Jesus was worshiped by women

JESUS WAS WORSHIPEDBY WOMEN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 28:9 9Suddenly Jesus met them.
"Greetings,"he said. They came to him, claspedhis
feet and worshipedhim.
This was after His resurrectionand so women were
the first to worship the resurrected Christ.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Surprise - Worship
Matthew 28:9
R. Tuck
Canon Liddon, in an impressive sermon on this text, asks, "How did these
women receive Jesus whenthus (suddenly) he met them? The fear and great
joy with which they had come out of the sepulchre must surely now have been
intensified: fear, - for here, beyond all question, was he who was so lately a
tenant of the tomb, who had traversedthe unseenworld, the world of the
dead; and greatjoy, - for here was indisputable proof of the truth of the
angel's message, 'He is risen.' He was here himself, the same figure, the same

form, the same gracious countenance, latelymarred and bruised, now lighted
up with an unearthly radiance, the piercedhands, the pierced feet. What did
they do? They came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. There are
three features in this action of these humble and deeply religious women that
are especiallydeserving of our attention.
1. Their forgetfulness of themselves.
2. Their reverence.
3. Their tenacity of purpose;" this is takenas being suggestedby their act of
holding him by the feet. Attention may also be fixed on the fact that the
women were takenby surprise, and that revealedmuch concerning them.
I. THEIR ACT UNDER SURPRISE SHOWED THAT THEIR FEELINGS
TOWARDS CHRIST WERE GENUINE. Menare constantly found out by
being "takenat unawares." Buta man who is thoroughly genuine never
minds being "takenat unawares."These womenwere sincere. In an instant
genuine feeling worthily respondedto the Christ revelation.
II. THEIR ACT UNDER SURPRISE SHOWED THEIR EMOTIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS.Notice particularly what they did under impulse. It
was what women would do under such circumstances, notwhat men would
do. Women getround to Jesus by the heart rather than by the head; but he
accepts the worship of emotion as freely as the worship of intellect. Let
woman serve Christ woman's way.
III. THEIR ACT UNDER SURPRISE NEEDEDDIVINE CORRECTION.It
was dangerouslyimpulsive; it was unspiritual; it was a satisfactionin material
presence;it lackedthought. - R.T.

Biblical Illustrator
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
Matthew 28:9, 10
How the risen Christ is seen
Bishop Huntingdon
It is not supposedthat the impartial Christ, or the Christianity of His gospel,
literally prefers one sex to the other. But He respects the nature of each, and
does not abrogate the laws of that nature. To that one, therefore, that has the
clearerspiritual eyesight, Christ will disclose the first radiancy of His glory.
In that sex that loves most, and therefore, suffers most, and is perhaps capable
of sinning most, He finds the faith-faculty most ready to recognize Him, and
on that, therefore — as if in a kind of compensationfor the first sin, and the
tender sensitivenessto all injury — He bestows the blessing of the earliest
benediction of His resurrectionvoice. The generaldistinction thus drawn
betweenthe sexes reappears,in its measure, betweenindividuals of eachof the
two; and there is thus a similar advance of clearnessin the other succeeding
manifestations. The circle gradually enlarges from the solitary Mary to a
greatcompany of men as they are gradually prepared to see and believe.
I. This is the certificationafforded by our Saviour's resurrectionTO THE
FACT OF HIS DIVINITY. "Theycame and held Him by the feetand
worshipped Him." They worshipped, and He did not check it. Was He not the
one that teaches ofwhat their worship is? The resurrectionhad transfigured,

and as it were had divinized all his mortal signs. It had never been heard
before that a man lifted himself, by his own will, out of the grave, and asserted
his superiority to all the forces ofdestruction. Surely here must be nothing
less than the Creator's majesty. In the glorified form the " Son of God" stood
revealednot less than the " Son of Man." They worshipped Him. Place beside
this truth another. These faithful believers were not believers in a one-sidedor
ultra-spiritualism — "They held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him." Here
were two signs of a living faith, the touch and the bended knees. Bothwere
welcome to Him who knows every secretspring of the soul's strength, and
who replaces the dead formalism of the Law with the vital forms of a spiritual
kingdom. Again, a supreme value is set here, for the Christian life, on the
Saviour's personal presence. To the Church for eighteenhundred years it has
been spiritual, not corporeal, yet literal and real. Men of actionand thought, if
you do not feelanything realabout this I know not how to reasonwith you
about it. We canonly tell you what we have seenor felt. Those institutions and
movements in the world, howeveractive and religious, seemto have no
permanent life in them, which are without this living conscious connection
with the personand presence ofChrist, so as to draw their constant supplies
of power from Him. They seemlike streams, howeverfull, which run from a
cistern and not from the fountain in the hills. He does not say to them "All
hail." I am sure that Christ is with me and has for me all the powerand love I
need; He lives greatlyin me and for me. As it was then, so now; they who are
spiritually bestprepared by affliction, earnestness, sympathy, with the spirit
of His life and laws, and by love for Him, have the clearestand earliest
disclosures ofHis Deifiedpresence.
(Bishop Huntingdon)
Meeting with Jesus
C. H. Spurgeon.
All that concerns our Lord after His resurrectionis calm and happy. A
French writer calls the forty days on earth, "The life of Jesus Christ in glory";
truly it was glory as full as earth could then bear. His tomb was empty, and

