toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher.” Mar 16:2-4. “And it being exceedingly early, on the first day of the week, they are coming to the tomb, the sun approaching the horizon. And they were saying to one another, Who shall roll for us the stone away from the door of the sepulcher? And looking up, they see that the stone has already been rolled away; for it was exceedingly great.”
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Luk 24:1-3 : “And on the first day of the week, at the depth of the dawn, they came to the sepulcher, bearing the aromatics which they prepared, and certain ones along with them. And they found that the stone had been rolled away from the sepulcher; and coming in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Joh 20:1-2 : “On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene comes to the sepulcher early in the morning, it being yet dark, and sees that the stone has been rolled away from the sepulcher.” The reason why on this item I quote all of the writers is because of the infidel criticism that has been concentrated upon this important point of the inspired history, vigorous efforts having been made to establish disharmony among the four historians. You see there is none, the E. V. translation of Mark, representing them as coming at sunrise, being here corrected, the Greek simply meaning, “the sun approaching the horizon,” and, as you see, perfectly harmonizing with Matthew, “at the dawn, toward the first day of the week,” Luke, “at the depth of the dawn,” and John, “early in the morning, it being yet dark.”
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain I. A day of mighty memories; (1) of the…
Mat 28:1
I. A day of mighty memories; (1) of the creation of the world; (2) of the resurrection of Christ; (3) of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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II. A day of noble and happy associations; (1) historical; (2) congregational; (3) personal.
III. A day of holy hopes; (1) of a holier Sabbath; (2) of a holier sanctuary; (3) of a holier character.
IV: A day of solemn duties; (1) private; (2) domestic; (3) public.
G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines of Sermons, p. 256.
References: Mat 28:1.—Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 197. Mat 28:1-10.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. i., p. 298; H. R. Reynolds, Notes of the Christian Life, p. 242. Mat 28:2.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xv., No. 863; S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 148. Mat 28:5.—W. Harris, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 368.
Mat 28:6
The angel here appeals to the senses of those who stand about the tomb to attest the truth of Christ’s actual resurrection from the dead.
I. The empty tomb at once proclaimed the actual resurrection of the Saviour. The Resurrection is proclaimed to be a fact—(1) by the testimony of human witnesses. The disciples were men of probity, and had no worldly advantage to acquire from the publication of such a circumstance, but quite the opposite. They had known Christ, surely, long enough to recognize Him again when He appeared amongst them; and with one concurrent voice they testify, "He is risen from the dead." (2) This is strengthened by the testimony of angels, and by their various appearances as bearers of the news. (3) The resurrection of Christ was not denied, even by His enemies, but was covertly recognized and admitted, even while the Jews agreed to a traditional falsehood to conceal from their posterity that which they knew to be a fact. (4) The Apostles constantly attested the fact, as also did the Fathers of the primitive Christian Church—Ignatius, Polycarp, and the other venerable custodians of the truth. (5) Christ rose, likewise, in precise accordance with Scriptural types and predictions, and with the same body as that in which He had lived and died.
II. The language of the text expresses the great humiliation of Jesus Christ. "Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
III. We cannot meditate beside the place where the Lord lay without learning something of the infinite love of God.
IV. Neither can we look upon His empty tomb without being convinced of the Divine faithfulness—faithfulness as to promises, types, shadows, and predictions.
V. This visit to the place where the Lord lay must bring with it, too, a striking evidence of His Divine sovereignty. "I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again." And if He thus held in His sovereign hand the issues and the destinies of His own career, He can, in like manner, overrule and control the destinies of His people.
VI. Is not this vacant tomb an almost satirical evidence of His triumph over His enemies and ours?
VII. Lastly, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay," that you may behold in it the certain and the glorious pledge of a perfected salvation.
A. Mursell, Calls to the Cross, p. 286.
Mat 28:6
(with 1Co 15:44)
The Resurrection from the Dead.
We still assert, in words, a literal resurrection of the body, but none of us believe it. Our hymns, our prayers, our epitaphs, and too often our sermons, imply that the dust of our bodies shall be reanimated in some far-off future, and joined to the waiting soul. At the same time, we know that science declares it to be impossible; our reason revolts from it; it is sustained by no analogy; it is an outworn and nearly discarded opinion. There is, however, a general feeling of perplexity in regard to it. The view now offered is substantially this: that the resurrection is from the dead, and not from the grave; that it takes place at death; that it is general in the sense of universal; that the spiritual body, or the basis of the spiritual body, already exists, and that this is the body that is raised up, God giving it such an outward form as pleaseth Him, and thus preserving that dualistic state essential to consciousness, if not to existence itself. Let us notice some considerations that render these views probable.
I. The butterfly gains its perfect form, not by assimilating the. worm, but by getting rid of it. It is the most beautiful analogy in nature, its very gospel upon the resurrection—at first a creeping thing, dull and earth-bound, a slight period of dormancy, and then a winged creature floating upon the air and feeding upon flowers, one life, yet possessing from the first the potency of two forms.
II. The entire significance and value of the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead centre in the fact that it sets forth human identity. The question now arises, in what does identity consist? Identity does not lie in matter, nor is it dependent upon matter. Man is not the matter that makes up the perpetual flux known as the human frame; he is nothing that the chemist can put test to. He must be something, not material, that endures, on which the shifting phenomena of animal life play themselves off. The body is not the man, and it is the man who is raised up. He goes into the other world simply unclothed of flesh, there to take on an environing body suited to his new conditions. As here we have a body adapted to gravitation, and time, and space, so doubtless it will be hereafter; the spirit will build about itself a body such as its new conditions demand.
T. T. Munger, The Freedom of Faith, p. 295.
References: Mat 28:6.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 18; vol. xviii., No. 1081; J. Keble, Sermons on Various Occasions, p. 523; D. Rose, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 321; G. W. McCree, Ibid., vol. xxix., p. 314; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ix., p. 214; vol. x., p. 117; J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. i., p. 313; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 562; Armitage, American Pulpit of the Day, vol. i., p. 251. Mat 28:7.—S. A. Tipple, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 24; H.W. Beecher, Ibid., vol. xix., p. 52.
Mat 28:8
I. The false message which brought sin into the world, and all our woe, was given first to woman, and by her was communicated to the man. The Resurrection of the Lord, the healing of that early death-wound, was communicated in the same way. From an angel to woman, and from woman to man, and from man to the world came death. From an evil angel, through the link of woman to mankind, the evil tidings spread and covered the earth. From a good angel to woman, and from women to men, and from men to the world came life, the life of the world.
II. It is not much preaching we get from angels’ lips; but there is a little here, and that little very precious. The commission he brought and laid on the two Marys was, "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead;" and in order to prepare them for obeying, he said first, "Fear not ye." The angel gave their spirits the cordial before he imposed the race upon their limbs. Besides exhorting them not to fear, he gave them ground to bear their joy: "The Lord is not here; He is risen." The angel knew his part well, for the whole theory of missions is here. To invite the messenger first near, that himself may know that the Lord is risen, and his own soul rejoice in the living Saviour—this it is that will qualify him for going quickly to bring word to the disciples, or to the world, of the Resurrection of Christ.
III. "They did run to bring the disciples word." It was the word within them that impelled them to hasten; it was the word in their heart that made them run with the word on their lips. I detect a grand key-note here. It is not only the message, carefully learned and correctly told; it is not only the faithful witness-bearing, whatever danger may be incurred. Over and above all this there are an eagerness, an enthusiasm, and a haste, in bearing the message of redemption, which are in keeping with the case, and mark the conduct of true disciples in all places and at all times. "The King’s business requireth haste." This is strictly natural; it is a universal law. All great tidings travel quickly, whether they be glad or grievous. Here the tidings were very great; they were charged with life from the dead for the world; it was an instinct irrepressible in those who knew them to break into a run, in order to tell them soon to those whom they concerned.
W. Arnot, The Anchor of the Soul, p. 157.
References: Mat 28:8-20.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. i., p. 340. Mat 28:9, Mat 28:10.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes: Gospels and Acts, p. 56; H. W. Beecher, Sermons, 4th series, p. 105.
Mat 28:10
It is very probable that there: was some far deeper reason than we can now discover why Galilee should have been marked out to have, as it had, a special connection with the events of Eastertide.
I. The first thought which suggests itself is that Jerusalem, "the hill of Zion," which was once the "joy of the whole earth," and which the Lord Himself had loved, had rejected and crucified the Son of God, and in consequence of her apostasy was no longer the chosen home of God on earth. She was cast off, and her house was left unto her desolate. And in consequence thereof the risen Saviour was about to lead away His Apostles from the once holy city to the borders of the Gentiles, to whom the offer of salvation through Him was now to be made.
II. Why were the Apostles to meet their risen Lord in Galilee? Was it for the same cause that in Jerusalem He appeared only to the faithful few, and that, for the most part, when the doors were closed at night? Or was it for the totally opposite reason, that by fixing a set time, and the place where He was most known, He took the best course to set the fact of His resurrection beyond dispute? Or was it because He could best unfold the mysteries of His kingdom, and give His last instructions to His followers before He ascended to His Father, in a place of safety, in the quiet of the fields, or upon the sea, of Galilee? We cannot speak positively; but the lesson is that, not at once, not until some trial of faith and patient waiting had been gone through, was that privilege bestowed, of closest communion with the Master and His servants, of which Galilee was to be the scene. In proportion to our faith in Christ and love for Him shall we have need of patience too. The Apostles were constrained to wait, and so must we. They must go to Galilee, "and there," said the promise, "ye shall see Him." We must work our way to a better country, that is a heavenly; and thither, says the promise, "I go to prepare a place for you." Surely, what the thought of Galilee was to the Apostles is that of heaven to them that love the Lord Jesus—now the looked-for place of meeting, where the tears of past sorrows shall be dried, hope turned into fruition, love and knowledge perfected, and communion made "complete in Him." Scattered, like sheep which had fled from their shepherd, were the Apostles, till the mountain in Galilee was pointed out as the place where they with each other, and all with their Lord, were to meet once more. And so heaven is that better Galilee where they who are now dispersed and parted may meet again.
F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life, vol. i., p. 187.
Mat 28:11-15
The Chief Priests’ Story.
This tale of the high priests’, if it be good for anything, will bear the same cross-examination and analysis as others in the annals of important jurisprudence, and candour is compelled instantly to admit it labours under serious embarrassments.
I. In the very outset, the antecedent improbability of particulars crushes it. How came a trained watch all to go to sleep? Would the whole band of sixteen men be likely to fall away at once, and remain in slumber a time long enough for this amount of labour? This was noisy work, and took some numbers to do it, yet it would have to be done leisurely. Who folded up the napkin and arranged the grave-clothes in the dark? And if the Roman soldiers were asleep, how did they know anything about it?
II. The immediate followers of Jesus had no motive to steal the body of their Lord.
III. It is evident from the entire story, told here in its artless naturalness, that the disciples had no sort of concerted plan to do any such thing. Why, they had His body in their power after Joseph begged it on Friday evening; now was it possible that the idea should strike them to go and pilfer it away on Saturday?
IV. The Jews never told this tale to any judicial audience or court, so that it could be subjected to cross-examination. Stealing the body was a capital crime, yet not one of these accused disciples was ever arrested for its commission. To have proved this story of theft in the night would have overturned the entire Christian religion in one sweep. But after this first lie in Jerusalem the Sanhedrim preserved a discreet silence.
V. There was awful risk to the soldiers if this story was true, but if the story was not true there was no peril in it.
VI. The inherent impossibility of the act itself cannot be left out of sight. If there was one spot more than another likely to be under malevolent and curious scrutiny, it was that where the Nazarene Prophet was laid. Any suspicious movement would have been observed by a score of eyes.
VII. Then what could be done with the body after the disciples had got it in possession? In that land, where such strict regulations existed, where every one shunned contact because of a ceremonial uncleanness, how could those frightened Galileans have relieved themselves of a burden so awkward after they had passed the precincts of the garden? If discovered, what was there so fatal to their faith, as well as to themselves, as this half-buried body of the crucified Nazarene?
C. S. Robinson, Sermons on Neglected Texts, p. 100.
References: Mat 28:11-15.—E. D. Solomon, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 293. Mat 28:11-20.—Parker, Inner Life of Christ, vol. iii., p. 276. Mat 28:16.—A. Raleigh, From Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 230. Mat 28:16, Mat 28:17.—A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 493.
Mat 28:16-20
(with 1Co 15:6)
The question meets us today, as we think of the narrative of the text, How do we stand related to that assembly on the Galilean mountain, and to that last command of our adored Lord? The answer which I trust we shall all feel disposed to give is this, that we are related to that assembly just as though we had formed part of it, to that last command as though we had heard it in audible words from the lips of our Lord. That we may be confirmed in this conviction let us ask and answer some further questions.
I. Is the world’s need any less now than it was then? Substantially, it is the same. It was great and urgent then; it is great and urgent now. "Go ye, therefore," into the busy world immediately around you, and into the wider world beyond, with the good news of God. Tell men that God loves them, that Christ "is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him." Such is the great commission, the most important ever entrusted to men. Note (1) its universality, (2) its intellectual character, (3) its gentleness.
II. Are the encouragements given to those who put themselves instantly in a way of obedience to this last command in any manner or degree less than they were at first or through the primitive ages? Christ’s assertions regarding His power and presence were immediately put to the proof by His followers, and in no long time they were able to point rejoicingly to certain definite results, not only in the inward experiences, but in the lives and characters of men. The most marvellous changes took place, such as had never been obtained under any other teaching or influence whatever. In a state of society like ours, which has long been under more or less of the general Christian culture, we cannot expect to see many changes so visibly striking as those of early times. But those who will look below the surface of things will see that changes the same in essence are being produced, that the same sanctifying grace is still at work. When men go forth and teach the true Gospel in the spirit of love and loyalty, the Lord works with them, and confirms the word by signs following. It is a great work, so great that no other can be likened to it; all other good works are only parts of it. It will be a long and hard work, but it will be done. As surely as God is the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son, there will be "glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and goodwill toward men."
A. Raleigh, From Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 230.
References: Mat 28:16.—A. Barry, Cheltenham College Sermons, p. 383. Mat 28:16-20.—B. F. Westcott, The Revelation of the Risen Lord, p. 155. Mat 28:17.—J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 9th series, p. 167.
Mat 28:17
I. Doubting in matters of religion. Doubt arises (1) from ignorance; (2) some kinds of doubt mark the course of inquiry; (3) other kinds indicate moral perversity, and are allied to unbelief.
II. The practical influence of doubting in matters of religion. (1) It is no apology for indifference; (2) it ought to stimulate inquiry; (3) it contains an element of belief; (4) it may be an ultimate benefit.
G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines of Sermons, p. 253
Mat 28:18
Our Lord’s words here are full of Divine mystery; they possess heavenly massiveness and grandeur, and yet they are full of peace, consolation, and hope to every Christ-loving heart.
I. The words are majestic and gracious; they are also comprehensive in their simplicity and brevity. Here is the mystery of the mediatorial kingdom—Christ, the God-Man, Lord of heaven and earth, to the glory of the Father. All power is given unto Him in heaven. He who descended is the same that ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things. The Son of man is on the throne of God, He who was born of the Virgin Mary, who took upon Himself the form of a servant, who by Himself purged our sins, who is at the right hand of the Father.
II. Jesus has all power in heaven, in order that the Church on earth should constantly and steadfastly look away from all that is human and temporal, and know of no other mediation, strength, guidance, and comfort but the power and love, the wisdom and faithfulness of her One only Master and Head. He is high, to be visible and accessible to the least of His disciples in the lowliest valley of his weakness and ignorance.
III. Behold Him, the Son of man, seated at the right hand of the Father, and in His majestic rest and peaceful dignity behold the perfect assurance of our acceptance and of our blessedness.
IV. Behold Jesus in heaven, and remember that in Him Divine omnipotence is united with the tender sympathy of perfect humanity. He was made like unto His brethren in all things, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest.
V. Behold Jesus in heaven, to bless His people. His intercession is all-prevailing. The Father Himself loveth us, according to the merciful assurance of Him who, as the true Mediator, always reveals and magnifies the Father. But it is in and through Christ that the love of the Father rests on believers.
VI. Behold Jesus in heaven, and seek the things which are above. In Him are all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. From Him descend all healthful influences, all spiritual gifts, all quickening and renewing power, all true and everlasting consolation.
VII. Behold Jesus in heaven, and be of good comfort. He presents unto the Father all the petitions and thanksgivings, all the labours and sufferings, all the words and works of His people, and they are accepted and well-pleasing in His sight.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 1.
References: Mat 28:7.—S. A. Tipple, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 24; H. W. Beecher, Ibid., vol. xix., p. 52.
Mat 28:18
The Omnipotence of Jesus on Earth.
The power of Jesus in heaven is revealed to us that we may know that to Him is also given all power on earth. He whom God hath highly exalted, who is the Lord of glory and the Prince of the kings of the earth, who is head over all things to the Church, and under Whose feet the Father hath put all things, rules and governs in silence and calm omnipotence, unknown and unrecognized by the world. All earthly events and historical movements, all triumphs of skill and knowledge, all discoveries of science and developments of human life are under His government and the power of his sceptre; all things are subservient to the great purpose of His death, and preparatory to His second Advent.
I. Jesus has power on earth to forgive sin. He who has entered into the Holy of Holies by His own blood is now before the Father, the advocate in righteousness of sinners who trust in Him. And He has power to forgive sin on earth, and the conscience is at peace, the heart that was heavy-laden is at rest. And Jesus exerts this power with tenderness, as gently as the light comes down from heaven, and as the dew falls on the flowers of earth. We look upon Him, and we are healed.
II. Jesus has power to renew the heart, Jesus only. It is His dying love that melts the heart. While the wintry and keen blasts of the law make us wrap the cloak of self-righteousness and opposition to God more firmly round us, the Sun of righteousness, the mercy of God, moves us to lay aside our pride, our sin, our hatred and forgetfulness of God.
III. Jesus has power on earth to quicken the dead. It is His Divine prerogative to give life. Who but God can kill and make alive again? Jesus is not merely a teacher or prophet; He is not a restorer of law. It is not instruction merely or principally that we need. The Lord came that we might have life, not by His doctrine, nor by His example, but by His death the erring, lost sheep were saved and brought into the fold of peace.
IV. All power is given unto Jesus on earth to keep His people in faith and love amidst all their temptations and afflictions, conflicts and struggles, giving them the victory over their enemies, and presenting them finally unblamable in body, soul, and spirit before the Father. The Good Shepherd, whose own the sheep are, by the election of the Father, by the self-sacrifice of His infinite love, by the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Ghost, keeps His people to the end. He guards them, and protects the new and tender life against the hostile and adverse influences by which it is surrounded. In heaven He is continually inteceding on our behalf, that our faith fail not; on earth He is continually shielding us with the power of His love, and keeping us by the influence of His Spirit.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 17.
References: Mat 28:18.—H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. viii., p. 100; G. T. Coster, Ibid., vol. xvi., p. 108; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ix., p. 143; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. vi., p. 276. Mat 28:18, Mat 28:19.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 383; B. Bird, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 241. Mat 28:18-20.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xx., No. 1200; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xix., p. 140; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 266; A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 536.
Mat 28:19
The Trinal Unity of the Godhead.
Consider:—
I. The doctrine of the Trinity as it appears to have been part of the earliest revelations which were given to the world. Though not revealed distinctly and dogmatically, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is conveyed in the Old Testament by implication and inference. Thus, the very first sentence in the Book of Genesis runs, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." That which is implied, though it cannot be shown in the translation, is that while the Agent is plural in this passage, the verb with which it is connected is in the singular number. And this strange form of expression is used by Moses about five hundred times, when speaking of God, and it is so used by none else. And Jewish writers confess that this frequently recurring phrase is indicative of some mystery in the Divine Being, though they do not attempt to define its nature. But the Jews are not our only witnesses to the fact of this great doctrine being a part of God’s earliest communications to the human family. The truth, in some disguised and distorted form, will be found to have entered into almost all the fabulous theologies of the world, and this the more distinctly the more remote their antiquity.
II. The doctrine of the Trinity forms the subject of controversy in the earliest ages of the Christian Church.
III. To the humble Christian this doctrine is embraced for the peace and salvation of his soul; to him the mystery of the doctrine is nothing; He asks only, Have I sufficient evidence of the fact? and he feels that he has. In all its searchless mystery the doctrine of Three Persons sharing equally and alike the attributes of underived and inherent Godhead, and yet these Three all One in nature, One in essence, One in purpose, and mind, and will, is the only doctrine which meets the necessities of our lapsed race, or provides for our being brought back to a state of innocence and peace.
D. Moore, Penny Pulpit, No. 3,138.
Mat 28:19
The Catholic and Spiritual Character of the Church.
I. Note the universality of this command of Christ—"all nations." When Jesus was on earth He did not go to all nations, but confined His ministry to Israel. It was according to the Divine purpose, according to the method of God’s dealings with Israel and the nations, that Jesus should first go to His own people, preaching to them the Gospel of the kingdom, and endeavouring to gather them under the wings of His mercy and holy love. He was Israel’s Messiah and King. The Angel of the Covenant came to His temple. But Israel itself was chosen in Him for the salvation of the world. And even during His earthly ministry in Israel, Jesus thought with joy and love of the Gentiles, who should come to the light and enter the fold of Divine peace. And now the time had come. The Gospel of salvation was to be preached to the whole world. The rejection of Israel’s Messiah results in a twofold dispensation. In judgment the Jews are scattered among all the nations of the earth; in love and mercy, in blessing, the Church is sent to all peoples and tongues. The Bible, and the Bible only, teaches firmly and clearly the unity of the human race. (1) As we are the children of Adam, all human beings are equal, created in the image of God, forming one family of mankind, called to light, and holiness, and blessedness. As all truths, this great truth is confirmed and illustrated by the Lord Jesus Christ. (2) This equality is, alas, also an equality in sin and in condemnation! (3) The unity of the race is a blessed fact, when we remember that the Son of God became man. Unto the whole race Christ is sent; He is given unto man as man, a new Centre to the whole family of mankind.
II. The spiritual character of this commission—"teaching them." Men are to be taught. The Word is the sword of the Spirit. By the Word the heart is conquered, and the Word is the bread which nourishes and strengthens the soul. Thus it always was with God’s people. There is no book like Scripture in which men are so constantly exhorted to think, to consider, to reason, to learn, to meditate, to remember. There is no book so opposed to all blind obedience and assumption of external authority. There is no book so opposed to the pride and selfishness of an esoteric school, keeping the people in subjection and partial ignorance. The Church is where the Word of God is. We need nothing else but the word, in order to be men of God, perfect, thoroughly "furnished unto all good works." And as the inward life and growth of the Church are by the Word, so are her extension and influence. The great commission of the Church is to preach the Gospel to the world.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 37.
Mat 28:19
Heathenism.
The text brings before us the subject of heathenism, and the relation of the Church of Christ to the heathen world. The words of our Lord are our authority as well as our encouragement for engaging in the great work of heathen missions. He Himself is the Sender. It is a work which is essential; it is, in one aspect, and if we take a wide enough view of its meaning, the work of the Christian Church.
I. With regard to the times of ignorance, there are three elements which modify the dense darkness which covers the earth. (1) There is the reminiscence of the primeval revelation. (2) The second element, which in some degree alleviates the great oppressiveness and gloom of men’s ignorance, is that, as Sophocles expressed it, "there are the unwritten laws of Heaven in the hearts of men, which are not of today or yesterday, whose birth-tide is not known to any man." (3) The third element is this, that God, by the Holy Spirit, who bloweth where He listeth, had His work among the Gentile nations (Melchizedek, Job, the men of Nineveh).
II. We must not regard the judgments that are denounced in Scripture against heathenism and the nations that forget God as unjust and hard. Nothing in the Bible is harsh and severe. The light in which heathenism is revealed in Scripture, although it is truthful, is also affectionate. Whatever there is pure, and lovely, and ideal among the heathen nations, think not that it is our interest, or that it is the spirit of Christianity and Scripture, to ignore it or make little of it. God is the God of all, and there is nothing good or beautiful but it has its origin in God’s Spirit.
III. When we think of heathenism we are overwhelmed and appalled. Think of its antiquity. Think of the extent of its territory. Think of the wonderful minds which have been captivated and enslaved by heathenism. Think of the evil of idolatry. Idolatry is not one evil; it is not a great evil; you cannot even call it the greatest evil: it is the evil; it is the mother of all evils; it is the root of all evil. Think of the wretchedness and misery of the heathen. It is a very superficial view of antiquity when people talk of the bright days of sunshine and joy in ancient Hellas. There were brightness and beauty; that people were gifted with a marvellous sense of the beautiful; but those who are well acquainted with antiquity know the deep-seated melancholy, the gloom, the cloud of darkness, which was only temporarily and superficially dispersed. Above all, let us remember the only antidote of idolatry; it is to "know God, and Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent."
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 208.
References: Mat 28:19.—J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, p. 343; Christian World Pulpit, vol. ix., p. 104; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. v., p. 174; W. Cunningham, Sermons, p. 89; J. Oswald Dykes, Sermons, p. 128.
Mat 28:19
This passage has always been regarded by the Church of Christ as teaching most clearly the doctrine of the Trinity. "Name" is never used in Scripture in connection with abstract things or qualities, but always with persons. As the personality, so the Divinity, and consequently the equality of the Three are distinctly set forth; for the name of the Son and of the Spirit are coordinated with that of the Father; the same faith is demanded of us in regard to each of the Three Persons. The solemnity of the moment when these words were spoken by our Lord, the character of the ordinance with which He connects them, clearly prove that they contain the cardinal and fundamental doctrine on which all Christian teaching and life rest.
I. In this doctrine there is light for the mind. God dwelleth no longer in darkness, and in heights unattainable to the vision of human hearts. We see Jesus, the God-Man, and He reveals the Father and the Spirit. Jesus, by the name of God, reveals to us creation, for by Him, the Word of God, were all things made; and by the Spirit the Father’s purpose and the mediation of the Son were actually accomplished in perfection and beauty. Jesus, by the name of God, reveals to us in eternity, not a lonely, quiescent God, such as neither mind can conceive nor affection grasp, but a God in whom from all eternity there was fulness of life, and love, and blessedness, the Father loving the Son, and the Spirit knowing the depths of the Godhead.
II. Here the conscience finds rest. Only in a Triune God are perfect atonement and reconciliation. He who brings us to the Father is the Son. The Church was purchased with the blood of Him who is God; and when Christ, by His own blood, entered into the Holy of Holies, we were represented by Him and complete in Him. The work of the Holy Ghost, also, is essential to our peace. Christ is ours only by the power of the Holy Ghost. Without the love of the Father, the atonement of the Son, and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost the conscience may be soothed, but cannot be set at rest and purified.
III. And here, in the mystery of the Triune name, is love for the heart. It is only when we know the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we know that God is Love; that love is not one of His attributes merely, but that He is Love from everlasting to everlasting; that from all eternity God, who lives, loves; that in Him—the one Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—are united in ever-blessed communion of love.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 67.
The name of God, the glory of the Old and of the New Covenant. In the Divine revelation to Israel, from Abraham to the Exodus, and from Moses to the last prophets, we can trace the following lines of education, which all converge in the Advent of the Lord Jesus, and in his full revelation of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
I. Scripture teaches us that no man can see God, and Scripture speaks at the same time of God appearing. Israel knew God as Jehovah revealing Himself, the Messenger or Angel, sent by God and one with God, His Representative, face and image, in whom Divine glory was manifest, and to whom Divine adoration is due.
II. But while God came thus nigh unto them, He revealed the infinite distance which separated between Him and the sinful nation. Israel is sinful and guilty, yet God dwells among them. Israel hopes in the Lord, for with Him is plenteous redemption. For they knew that God, the holy and just Lawgiver, was also God the Redeemer. A just God and a Saviour, a holy God and a sanctifying Spirit, were manifested unto Israel, or, in other words, the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
III. These two lines of prophecy are combined, in the hope of Jehovah’s rending the heavens, and coming down to redeem and glorify Israel. The coming of the Lord God is the theme of Psalms and Prophets. The invisible God manifests the Holy One among a forgiven and renewed people; such is the hope of Israel.
IV. We must combine with these passages an apparently opposite line of prediction. Its starting-point is not the throne of holiness, but the earth under a curse, and the woman, who was first in the transgression. This series of promises is familiar to all. The Seed, the Son, the David, the Servant, the Israel is the Redeemer, the Light of the nations, the Restorer and glory of His people. And as He is man, and born of the Virgin-daughter of Zion, He is also God. Israel was taught that the Son of David, the Messiah, was God manifest in the flesh, Revealer of the Father, the Lord who can baptize with the Holy Ghost. Does not the Messianic prophecy declare the name of the Triune God?
V. This mysterious God-Man is seen in heaven and coming down from heaven (Psa 110:1; Zec 12:10).
VI. The mystery of the Trinity is foreshadowed in the teaching of the Book of Proverbs. Who can fail to recognize the identity of the Wisdom spoken of in the Book of Proverbs, and the Word, who was in the beginning with God? Wisdom is set up from everlasting, brought forth; or as the Church expresses it, God of God, begotten, not made; beyond and above all creation; to be distinguished from God, and yet worshipped in the Godhead.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 89.
Mat 28:19-20
The Uniting Name.
I. A set of Galilean fishermen were bidden to teach or make disciples of all nations. In some way or other these Galileans did make disciples among Jews, the worshippers of the I AM, the Jehovah; among Greeks, the worshippers of human heroes and the forms of nature. Consider what was necessary to bring these two portions of the world into a common fellowship. Those words which He spoke as He stood on the mount, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth," were indeed most necessary before they could believe that power would descend on them to execute His command. Only if He had reconciled earth and heaven, only if He had conquered the visible as well as the invisible world, only if both were gathered up in Him, could they have the credentials or the inner might which were needed for heralds to the nations. "Go ye therefore," was the natural sequence to this assurance. But it was not enough. They were messengers from God to men, as he was who had seen the vision in the burning mount. They had as much necessity to ask as Moses had, "Behold, when we come unto them, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent us unto you, and they shall say to us, What is His name? what shall we say unto them?" The answer was given before the question had arisen, "Go ye, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
II. The name, the new and awful name, was proclaimed. But it was not merely proclaimed. The nations were not merely to be told, "It is this Being whom henceforth you are to worship; to this name the names of the Delphic Apollo and the Jove of the Capitol must bow." Go ye, it was said, and baptize all nations into this name. Speak not of it as if it stood aloof from them, as if it were afar off them. This mystery is about them, embracing them, sustaining them. The more we study this history, the more we shall be convinced that the preaching of this name and the baptism into this name were the mighty powers by which the divided worship, the demon worship of the old world was overthrown. And this because it was felt that there was one inclusive Truth revealed to mankind; a Truth which we cannot comprehend, but which comprehends us; a living Truth, which speaks itself out in a Person, not in a proposition; a Truth into which we must be received, and which will then go with us through life and death, meeting us in every new stage of our education, interpreting itself to us by our own individual trials, and by all the trials through which the world, or any section of it, is appointed to pass, bringing within its circle the sage and the little child.
F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iv., p. 33.
The Church and the World.
As Christ was sent by the Father, so is the Church sent by Christ. Jesus was sent to be the Revelation and Representative of the Father, to testify of Him, to declare Him, to do His will, and to finish His work. He was a true and faithful Witness; He was the perfect Servant, whose meat it was to do the Father’s will; He declared the name of God, and finished the work. Now Christ sends us into the world that we may show forth His life, that we may be His witnesses, that His light and love may shine, attract, and bless men through us, that men may behold in us Christ, as they beheld the Father in Him. As Christ was, so are we in the world. The Church is in the world. The reason is threefold: (1) the glory of God; (2) that she may follow Jesus, who through suffering entered into glory; (3) to promote the conversion of sinners. "From the life of Jesus," said the old Germans, "we can learn all things;" we can learn Christ, and to know Him is to know all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Let us, then, continually study Him as the Model; we must represent Christ in our lives.
I. And first, let us remember the object of Christ’s life. He was sent. He never forgot that He came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father that sent Him. Thus He was constantly the Servant of God, the Representative of the Father. Now we are sent by Jesus, and all that we are and have, all our words and works, are to be viewed in the light of mission and service.
II. Jesus came in lowliness. His birth, infancy, childhood, and youth are characterized by the emblems of poverty and obscure humility. What are we to learn from this? Are we not to follow the Master? We may not be poor, but we are to love poverty. We ought not to trust in earthly riches and honour, in the things which the world esteems and pursues; we ought to remember that our influence and our power are spiritual, and that the garment of the true Church is that of a servant, of a stranger and pilgrim.
III. Jesus was the Son of God; He came from above. Thus the Church is born of God, of incorruptible seed. Her life is none other than the life of Christ, the risen Head, the life of the Spirit, who dwelleth in us. We exert influence and power in the world simply by our being blameless and harmless, the sons of God, living Christ’s life, manifesting the Divine nature, of which we are partakers who have escaped the corruption of the world through lust. In this lowliness and in this power the Church is able to go to the whole world with love and sympathy, announcing substance in the midst of emptiness and vain shadows, eternal life in the midst of death and sorrow, peace to the heavy-laden conscience, love to the aching and thirsting heart, forgiveness and renewal, health and joy, to the wounded and contrite.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 160.
The history of the Apostolic Church is the guide-book of the Church of every age. The Holy Ghost has not given us a record of the subsequent history of Christ’s people, and we are convinced that the description of the Apostolic Church given to us by the Spirit is all that we need for our instruction and encouragement. What, then, were the characteristic features of the Apostolic Church?
I. We read that the Pentecostal congregation of Jerusalem continued steadfast in the Apostles’ doctrine, and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Deeply rooted and grounded in the knowledge and love of Christ, they cast forth their roots as Lebanon, their branches spread extensively; there were continually added to their number true believers. The Church spreads when she is intense in her spiritual life; she spreads when she deepens; she expands by concentration.
II. We are told that the Church of Jerusalem was regarded by the people with awe and with favour. This shows that the Church manifested both the holiness and love of God.
III. The Apostolic Church was full of joy and peace in believing, by the power of the Holy Ghost. The reality of Apostolic faith explains their joyousness and their heavenly-mindedness. The Apostolic Christians believed, they trusted in Jesus; and they rejoiced in Him who was their loving Redeemer, and who was coming again to give them the kingdom.
IV. The Apostolic Church was the home of love. Jesus was their Centre. In Him they were one. Where Christ’s Spirit is, there love dwells and reigns. Love rooted in the heart, strong, sweet, and tender; love in deed and in truth, manifesting itself in the words of consolation, counsel, and encouragement, all the deeds of help and self-sacrifice.
V. The Church of Christ in the Apostolic times was organized. While there is no intervening priesthood or mediation between earth and heaven, the Lord Jesus blesses, feeds, and rules the flock through the ministry of believers, chosen and set apart for this solemn work. The object of the ministry is the ingathering of souls, and the edifying of the Body of Christ. The permanence of the ministry comprises the whole dispensation. The existence of the ministry promotes and strengthens the unity and equality of believers.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 190.
References: Mat 28:19, Mat 28:20.—D. Thomas, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxii., p. 198; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xix., pp. 79, 81; G. E. L. Cotton, Sermons to English Congregations in India, p. 114.
Mat 28:20
The assurance was not given—it could not have been given with effect—until the Divine Speaker had certified His followers by many infallible proofs that it should be even as He said. Had the Ascension followed immediately upon the Resurrection—had there been no manifestation of the risen life of Christ to the Church, no drying of the Magdalen’s tear, no satisfaction of the doubts of Thomas, no breaking bread with the friends at Emmaus, no meeting with the fishers by the shore of Tiberias—the promise would have failed of half its potency; the "Lo, I am with you," in that case, must have been, "Believe me, I shall be with you;" and though faith might have accepted the dogma of the Resurrection, love could hardly have appropriated the risen Christ. There are some art-creations which owe their influence upon us less to the beauty of detail than to the finishing-touch of the artist’s hand. One streak of light on the canvas communicates to the whole an indefinable expression, which enthralls us as we gaze. Something analogous is the effect of the last touch added by the inspired penman in the text to the completed portrait of the Saviour’s life. The image of Christ is felt to be no longer a thing external to us. Risen and ascended, He dwells in us, and we in Him. If the Church be indeed the body of her Lord, it must be that the principles of His life will be found to lie at the root of her own, and to contain within them, likewise, the promise and potency of the life to come.
I. We continually profess our belief in the Holy Catholic Church; what is it that we believe? The question is no simple one, for the Church, though one body, is diverse in function and in form, and men’s thoughts vary widely in respect to the essentials of her life according as they are most attracted to this or that feature of the complex whole. The Church of Christ cannot be definitely measured by human language, any more than she can be compassed in her completeness by human eye. Men go about her, and think to tell her towers and mark her bulwarks, but her foundations are in the Rock which none may scan. Her limits extend beyond the bounds of space. She is no city of material build, but a polity of living spirits whose sustenance is derived from invisible sources. Her franchise is the heavenly citizenship. Her charter is hidden in the counsels of God. Let us, then, endeavour to forget the outward form she wears in this or that communion, and seek to rise to the height of those ideas of which she is designed to be the remembrancer. Briefly stated, her mission is this, "To declare a new fellowship among men, in consequence of the disclosure of a new relationship between man and God."
II. Christ came, it cannot be too often repeated, to reveal the Father. Not a man, but Man, the realization in One Person of all that man was created to be, so that while He represents us each to ourselves in idea as that which God would have us to be, His obedient children, He reveals God to us as that which He is in fact, a loving Father. From this revelation follows that of the universal brotherhood of man. These ideas are hidden in the bosom of the Church of Christ. To these she owes her catholicity. "Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more;" and in spite of all external divergence, in spite of priestly domination, in spite of the dogmatism of sects, the Church of Christ lives in the vitality of her ideas, casting off from age to age the imperfect systems in which man’s error disguises them, appealing ever anew to the simplest trusts and aspirations of his heart, and beckoning him onwards continually to an ultimate union of manifold Divinity at the feet of his Father in heaven. The true progress of the race, it has been said, is hidden in the thoughts of Christ; and though Churches may prove unfaithful, these cannot die. A Church whose theology tacitly puts limits upon the love of God to man, whose authority restrains men from searching diligently into the Word and works of God, whose system bars the free access of man’s spirit to the Father of all, whose hierarchy exalt their privilege of ministry into a right of lordship—such a Church contains within itself the seeds of disunion and decay; it is untrue to the catholic ideal; it has lost the spirit of the Master. But the Church which remembers that it is constituted on Divine promises, and endowed with spiritual privileges in order to make known to men their new relationship to God, and furnish them with help to realize the duties which that relationship implies—such a Church bears true witness to Christ; it is a living part of His body, and will necessarily become, through its own vitality, a centre of union.
E. M. Young, Oxford and Cambridge Journal, April 27th, 1876.
Mat 28:20
The New Obedience.
I. There is a twofold element in the law—condemnation and the promise, type and instalment of redemption. Both elements were given in love; in both the purpose was one of mercy. But when the primary object of the law had failed, when men remained proud, self-satisfied, cherishing and excusing sin without humility and repentance, men failed also to see and enjoy the comfort of this promise, the meaning and substance of the type. Thus they who walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless were the very Israelites who waited for the redemption in Jerusalem; they honoured the law, and therefore longed for the Gospel.
II. Christ is come; and now, instead of condemnation, behold grace; instead of shadow and type, behold perfection and fulfilment, that is truth. And (1) let us remember that in Christ only the law of God found its realization and fulfilment. It had hitherto been only an idea seeking embodiment, a problem awaiting its solution, an outline looking for substance and life. Jesus, with the eyes of His heart, saw the law in its breadth and depth; He joyfully filled the entire outline; His willing mind, His loving heart, His filial spirit entered into the whole mind of God, and penetrated to the depth and substance of God’s Word. (2) All men are under the law, till through the death of Christ they are freed from it. Christ is, to us who believe, the end of the law for righteousness. The law condemns; the Gospel brings deliverance and salvation. The law could not give life; it could not minister unto us the Holy Ghost. Christ hath quickened us, and by His Spirit dwells in our hearts, and therefore we are able to love. Love is the fulfilment of the law. And as the law could not attain it, so the love which our Lord gives us is something higher and deeper than the law demanded or foreshadowed. (3) The commandments of Christ may be summed up according to the various aspects of the inner and outer life. If we look at the heart, the source and root of life and action, all Christ’s commandments are contained in His most touching appeal, "Abide in Me." If we look, again, at the manifestations of life, all Christ’s commandments are summed up in His simple words, "Follow Me." If we look at our relation to God, prayer, meditation, and communion, Jesus’ commandments may be summed up in one word—in secret: "Enter into thy closet, and shut the door." If we consider our relation to the world, the commandments of Christ are summed up in one word—mission. If we look, again, at the aim and purpose of our energies and lives, it is summed up in one word—heaven: "Set your affection on things that are above."
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 130.
Mat 28:20
Truth, and its Questions To-Day.
I. We live in a time which is called a time of transition, when the old thoughts of men are contending in a sharp battle with the new—so sharp that the very outsiders and camp-followers of the armies of the world, the idle men and women, take an interest and engage themselves therein in a desultory manner. Men and ideas astonish and confuse us. There is no certainty, it seems, in men. We become distrustful and indignant. But it is because we look to men too much, and have not faith in the Man Christ Jesus. It matters, after all, but little how men deceive us. We have one Leader who never disappoints, to whom truth is as dear now as it was to Him on earth, who encompasses our failure with His success, our weakness with His strength, our restlessness with His rest, and lo! He is with us always, even to the end of the world.
II. It may be, however, that other elements have come into our life which give us real reasons for dismay. There are times when a strange thing happens to us—when old evils, old temptations, which we thought we had conquered, which had died out of our lives, arise again, and we tremble with the thought that past effort has been in vain, that sins cannot have been forgiven, because they appear again. But there may be an explanation even of this. I cannot but think that it is not always a note of retrogression, but a note of growth. (1) First, it is not an experience which comes to unaspiring spirits; it belongs especially to those who are possessed with the desire to advance, to pass beyond the bounds of mortal thought, and find the fount of truth. (2) Again, this resurrection of evil things and thoughts may in itself be caused, not by any cessation of growth, but by the progress of growth itself. (3) Because we may redeem the past in Christ, let us go forward with the patience and effort of men. We will not despair while we are wise, nor let the soul, in utter faithlessness, commit the sin of Judas. God is mightier than our evil, too loving for our sins. We shall be punished, but healed through our punishment. The phantom cloud of sins, errors, failures melts away in the growing light, and from the purity of the upper sky a voice seems to descend and enter our sobered heart: "My child, go forward, abiding in faith, hope, and love; for lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
S. A. Brooke, Christ in Modern Life, p. 290.
The Perpetual Presence.
This is the Church’s charter. By this instrument we hold our all. If this be true the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. If Christ, the crucified and the risen, is indeed and in truth present still, present for ever, with us who believe, then to be a Christian, a Christian all through and altogether, must be strength, and safety, and happiness, must be life, and glory, and immortality, assured by the word of One who cannot lie, of One who, raised from death, dieth no more. What, then, we ask briefly, are some of the characteristics of this perpetual presence, in the Church and in the soul?
I. It is a special presence. There is a presence in the universe. In Christ all things consist: withdraw Him, and there is chaos. It is not of this presence that He speaks. There is a mind and will, there is a power and a work, inside the community which a man enters by believing, distinct from that which orders sky and sea, replenishes earth with life, and keeps the stars in their courses. This special presence is that which accounts for the very start, and progress, and success of Christianity.
II. It is a spiritual presence. "The Comforter," which is the Holy Ghost, once dwelt with, now He dwells in the Church. The corporeal presence is gone, that the spiritual may come. This presence has influences direct and constant, which are the life of the body. What would the Word be, the book or the voice, without the presence? What would the sacraments be, the water or the supper, without the presence? It is the presence which changes idle sounds, bare materials, fleeting wishes into realities, into instrumentalities, into very powers of a world to come.
III. It is a manifold presence. Every gift and every grace are due to it. Every office and every function of the universal Church are due to it. Not action only, but counteraction; not institution only, but adaptation; not formation only, but reparation—these, too, are parts of it.
IV. Above all else, it is a sanctifying presence. Men may cavil at revelation, fight over doctrine, ask all their days, "What is truth?" there is one thing they dare not malign, and that is holiness. If the presence were protective only, keeping alive in the earth, as a "sign spoken against," a spiritual religion, offering happiness, offering heaven, on the condition of faith in a Saviour, it might attract the weary and sorrowful; it would not appeal, as now, to the conscience and heart of mankind. The presence is proved by its effect. It is a light, it is a power, it is a life, it is a love; men do know for themselves what is the secret of their life, and other men take knowledge of it whether it is powerful and whether it is pure. If Christ can transform a life, if Christ can comfort a death, then I may doubt about many things, but one thing I see, that this is indeed the Saviour I need.
C. J. Vaughan, University Sermons, p. 233.
The Real Presence.
I. Jesus is with us as individuals. Here is our strength. Leaning on Christ our difficulties vanish. "Have not I commanded thee?" said God unto Joshua; "be strong, and be of good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou discouraged; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Jesus is with us (1) in the days of prosperity and joy, (2) in our affliction, (3) when the soul feels deserted and is cast down within us, (4) when we are slow of heart, and cannot believe that He is risen, and walk in sadness. If Jesus is with us, then (a) we have all things. His presence is our all. He Himself is our Life. All the activities of the Church are the manifestations of Christ; of Him is our fruit found. (b) We can do all things. Is He not our Lord and our Strength? Does He not fight all our battles? This is the secret of sanctification. Not merely a remembered Jesus, not merely the motive of gratitude or fear, but the present Jesus. In every temptation, in every duty, in every sorrow lean upon the Lord, who is with thee, and His grace will be sufficient. (c) This is the secret of our influence. If Jesus be with us, sinners will draw near to hear Him, into whose lips grace is poured. The presence of Jehovah in the midst of His people will awe and attract many. The presence of Jesus in our hearts and homes will manifest itself in our character and conduct, and Christ in us will draw many to Himself. (d) Heaven itself is begun, for to be with the Lord is eternal life and blessedness. Jesus shall throughout all eternity be our All. We depend and lean on Him throughout the endless ages.
II. The words of the Lord refer also and primarily to the whole Church. We who believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost believe also that there is the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints. Jesus ascended into heaven, but He has thereby not left earth and His disciples here below. He who dwells in the high and lofty place dwells also with him who is of a contrite and broken heart. Taken away from judgment and humiliation, He delights now in glory to remember His sorrows and temptations on earth, and to sympathize with the saints, whom He is not ashamed to call brethren. Wherever two or three are gathered together in His name He is in the midst of them; He is with every one who loves Him; He is with our spirit.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church, p. 233.
The ever-present Saviour.
These words of our Lord are like every other which He spoke after His Resurrection. All He said, and all He did, after He rose from the grave, was for believers only.
I. The word "alway," in the text, has perhaps rather lost the exactness of meaning which it carried at the time when our translation was made, and there is always a loss of power wherever there is a diminution of exactness. There is a great force and beauty in "all the days." It conveys at once the idea that before the mind of the speaker all the days lay ranged in order, to the last time that the sun shall ever set upon the earth. He saw each in its individuality, each with its own proper history. We are always stepping into an unknown future, but the foot cannot fall outside the presence of Jesus.
II. Most minds, whatever they be, do best in fellowship; very few are independent of the law of sympathy, and those few are the weakest. Now, conceive that you carry about with you, every day, the actual sense of the nearness, and the compassion, and the co-operation of Christ; conceive that you know that there is One at your right hand whose name is "Counsellor," to whom you can turn at any moment, and be sure of perfect direction; conceive that you are conscious of such an arm of strength that you can in your most burdened hour lean on it with all your weight: what a perfected existence would you be leading from that moment; what a path of light would stretch on before you, up to the realms of glory!
III. There is a presence, and if that presence be it must be the determining feature of every man’s life, whether he have it or not. If you have it not there is a desideratum, and such a desideratum that I hesitate not to say that whatever you have beside, if you have not the feeling of the presence of Christ life is still to you a failure and a blank. But if you have it, and delight yourself in it, the more you make of it the more it will be to you. Let it be a fixed axiom of life, "Christ is with me everywhere." Do not measure it; do not treat it like the uncertainties of this little world. Time lays no hand upon it; no shade of altered feeling ever comes to darken it; no parting hour will ever sadden it with a last farewell; but from eternity to eternity, again as yesterday, so today, as today, so tomorrow, and as tomorrow, so for ever and ever. "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." And let all the new creation cry, "Amen."
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 1874, p. 345.
Truth, and its Hope of Progress.
I. "Lo, I am with you alway," was said by Representative Mankind to the mankind He represented. If Christ be with mankind as He is with Himself, present through and in the ages as their heart and brain, then He is the Source whence evolution flows. And because He is perfect, therefore the race evolves towards perfection, and evolution towards perfection is progress. It is impossible to bring forward one half of the proofs of such a progress; but one is enough. It is plain to those who read history more for the sake of human ideas than for its statistics that many of the ideas which restricted the equal freedom of men, which implicitly denied the two great universal ideas of Christianity,—that all men are alike God’s children, that all men are brothers in Christ,—have been slowly dying away, and are now rapidly dying. In the decay of these progress is seen; in looking forward to their ruin is our best hope; in proving that their ruin is contained in Christianity is the reconciliation between the world and Christianity. We look forward, upon this "bank and shoal of time," to the destruction of all false conceptions of the relations of God to man and of man to man, to the hail which will sweep away the lingering remnants of every idea which limits, isolates, and tyrannizes over men. For the Redeemer is with us always, even to the end of the world.
II. But we must not expect that this will be done quickly or easily. Let no man or woman think, who is still young, on whom the necessary calm of age has not fallen, that they will have a quiet life, if they are in earnest, for many years to come, either in the world without or in the world within them. Development must have its rude shocks, evolution its transient earthquakes, progress its backslidings. Accept the necessity; count the cost; make ready to take your part in the things which are coming on the earth. See that you are an active part of the great evolution of the race. What matters, after all, the catastrophes, the convulsions of heart and intellect which you must suffer, the shattered sail, the midnight watch in the hurricane, the loneliness of the mid-ocean? It is life at least; it is more, it is moving with the movement of the world, and the world is moving in Christ.
S. A. Brooke, Christ in Modern Life, p. 305.
The Presentiments of Youth.
I. Three things, catastrophe, joy, and change, to either or to all of these we look forward in the hour of presentiment. We take them one by one; we ask if the forecasting of them has anything to tell us. And first, the presentiments of catastrophe, is there any good in them? (1) I think, when they are presentiments regarding others, that they make our life more delicate. They give a finer edge to noble passions. Love becomes clearer through the dream of loss, the joy of friendship more exquisite from our sense of its transiency. (2) But if the presentiment of catastrophe be for ourselves it ought to make our inner life more delicate—more delicate, inasmuch as there are so many pleasant and gracious possibilities in our own nature which we neglect to educate. We go through the meadows of our own hearts, crushing with a careless step the flowers. There is no need to walk so fast. Tread more delicately, more thoughtfully, lest when the catastrophe comes you find, too late, that you have not got the good out of your own nature which you might have done.
II. Are we ready for the progress which ought to grow out of joy? We look forward to joy, but there can be no progress got out of it if we seek to drain it dry in a moment. We need temperance in our delight. Some plunge their whole face into the rose of joy, and become drunk with the scent, but in doing so they crush their rose, and break it from its stem. The leaves wither, the colour dies, the freshness of the perfume fades; their pleasure is gone. The wise man prefers to keep his rose of joy upon its stem, to visit its beauty not all at once, but day by day, that he may have it cool and in the dew; and thus his pleasure possesses permanence.
III. Lastly, we look forward to change, sometimes with exultation, sometimes with dread; with the former in youth, with the latter in manhood. Middle age comes upon us, and we need a higher help than our own to meet the change and chance of mortal life. They must come, and the solemn question is, shall we be able to conquer their evil? have we Divine life enough in the spirit to make them into means of advance? For it is wise to remember that any change may be our overthrow. But stay; are we alone, unhelped, forgotten, feeble victims of blind Fate? Not so, if a triumphant Humanity has lived for us; not so, if these words have any value, "Lo, I am with you alway;" for then we are in Christ, and to be in Him is to be fated to progress passing into perfection; for we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
S. A. Brooke, Christ in Modern Life, p. 320.
I. In order to understand this somewhat remarkable statement we have to observe that the Saviour is speaking of something more than that presence which is inseparable from the nature of His own essential and eternal Godhead. Considered in His Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ was present, of course, with His people before His incarnation, as well as after it; present after His Ascension, as well as before it; present, too, not only with the godly, but also with the ungodly, surrounding, enfolding, encompassing all. But in these consolatory words, addressed to the Apostles on parting from them, our Lord unquestionably refers to something which is not only more intimate and personal than the unavoidable proximity of the Creator to the creature, but which is also more closely associated with the human relation in which He had stood to them during the period of His earthly ministry. The "I" who is with us always is not only the exalted Christ, who sits on the throne, and sways the sceptre of the universe, but also the Friend and Counsellor, the gentle, tender, compassionate Companion, who trod with us step by step in the journey of life, and who condescended to admit us into the freest and fullest, into the most loving and satisfying intercourse with Himself.
II. The next point which we have to notice is the fact that communion with the Saviour is made possible by the advent of the Comforter; in other words, that the coming of the Spirit is, to all intents and purposes, a coming of the Saviour to the people who love Him. We know very little about the mysteries of the spiritual world, but what we do know will not make us unwilling to believe that there are modes of communication, of intercourse, of fellowship, between spirit and spirit, with which we are totally unacquainted, but which may be real and efficacious nevertheless; and if we believe this we shall not be disposed to deny that the Holy Spirit, God the Holy Ghost, can establish, if it so pleases Him, a communication of the most intimate kind between Himself and the spirits of Christian disciples. Christ is felt to have come, because the Spirit has brought Him.
III. Lastly, let us remember that this coming of Christ to His people, precious as it is, is suited to a state of imperfection and discipline. We look forward to something beyond that which we enjoy now. We look to another coming when Christ shall be manifested in bodily presence. This is the final, the exhaustive coming; there can be nothing beyond this. Then we shall see Him as He is, "being changed into the likeness of His glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things even unto Himself."
G. Calthrop, Words Spoken to my Friends, p. 305.
The Friendship of the Living Christ.
It is evident that Christ meant this promise to express a truth of profound meaning and pre-eminent power for the men to whom He gave it; for it is a strange fact that He should, for the first time, promise to be with them always, at the very last moment before vanishing from the world, and we may be certain that words apparently so contradictory have a very deep significance. This promise, too, is the last that He gave them before sending them out as heralds of His kingdom. It is, therefore, in one sense, the sum and substance of all the consolations He had given them before; and we may be sure that this crowning message contains the elements of mighty power. Observe first and broadly, that the friendship of the living Christ is the grand aid to spiritual life. As the disciples needed the conviction that He was nearer to them when He had passed into the heavens than He had ever been while on earth, so until we reach that conviction we shall be unable to lead lives as earnest as theirs.
I. This friendship alone can mature the inner life of the soul. It is a deep and Divine law of our nature that fellowship develops the hidden powers in the spirit of man. We never know what we can do till we find a friend. There are within us sleeping capacities, great and beautiful, which never waken till then. A most mighty fact is this power of friendship, so that a man who has no friend is an enigma even to himself. In the deepest sense is this true of the inner life of the Christian.
II. This friendship alone can Christianize every action of man’s life. The emphatic demand which God’s Word makes of the Christian disciple is that he should be a Christian in everything. And this is a dream, an impossibility utter and final, unless we can realize the personal friendship of the present Christ.
III. This friendship alone can hallow the discipline of trouble. In this no mere creed-believing will do; no dead Christ is sufficient; nothing can help us but the perfect sympathy of a living Lord, who knows our sorrows, and who suffered for our sins.
IV. This friendship unites the present with the future world. It unites us with Him "who was dead, but is alive for evermore," and by it we learn to "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," for we walk with Christ as with a friend. Therefore, if you would make this life a dawning of the heavenly life and a schooling for its glorious offices, you must realize the present practical power of the words; "Lo, I am with you alway."
E. L. Hull, Sermons, 2nd series, p. 168.
Christ’s Promise.
I. In the Old Dispensation God deigned to abide visibly amongst His people when He did not abide in their hearts; and when the light and glory were departed from the mercy-seat men did not fondly insist upon it that they were still there, and that the glory of the second temple could not be less than that of the first temple; they saw and knew that it was less, and good men mourned for it, and comforted themselves with the word of prophecy, which told them that the glory of the second house should one day be greater than that of the former, because the Lord Himself with a more perfect manifestation of Himself should visit it. But when Christ was less present with His people under the New Dispensation, when the outward signs of His power were withdrawn, and falsehood and sin began to pollute His living temple, men did not open their eyes to see and acknowledge the change, but they closed them harder and harder, and went on repeating that Christ must be present, and that His Church must ever be possessed by His Spirit, when their own lie was driving His Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth, farther and farther from them, till not Christ, nor Christ’s Spirit, but the very enemy of man himself, took his seat in the holy precinct, and called himself God, and was called so by those who worshipped him.
II. So it was, and again voices are busy in repeating the same falsehood, in talking loudly about holy times, and holy things, and holy places, saying that Christ is there. Oh, blessedness above all blessedness if indeed He were there! for then were the Church perfected. For so it is that when the most inland creek begins to feel the coming in of the tide, and the living water covers the blank waste of mud and gravel which was lying bare and dreary, then we know that the tide runs full and strong in the main river, and that the creek is but refreshed out of its abundance. But who will ever see the little inland creeks filled when the main river itself is so shallow that men can go over dry-shod? and who will ask the tide to fill these remote and small corners in the first instance, as if they were to make up for the shallowness of the great river? Not through outward ordinances, even the holiest, does the Church become holy; but if it might once become holy by the presence of Christ’s Holy Spirit in every heart, then its ordinances would indeed be holy also; we might say that Christ was in them then, and we should say so truly.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. v., p. 287.
References: Mat 28:20.—H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, Waterside Mission Sermons, No. 15; J. C. Hare, The Victory of Faith, p. 315; Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., pp. 95, 173; J. T. Stannard, Ibid., vol. xiv., p. 216; C. M. Short, Ibid., vol. xxiv., p. 389; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 363; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 132; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. i., p. 119; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ii., p. 88; New Outlines on the New Testament, p. 29; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xii., p. 183.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Resurrection
The Resurrection
For the Resurrection see special article. 1-10. The Resurrection and appearance to the women (Mar_16:1; Luk_24:1; Joh_20:1). If it be remembered that a considerable number of women visited the tomb—Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, Salome (Mk), Joanna (Lk), and 'the other women with them' (Lk)—the fragmentary accounts of the evangelists are not very difficult to arrange in order. (1) Mary Magdalene and the other women visit the tomb immediately after the resurrection, and see one angel (Mt, Mk), or two (Lk). (2) She runs at once to Peter and John, who were probably alone at Peter's house, and thus misses the appearance of Christ to the women recorded by St. Matthew. (3) The other women returning more leisurely are met by Christ Himself (Mt), and report what they have seen to the other apostles. (4) Mary returns to the tomb, and after the departure of Peter and John, sees Jesus in the garden (Jn). Other arrangements of the events are also possible.
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1. In the end of the sabbath] RV 'late on the sabbath.' Strictly speaking, the Jewish sabbath closed at sunset, but here St. M.atthew, adopting the popular method of reckoning, regards the sabbath as lasting till dawn on Sunday morning. 'Late on the sabbath' is, therefore, between midnight and dawn on Sunday, as indeed is expressly stated. The other Mary] i.e. Mary, the mother of James. The women had come with ointment and spices (Mk, Lk) to anoint and embalm the body, either not knowingwhat Joseph and Nicodemus had done, or supposing that the work had been too hastily performed owing to the approach of the sabbath, which was also the feast day.
2-4. The descent of the angel, the earthquake, and the consternation of the watchers, which accompanied the resurrection, are peculiar to St. Matthew. He does not, however, state that the resurrection itself was visible, as do many of the later authorities.
5. The angel] Mk 'a young man'; Lk 'two men.' In Mk and Lk the angel (or angels) appears inside the tomb. Such slight discrepancies harmonise well with the excited feelings which such a vision would be likely to produce. Minute and detailed agreement in independent narratives under such circumstances would be suspicious. Fear not ye] The words of the angel are nearly the same in St. Matthew and St. Mark, but considerably different in St. Luke, who follows an independent tradition. St. Luke, who records no Galilean appearances, naturally omits the reference to Galilee.
7. He goeth before you into Galilee] as, indeed, Jesus Himself had already promised (Mat_26:32).
9. Jesus met them] This appearance is peculiar to St. Matthew. All hail] A common Jewish salutation. 'How do they salute an Israelite? “All hail.”'
Held him by the feet] viz. to kiss them. Tins was not uncommon. 'As Rabbi Janni and Rabbi Jonathan were sitting together, a certain man came and kissed the feet of Rabbi Jonathan.' 'When Rabbi Akiba's wife came to him, she fell at his feet and kissed them.' Cp. 2Ki_4:27. Worshipped him] now with more than merely human reverence. It is noticeable that Jesus never repelled any mark of reverence shown to Him, however profound.
10. Into Galilee] again emphasising the importance of this meeting.
The appearance to the women is not regarded by recent critics as belonging certainly to the oldest form of the tradition.
11-15. Bribery of the guards (peculiar to St. Matthew). The report of the soldiers may have had something to do with the conversion of so many priests described in Act_6:7.
11. Chief priests] These were Sadducees, hostile to any idea of a resurrection.
12. Assembled] This was a packed, informal meeting of the Sanhedrin.
13. His disciples, etc.] A somewhat inconsistent statement, since if they were asleep, they could not know that the disciples had stolen the body. It is important, however, to notice that this fiction of the chief priests demonstrates that the tomb was empty, and that, therefore, the resurrection of Jesus was a bodily resurrection.
14. And secure you] The ordinary punishment for an offence of this kind was death (Act_12:19), but Pilate would hardly trouble himself about what the soldiers had done while under the orders of the chief priests.
16-20. Appearance on a mountain in Galilee (peculiar to St. Matthew, but there can be little doubt that the original ending of St. Mark, which is unfortunately lost, recorded the same appearance: see Mar_16:7). It is highly probable (see on Mat_28:16), but is incapable of strict proof, that this appearance is identical with that to five hundred brethren at once mentioned by St. Paul (1Co_15:6). At any rate, it is a meeting of great importance, being mentioned once by the angel and twice by our Lord (Mat_26:32; Mat_28:10). If there were five hundred living persons who could give a particular account of this incident, the rapid way in which the evangelist passes over it is in part accounted for.
16. The eleven disciples] This does not of necessity imply that no others were present, but only that the words of Jesus were mainly addressed to them. Where Jesus had appointed them] St. Matthew does not say when Jesus made this appointment, thus indicating that he does not profess to give a full account of the appearances after the resurrection. That the meeting was by appointment renders it probable that all the disciples who could possibly be brought together were present.
17. They worshipped him] Certainly with divine worship: see Joh_20:28. But some doubted] or, as the Gk. may perhaps be more correctly translated, 'but others doubted,' i.e. not the Eleven, but others who were present.
The doubt may have arisen from the change which had passed over our Lord's now glorified body (Mar_16:13; Luk_24:16; Joh_21:4), but more probably from the reason which Paley gives: 'Christ appeared first at a distance; the greater part of the company, the moment that they saw Him, worshipped, but some as yet, i.e. upon this first distant view of His person, doubted; whereupon Christ came up to them (Mat_28:18) and spake to them, etc': the doubt, therefore, was a doubt only at first, for ä moment, and upon His being seen at a distance, and was afterwards dispelled by His nearer approach, and by His entering into conversation with them.
18. And Jesus came] RV 'came to them,' viz. to resolve their doubt by giving them a close view of His person. It is worthy of notice that in all the appearances after the resurrection, our Lord allowed the disciples either to touch or to come into very close proximity to His risen body. His anxiety to remove all reasonable doubts as to the cardinal fact of His bodily resurrection, is especially evident in Luk_24:39; Joh_20:20, Joh_20:27.
All power (authority) is given] lit. 'was given,' viz. at My resurrection. 'There was given Me, says Jesus, as man, the power which I before possessed as God' (Euthymius): cp. Eph_1:20-22. 'Human nature, which was before condemned, now sits in heaven personally united to the Divine Word, and is adored by angels. For in truth human nature wjiich was before enslaved, now in Christ rules the Universe' (Theophylact).
The view, which dates the glorification of Christ, not from the Ascension, but from the Resurrection, is safely grounded on this passage. It is the view of St. Augustine, of most of the fathers, of Albertus Magnus, of the schoolmen, and of many modern authorities. Von Gerlach correctly says, 'The Resurrection of Jesus, and not His Ascension, was His entrance into the new eternal, divine, and heavenly life, as in it all power in heaven and upon earth was already given to Him.' Similarly Milligan, 'The glorification of Jesus began at His Resurrection, not at His Ascension'; and Westcott, 'After the Resurrection our Lord belongs already to another realm, so that the Ascension only ratifies and presents in a final form the lessons of the forty days in which it is included.' The only really doubtful point is the locality of Christ's body during the forty days; whether it was in heaven at God's right hand (Theophylact, Milligan, Rothe, etc.), or on earth (Aquinas). In either case, the heavenly reign and glory of Christ had begun.
19. And teach (RV 'make disciples of') all nations, baptising them (or 'by baptising them')] In the clearest possible language Christ expresses His intention of founding a universal religion. It has sometimes been argued that these words cannot be authentic, because of the subsequent unwillingness of the Church of Jerusalem, and even of Peter, to receive Gentile converts. But the question in the Acts was not whether Gentile converts should be received, but whether they should first be circumcised.
The argument against infant baptism drawn from this passage (that infants cannot be 'taught,' and therefore should not be baptised, disappears in the RV, which says that the apostles are 'to make disciples of all nations by baptising them.' To Jewish hearers such words would naturally suggest infant baptism, because the idea of infant disciples or proselytes was familiar to Judaism: see on Mat_19:13-15.
In the name (RV 'into the name') of the Father, etc.] One of the leading dogmatic texts in the NT., being the nucleus around which.the Apostles' Creed subsequently grew. It teaches, (1) the divinity of Christ, for no mere man could thus insert his name between those of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. (2) The unity of the Godhead, for one 'name,' or divine nature, belongs to the three. (3) The Trinity of persons, for since the former two are persons, so also is the third. (4) The subordination of the coequal persons to one another, viz. the Son to the Father, and the Spirit to both. 'Let therefore Arius and Sabellius be put to shame, Arius because Christ said not “Into the names (pi.),” but “Into the name (sing.),” and the name, or deity, of the Three is one. Wherefore the Three are but one God. Sabellius, because the Lord made mention also of the three persons, not of one person having three names, sometimes being called the Father, sometimes the Son, and sometimes the Spirit, as Sabellius ignorantly affirmed' (Theophylact).
The RV changes 'in the name' to 'into the name.' If the difference is to be pressed (which is not certain), it implies that baptism is a change of religious condition. The baptised person passes from a state of alienation from God into a state of union and reconciliation with Him. This passage does not record the first institution of Baptism, which had been in use from the beginning of the ministry, but its solemn promulgation as a rite of universal, perpetual, and necessary observance: see Joh_3:22; Joh_4:1.
Although the Trinitarian formula in this passage is found in all MSS and versions, some recent critics regard it as an interpolation, or at least as an unauthentic utterance of Jesus. They argue that all the baptisms described in the NT. are into the name of Jesus, not into the name of the Trinity (Act_2:38; Act_8:16; Act_10:48; Act_19:5), and that so definite, and, as it were, stereotyped, a formulation of Trinitarian doctrine, must be later than the apostolic age. These arguments are not without weight, nevertheless there are important considerations on the other side. For the formula, whether spoken by Jesus or not, dates certainly from the apostolic age. It was clearly known to Clement of Rome (90 a.d.), who has three Trinitarian statements, mentioning Father, Son, and Holy Spirit thrice in that order; it forms the basis of the earliest form of the Apostles' Creed (cirMatthew 100 a.d.); it is expressly quoted in the 'Didache' (Matthew 100 a.d.); and is definitely alluded to by Justin Martyr (150 a.d.). It may be doubted whether any other single text of the NT. has such early and satisfactory attestation. Nor is it easy to say, with such a definite Trinitarian formula before us as 2Co_13:14, that the baptismal formula must necessarily be later. Trinitarian doctrine and approximations to it, are diffused through the whole NT. literature, and the prevalence of such a type of teaching is most naturally accounted for by supposing that it has behind it some such pregnant utterance of our Lord as the present, the meaning of which was gradually unfolded subsequently under the guidance of the Spirit. The argument from the baptisms 'into the name of Jesus' or of 'the Lord Jesus' in Acts is more plausible than strong. In no case is the actual formula given, and we cannot be sure that the author means more than that the baptisms in question were Christian baptisms. The 'Didache' (Matthew 100 a.d.), like Acts, speaks of Christian baptism as being into the name of the Lord Jesus, but when it comes to describe the rite in detail, prescribes the Trinitarian formula, and that only.
20. Teaching them] 'Next because it is not sufficient merely to be baptised, but it is necessary also to do good works after baptism, He saith, “Teaching them to observe all things whatever I commanded you,” not one or two only, but all my commandments. Let us tremble therefore, brethren, reflecting that if one thing be lacking in us, we are not perfect servants of Christ, for we are required to keep all' (Theophylact).
Lo, I am with you] This presence of Christ by His Spirit may be taken in the most comprehensive sense:—in His Church, to guide it into all the truth; in the assemblies of the faithful, to receive their worship, and to present their petitions to the Father; in the official acts of His ministers, as being the true High Priest and Pastor of His Church; and in the hearts of the faithful, as the source of their spiritual life and growth. The omnipresence of Christ implies His divinity.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CXXXIV. Our Lord's…
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [CXXXIV. Our Lord's Resurrection].
P A R T E I G H T H. OUR LORD'S RESURRECTION, APPEARANCES AND ASCENSION. JUDÆA AND GALILEE. TIME, FORTY DAYS. SPRING AD. 30.
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CXXXIV. ANGELS ANNOUNCE THE RESURRECTION TO CERTAIN WOMEN. PETER AND JOHN ENTER THE EMPTY TOMB. (Joseph's Garden. Sunday, very early.) aMATT. XXVIII. 1-8; bMARK XVI. 1-8; cLUKE XXIV. 1-8, 12; dJOHN XX. 1-10.
c1 But a1 Now late on the sabbath day, b1 And when the sabbath was past, con the first day of the week, aas it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, cat early dawn, dwhile it was yet dark, cometh acame dMary Magdalene early aand the other Mary bthe mother of James, and Salome, cunto the tomb, bringing bbrought cthe spices which they had prepared. [ Luk_23:56.] ato see the sepulchre. bthat they might come and anoint him. a2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 and for fear of him the watchers [the Roman soldiers on guard] did quake, and became as dead men. [The angel sat upon the stone that the Roman guards might make no attempt to reclose the tomb.] b2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. 3 And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? c2 And they found the stone rolled away from [739] the tomb. b4 and looking up, they see d [Mary Magdalene] seeth} bthat the stone is rolled back: dtaken away from the tomb. for it was exceeding great. c3 And they bentering into the tomb, centered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. [John mentions Mary Magdalene alone, though she came with the rest of the women. As she was the one who reported to John and Peter, he describes her actions, and makes no mention of the others.] d2 She runneth therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we know not where they have laid him. [Though Mary came with the other women, she departed at once, while the others tarried, as the sequel shows. The narrative proceeds to tell what happened to the other women after Mary had departed.] c4 And it came to pass, while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel: bthey saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. c5 and as they were affrighted and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, bhe athe angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; cBe not amazed: afor I know that ye seek Jesus, bthe Nazarene, who hath been crucified: cWhy seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but afor he is risen, even as he said. cremember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words [For the words referred to, see Mat_17:22, Mat_17:23. The angel continues his speech as follows], aCome, bbehold, the place where they laid him! asee the place where the Lord lay. [Here is a double wonder, that men should put the Son of God in a grave, and that he should consent to be put there.] b7 But a7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples, [740] band Peter, aHe is risen from the dead; and lo, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: bas he said unto you. alo, I have told you. [The women were told to hasten, for the disciples were not to endure their sorrow a moment longer than was needful. Peter was mentioned by name that he might know that he was not cast off for his denial. The Lord appeared to some chosen few in Judæa, but the large body of his disciples were to see him in Galilee; see Psa_16:10, Isa_53:10, and many other passages set forth the resurrection of our Lord; his own words, too, had plainly foretold it, yet among the disciples it was so much beyond all expectation that the prophecies had no meaning until made clear by the event itself. Yet these are the men whom the Jews accused of inventing the story of a resurrection!]
[FFG 739-742]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain In the end of the Sabbath
In the end of the Sabbath
In the end of the Sabbath
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The order of events, combining the four narratives, is as follows: Three women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome, start for the sepulchre, followed by other women bearing spices. The three find the stone rolled away, and Mary Magdalene goes to tell the disciples. Luk 23:55 to Luk 24:9; Joh 20:1; Joh 20:2. Mary, the mother of James and Joses, draws nearer the tomb and sees the angel of the Lord Mat 28:2. She goes back to meet the other women following with the spices. Meanwhile Peter and John, warned by Mary Magdalene, arrive, look in, and go away Joh 20:3-10. Mary Magdalene returns weeping, sees the two angels and then Jesus Joh 20:11-18 and goes as He bade her to tell the disciples. Mary (mother of James and Joses), meanwhile, has met the women with the spices and, returning with them, they see the two angels.; Luk 24:4; Luk 24:5; Mar 16:5. They also receive the angelic message, and, going to seek the disciples, are met by Jesus. Mat 28:8-10.
end of Lit. end of the sabbaths. The sabbaths end, the first day comes. (See Scofield "Mat 12:1"). Also see, Joh 20:19; Act 20:7; 1Co 16:2; Rev 1:10.
other Mary
Supposed to be Mary the mother of James and Joses.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 14. His Resurrection and the Great Commission.
14. His Resurrection and the Great Commission.
CHAPTER 28
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1. His Resurrection. (Mat 28:1-10.)
2. The Lying Report of the Jews.(Mat 28:11-15.)
3. The Great Commission. (Mat 28:16-20.)
We have reached the last portion of our Gospel. The end is brief and very abrupt. The account of the resurrection of the Lord as given by Matthew is the briefest of all the Gospels. Only a few of the facts are mentioned. Then the characteristic feature of this last chapter is that no mention is made of the ascension of the Lord. However, the fact of His ascension is implied in numerous places in the Gospel. In the Gospel of Mark we find the statement that He was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God. In Luke we read that He was “carried into heaven,” but in Matthew no such statement is made. The Gospel ends as if He were still on the earth, all power in heaven and on earth in His hands and with His own to the completion of the age. All this is in perfect harmony with the scope of the Gospel.
In giving a brief exposition of this last chapter we shall not consider the different accounts of the resurrection, nor shall we attempt to harmonize the different manifestations of the risen Christ or to give the order of these. All this is beyond the work we have undertaken. We confine ourselves to the account as given here.
The chapter contains three parts. First, we find a brief account of the resurrection and the manifestation of Christ to the women. In the second place we find an account, which, like the last paragraph of the previous chapter, is peculiar to Matthew, the lying report invented by the Jews. Lastly, we see the disciples gathered in Galilee and He gives them His great commission, declares His power in heaven and on earth and assures them of His presence with them, even unto the end of the age. This is the last vision of the King in the Gospel of Matthew.
“Now late on Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, came Mary of Magdala and the other Mary to look at the sepulchre.” This is the brief introduction to the scene which follows. With the many women the two Marys had looked on the awful crucifixion scene. How they must have suffered in these hours of the agony of Him whom they loved. Then we beheld them sitting opposite the sepulchre. And now after others had gone and were taking a physical rest they could not stay away; they overcame all fear and went out to the sepulchre once more. The wording of the first verse is peculiar. Another translation reads, “And late in the week, when it was on the point of dawning into the first of the week came Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary to view the sepulchre.” ( Rotherham ) Some have thought of two visits these women made, one on the evening and the other in the early morning. This is not probable. The dawning of the first day of the week is the time marked out. The first day of the week began after sundown on the Sabbath. It is quite correct to translate “after the Sabbath.” To this agree the other records.
“And behold there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his look was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became as dead men” (Mat 28:2-4). The great earthquake was occasioned by the descending angel and the stone, so securely sealed, was rolled away and the heavenly messenger took his seat upon it. However, the resurrection of the Lord did not take place when the earthquake happened and when the stone was rolled away. Paintings often help along this unscriptural conception. No angel was needed to open the way for Him from the tomb. God raised Him from the dead and He Himself arose. The stone was rolled away to show that the tomb was empty. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was God’s mighty and glorious seal upon the atoning work accomplished on the cross. It was God’s answer to His strong crying and tears (Heb 5:7). The women no doubt felt the earthquake and may have seen that flash of light from above.
We have the effect of what happened upon the soldiers first, in the next place upon the women, and, lastly, upon the Jews. Three classes are seen in connection with the resurrection of the Lord in Matthew. The soldiers represent unbelieving Gentiles, the women, believers and then the Jews. The soldiers are terror-stricken. They were lying around on the ground as if they were dead. It is the effect upon the natural man of God’s power made known. On what greater scale this will be repeated when He comes again in resurrection Glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords.
The trembling soldiers are left for the present. We shall hear of them later. The women are now addressed by the angel. They, too, must have made an outcry for the angel “answered them.”
“And the angel answering said to the women, Fear not ye, I know that ye seek Jesus, the crucified One. He is not here, for He is risen as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and say to the disciples that He is risen from the dead; and Behold He goes before you into Galilee, there shall ye see Him. Behold I have told you.”
What a glorious message it was. The crucified One risen from the dead! Mary of Magdala is in the foreground. Out of her the Lord had driven seven demons. She and the other Mary take the place of a Miriam and Deborah in the Old Testament. They are to herald and celebrate the mighty victory over sin, death and the devil which had been won. They hear the good news first and are the publishers of the same. As in the beginning of the Gospel, in the genealogy of the King, women are prominently mentioned, so in the closing scenes, in the triumph of the King, they have the lead.
“Fear not ye” is the message of the angel to the women. This, indeed, is the good news from the empty tomb. There is no cause to fear, absolutely none, for those who have believed on the Lord and are His own. All darkness, all uncertainty, all doubt and fear are at an end. The whole sin question has been righteously dealt with. The empty tomb, the glorious victory over death, and the grave are the everlasting witnesses. Gazing on this empty tomb, hearing that angelic message “He is risen” faith breaks forth in that song of triumph, penned by the Holy Spirit in Rom 8:1-39. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him give us all things? Who shall bring an accusation against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is he that condemns? It is Christ who has died, but rather has been also raised up; who is also at the right hand of God; who also intercedes for us.” God is for us; He gave His Son; Christ died for us and God raised Him from the dead. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinth. 15:3-4). Thanks be unto God for His blessed Gospel.
But we must refrain from following the blessed doctrine of resurrection. If we were teaching this great doctrine we would have to follow the revelations as given in the Epistles. This is not our purpose. We are following only a partial historical account of the event itself.
The angel directs the women to bear the good news to the disciples and assures them the risen One Himself would go before them to Galilee, and there the disciples would see Him. This appointment was according to His own word. We find it in chapter 26:32. It is peculiar to Matthew and as we shall see later of no little importance.
“And going out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to bring His disciples word behold, also, Jesus met them, saying, Hail! And they coming up took Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus says to them, Fear not; go, bring word to my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there they shall see Me” (Mat 28:8-10).
This tells us that they had entered into the empty tomb and had looked upon the place His blessed Body had rested. They must have trembled in great excitement; but greater still was their joy. The angel’s message had at last brought back the remembrance of the words of the Lord about His resurrection on the third day. They ran, therefore, to bring the news to the disciples. And as they hastened on, eager to carry out the command, behold Jesus met them and greeted them with the word _Chairete “Oh! the Joy” or “Rejoice!” He was full of joy and graciously He revealed Himself to these devoted women. But oh, the joy! when at last His own are all with Him. Worshippingly they fall at His feet, while He Himself assures them “Fear not!” and repeats the message of the angel, “Bring word to my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there they shall see Me.”
All this is very tersely told. In the Gospel of John we find the fuller account of the Lord’s manifestation to Mary (Joh 20:11-18). It is often said by those who do not believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures that there is a discrepancy between Matthew and John. In Matthew they fall at His feet and worship Him, but in John’s Gospel the Lord says to Mary “Touch me not.” There is no difficulty here at all. She fell at His feet and touched them, and laying hold of them the Lord uttered the words which are found in the Gospel of John. The taking hold by the feet is reported in the Gospel of Matthew, and the words He spake in the Gospel of John. This is one of the beautiful evidences of the divine authorship of the Gospel records. In our Gospel Christ is seen in relation to Israel. He is the risen Messiah in connection with His believing remnant. Well can she claim Him and take hold of His feet. As the women fell at His feet and worshipped Him, so His earthly people will at some day worship the Lord and own Him as the Messiah. But in John it is the heavenly side. He is to ascend, to go away, leaving the earth and going on high; His bodily presence on the earth in relation to Israel is not the revelation found in the fourth Gospel. Then the Lord calls His own “Brethren.” In the Gospel of John we find the same command. Never before did the Lord call His disciples “brethren,” but on that glorious resurrection morning He uses this expression. It is now fully manifested that “He that sanctifieth and they are sanctified are all of one; therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb 2:11-12). The word itself is mentioned in Psa 22:1-31. “I will declare thy name unto my brethren” (Psa 22:22). That Psalm, containing the great prophecy of the suffering and exaltation of Christ, is prominent in the closing scenes of Matthew. We saw the fulfillment of the sufferings on the cross and here the prediction which relates to His resurrection. The main thing, however, insisted upon in the resurrection account in Matthew is Galilee. The disciples are told to go there; there the Lord will meet them and send them forth on their great mission among the nations. Before we behold them gathered in the mountain, which the Lord had appointed, another scene is introduced.
“And as they went, behold some of the watch went into the city, and brought word to the chief priests of all that had taken place. And having assembled with the elders, and having taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers saying, Say that His disciples coming by night stole Him while we were sleeping. And if this should come to the hearing of the governor we will persuade him and save you from all anxiety. And they took the money, and did as they had been taught. And this report is current among the Jews until this day” (Mat 28:11-15).
As previously stated this is peculiar to Matthew and the continuation of the story contained in the last paragraph of chapter 27. We learn that the effect of the resurrection of the Lord was a hardening one for the Jews. These wicked men had given thirty pieces of silver to have him delivered into their hands and now they are giving an immense sum to circulate a lie about His resurrection. The watch had sufficiently recovered from their awful fright, and some of them hasten back to the city. Surely something must have happened or why should they leave their important post and return to the city to make a report? Then it is strange that they went to the chief priests first and not to the Roman governor. This was indeed a very irregular proceeding. From this fact we must conclude that in the estimation of these soldiers, that which they had to report, was of greater importance for the chief priests to know than it was for Pilate. Who knows but these priests had instructed the guard, that if something should happen at the sepulchre and He should come forth, that they were to come to them first of all? This is probable. They bring their report and this was nothing less but a witness of the resurrection and that the tomb is empty. The enemies were the first witnesses of His triumph. The whole Sanhedrin was then hastily summoned to receive the report in an official way. The straightforward statement, as men of a military training are apt to report, made doubt about veracity impossible. The agitation of the guard, their frightened looks, the evidences that they had passed through a terrible experience, substantiated the truth of what they had reported. The Sanhedrin had nothing else left but to accept the report. To impeach these witnesses, to accuse them of falsehoods, would have been insane. There was no doubt in their minds that all had really happened as they reported. An earthquake had taken place, an angel had come down from heaven, the stone was rolled away, the tomb was found empty. What motives could make these soldiers to rush back to the city? Did they not do it at the risk of their own lives? The Sanhedrin was, therefore, in an awful predicament. What would happen, this must have flashed through the minds of these blinded men, if this truth should get out among the people? Perhaps they thought too of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two of their number who had confessed Him by their devoted actions. Then they had thought of the possibility of something to happen with the sepulchre and had the guard placed there. And now the attempt to defeat the resurrection of the Lord had miserably failed. He has risen from the dead. His own words came true. The temple which was destroyed was built again; as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so He was in the heart of the earth. He is risen. The very guards they had placed before the sepulchre to make any deception impossible bear the witness. Their fine minds, some of them legally trained, saw the hopelessness of their case. One thought was written upon every one of their dark hearts; the truth about the resurrection must be denied. This again could only be accomplished by inventing a lie. The only possible lie was to say that His disciples stole the body. The whole story they invented is, of course, incredible. It is far easier to believe He arose from the dead than to believe what the Jews invented about His resurrection. If His disciples could have stolen the body, if it had been possible, they surely would not have done it. But if they had a desire to steal the body, they could not have done so, for with the guard placed at the tomb, it was an impossibility. The disciples had forgotten all about the resurrection promise; they were a scattered, poor and timid lot of people. But even if they had been anxious to steal the body, how could they have done it? Here was the company of armed men. They were experienced guards and careful watchers, trained in that profession. Then there was the sealed, heavy stone. How could they have rolled away the stone and carried away the body without being detected? Impossible. But the utterly ridiculous side of the whole lie came out with the report which these soldiers were to circulate, being well paid for it by the Sanhedrin. The disciples came and stole the body, while they were sleeping! In the first place, it is incredible that all these men had fallen asleep at the same time. All were fast asleep, so fast asleep that the commotion of rolling away the stone and the carrying away of a dead one did not disturb them. Furthermore, sleeping at a post meant death for the Roman soldier. One might have nodded and thus risked his life, but that all slept is an impossibility. But the report is foolish; they were asleep, and while they were asleep they witnessed how the disciples stole the body of Jesus. How ridiculous. The whole proceedings were out and out fraud and falsehood. And this was indeed the only statement they could possibly bring against the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a miserable lie. And this lie is continued to the present day. A small volume is still circulated among the Jews, the “Toledoth Jesu” in which the most blasphemous things are said about our blessed Lord, and the lie about His resurrection invented by the Sanhedrin is likewise printed. This lie will be upheld by the unbelieving Jews till the day comes when He appears the second time, and the believing remnant of His earthly people will cry out, “Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.” We might mention here the testimony of Josephus. He says in his antiquities: “He appeared to them alive on the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning Him.”
Indeed the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, His physical resurrection is unassailable. How wicked then to deny it or any part of it! Yet this is of common occurrence in these last days. (That evil system known by the name of “Millennial Dawnism,” or “Russellism,, [also known as Jehovah’s Witnesses]” belongs to those movements which introduce damnable heresies in the last days (2Pe 2:1-22). “Millennial Dawnism,” among other things, denies the literal, physical resurrection of our Lord.)
And now but a few brief sentences remain with which the Gospel of Matthew closes.
“But the eleven disciples went into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus coming up spoke to them, saying, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you. And behold I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age” (Mat 28:16-20).
What mountain it was He had appointed as the meeting place we do not know. Some one has said “Matthew is the Gospel of the Mountain.” (H.G. Weston.)
From a mountain He gave as King His great proclamation, the so-called sermon on the mount, in which He proclaimed the principles of His Kingdom. On a mountain we saw Him transfigured, the blessed type of His second coming in majesty and glory for the establishment of that Kingdom. On the mount of Olives He took the place as Son of David to ride down into Jerusalem. From the same mountain He delivered His great prophetic discourse concerning the future of the Jews, the Christian profession and the nations. And now we see Him and His own on the Galilean mountain. But why is Galilee made so prominent in the last chapter of Matthew?
It is, indeed, a strong and important point in this Gospel. Galilee was the place of His rejection. This is evident in the whole Gospel of Matthew, which gives us exclusively His Galilean ministry. Jerusalem would not have Him. It rejected Him and sought to kill Him through Herod in His infancy. This is only found in Matthew. Therefore, when the King began His ministry He began it in “the Galilee of the nations” (chapter 4). The most ignorant Jews resided in Galilee and they had become mixed with the Gentiles. The scribes despised Galilee and as we know said “Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (Joh 7:52). His first appearing there was prophetic. It was a sign that Israel would reject Him and that the people sitting in darkness would behold the great light and that to them which sit in the region and shadow of death, light would spring up Mat 4:16). Jerusalem did reject Him and, therefore, in this Gospel of the Kingdom, the Kingdom preached and rejected, we see the risen One passing by Jerusalem. He returns to the place of His rejection and His disciples have to go there and meet Him in Galilee. Here on this significant ground He gives them the great commission to proclaim the kingdom world-wide, to disciple all nations and to baptize them.
This is the Kingdom commission. In Luk 24:1-53 we have the proper Christian mission. A time is coming when this great commission here will be carried out by a remnant of Jewish disciples, who are represented by the eleven. It is the same remnant as in Mat 24:1-51.
We desire to give this fact in the words of another, which will be helpful. (Collected writings of J.N.D., page 327.)
“It is well to notice what has been alluded to: -- the ministry in the Acts is not the accomplishment of this commission in Matthew, but of the mission in Luke, the book itself being, as is known, the continuation of his Gospel; nor was the ministry of Paul, who took up by a separate divine mission the evangelization of the nations, the carrying out of this (the commission here in Matthew). His was fully more even yet a mission from the ascended and glorified Saviour, to which was added the ministry of the church. It connects itself even much more in its first elements with Luke. The ministry here established stands alone. The disciples are not sent to Jews, as in Luke. But Jerusalem is rejected and the remnant is attached to Christ (His brethren and owned in this character) sent out to Gentiles. This as far as Scripture teaches us has never been fulfilled. The course of events under the hand of God, the disciples remain in Jerusalem. A new mission is sent forth in the person of Paul and that connected with the establishment of the church on earth. The accomplishment of the commission here in Matthew has been interrupted, but there is the promise to be with those who went forth in it to the end of the age. Nor do I doubt it will be so. This testimony will go forth to the nations before the Lord comes. ‘The Brethren’ will carry it to warn the nations. The commission was given, but we find no accomplishment of it. It connects the testimony with the Jewish remnant owned by a risen Lord of all, with the earth and His earthly directions, and for the present it has in fact given place to a heavenly commission, and the church of God.”
How wonderful and harmonious is the Word of God. If anything else had been put at the close of Matthew it would have disturbed and marred the scope of the whole book. Man’s wisdom could never have produced such a work.
The eleven then saw Him there. Some doubted. How this indeed carried conviction with it of the truthfulness of the report. Most likely they were taken by surprise, beheld Him from a distance; soon all doubts vanished, for He came up and spoke to them.
All power is His; all power in heaven and on earth. Soon the day will come when indeed He will have all things put under His feet. And the last word, “And behold, I am with you all the days until the completion of the age.” Precious promise to faith! He will never leave nor forsake, and He who is with us is the “I am,” the mighty Jehovah, the Immanuel, having all power in heaven and on earth.
The Gospel of Matthew begins with Immanuel, “God with us,” it ends with Immanuel. With Him, our Saviour and Lord, we shall be in all eternity. Forever with the Lord. With all our hearts we praise God for such a Saviour, for such a Lord, for such a Gospel and for such a future with HIMSELF, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Our study is ended. We lay this work at His feet, and if it pleases Him to use it for the edification of His people, for the defence of the faith, above all for the PRAISE AND GLORY OF HIS ADORABLE NAME, we shall praise Him for it in all eternity. Amen and Amen.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Resurrection of Christ.
The Resurrection of Christ.
The open grave:
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v. 1. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.
v. 2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
v. 3. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow;
v. 4. and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
As the death of Christ had been attended by supernatural signs to call the attention of the whole world to the redemption then being accomplished upon Calvary, so His resurrection was accompanied by an uproar in nature which pointed to a most unusual happening. In the late hours of the Sabbath-day, the seventh day of the week, as this day was about to merge into a new Sabbath-week, that is, very early on Sunday morning, before the sun rose, the same faithful women that had watched the burial of the Lord went out to see the grave and to take the first steps in the process of embalming the Lord’s body. They had not yet reached the garden, when a mighty quaking shook the earth, caused by the fact that an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb, which he then used as a seat for himself. Not to open the grave for Christ was he come, but to show the empty grave to the whole world, to give absolute and undeniable evidence of the fact that the resurrection had taken place in spite of stone and seal and watch. The evangelist says that the appearance of the angel was like lightning, and his garment was white as snow. It was a fearful apparition to the superstitious soldiers to gaze upon one of the holy angels of God. It overwhelmed them; they fell over in a faint, and became as dead men. When God wants to carry out His will with regard to the salvation of mankind, no sinful man, no enemy, may resist Him. The resurrection of Jesus was the seal and final proof for the full atonement gained for the whole world, and all the efforts of the Jews and of Satan to hinder it were unavailing.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This begins the account of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
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Now late on the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week
"After the Sabbath ended, as the sun came up on Sunday morning"
Now
This word is used here to mark a break in the main story line. Here Matthew starts to tell a new part of the story.
the other Mary
"the other woman named Mary." This is Mary the mother of James and Joseph. (See: Matthew 27:56)
Behold
The word "behold" here alerts us to pay attention to the surprising information that follows. Your language may have a way of doing this.
there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended ... and rolled away the stone
Possible meanings are 1) the earthquake happened because the angel came down and rolled away the stone or 2) all these events happened at the same time .
earthquake
a sudden and violent shaking of the ground
translationWords
Sabbath
Mary Magdalene
grave
angel
lord
heaven
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 28:1-10 The discovery of the empty tomb and the…
28:1-10 The discovery of the empty tomb and the various resurrection appearances are presented with different emphases in each of the four Gospels. Matthew focuses on the reunion in Galilee, the attempt on the part of the Jewish leaders to discredit the resurrection, and the significance of the resurrection for the salvation of the world.
28:1 Mary Magdalene (see 27:56): The mention of two women as witnesses lends credibility to the historicity of the account—an inventor of tales would not have used women as witnesses, since a woman’s testimony was considered less reliable than a man’s.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.