consequentlythe disciples'griefs would have been over, had they fully
understood what that vacantgrave meant. Then was their choicesttime for
living fellowship with their risen Lord, and He did not fail to grant them the
privilege on many memorable occasions. Since our Lord is risen, we also may
have happy communion with Him. These are days in which we may expect
Him to manifest Himself to us spiritually, as He did for forty days to the
disciples coporeally. Let us not be satisfiedunless it is often said of us, "Jesus
met them."
I. Is THE WAY OF SERVICE JESUS MEETS US "As they went to tell," etc.
1. He may come at other times, as He did to those who visited the sepulchre, to
those walking out to Emmaus to others fishing, and to the elevenassembled
for mutual consolation.
2. He is likeliestto come when we are doing His work, since
(a)we are then most awake,and most able to see Him;
(b)we are then in specialneed of Him;
(c)we are then most in accordwith Him.
3. But, come when Jesus may, it will be a blessedvisitation, worthy to be
prefacedby a "Behold!" Oh, that he would come now!
II. WHEN JESUS MEETS US HE HAS EVER A GOOD WORD FOR US.
The fittest motto for resurrectionfellowship is "All hail!"
1. A word of salutation.
2. A word of benediction.
3. A word of gratulation.
4. A word of pacification.
III. WHEN JESUS MEETS US IT BECOMESUS TO AROUSE
OURSELVES. We ought at such times to be like the disciples, who were —

1. All alive with hopeful energy. "They came." In eagerhaste they drew near
to Him. What life it would put into preachers and hearers if the Lord Jesus
would manifestly appear unto them! Dulness flees when Jesus is seen.
2. All aglow with happy excitement. They " held Him by the feet," hardly
knowing what they did, but enraptured with the sight of Him.
3. All ardent with reverent love. They " worshipped Him." What heartiness
they threw into that lowly adoration!
4. All amazed at His glory. They were prostrate, and beganto fear.
5. All afraid lestthey should lose their bliss. They graspedHim, and held Him
by the feet.
IV. FROM SUCH A MEETING WE SHOULD GO ON A FURTHER
ERRAND.
1. We must not plead spiritual absorption as an excuse for inactivity, but must
"go" atour Lord's bidding.
2. We must seek the goodof others, because oftheir relation to our Lord. He
says, "TellMy brethren."
3. We must communicate what our Lord has imparted — "Go, tell."
4. We must encourage our brethren by the assurance thatjoy, similar to ours,
awaits them — "There shall they see him." Thus shall we bestrealize and
retain the choice benefits of intercourse with the Lord. Notonly for ourselves,
but mainly for the benefit of others, are we to behold our Lord. Then let us go
to holy work hoping to meet Jesus as we go. Let us go to more holy work when
we have met Him. Let us labour to abide in Him, looking for His promised
appearing, and exhorting others to do the same.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Adam Clarke Commentary
And as they went to tell his disciples - This clause is wanting in the Codex
Vatican, and Codex Bezae, and in twenty others, and in most of the versions.
The omissionis approved by Mill, Bengel, and Schmid. Griesbachleaves it in
the text with a note of doubtfulness. It appears to be superfluous. To connect
this with the next clause, the particle και, and, is obliged to be suppressedin
all the translations. I think the verse should begin with, And behold he goeth,
etc., and the former clause be suppressed. Probabiliterdelenda, says Professor
White, in his Crisews Griesbachianae, speaking ofthe preceding words.
Jesus met them - Christ bestows his graces andconsolations by degrees, first
by his angels, and then by himself. He does not revealhimself to incredulous
and disobedient souls;he appears not even to these women till he has tried
their faith and obedience by his ministering angels.
All hail - Anglo-Saxon, Health be to you! Χαιρετε, Be ye safe, rejoice.
And they held him by the feet, and worshipped him - This kind of reverence is
in daily use among the Hindoos: when a disciple meets his religious guide in
the public streets, he prostrates himself before him, and, taking the dust from
his teacher's feet, rubs it on his forehead, breast, etc. See Ward's Customs.
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
And as they went … Jesus metthem - This was when they left the sepulchre
the “second” time. Jesus first appearedto Mary Magdalene whenalone, John
20:14. “Afterward” he appearedto the other women, as relatedby Matthew.
See the accounts of the resurrectionharmonized at the end of this chapter.
All hail - This is a term of salutation. The word all has been supplied by the
translators. It is not in the original. The meaning of the word “hail,” here, is
rejoice;” a term of salutation connectedwith the idea of joy at his
resurrection, and at meeting them again.

Held him by the feet - Or threw themselves prostrate before him. This was the
usual posture of supplication. See 2 Kings 4:37. It does not mean that they
took hold of his feet, but only that they castthemselves down before him.
And worshipped him - See the notes at Matthew 8:2. In this place the word
“worship” seems to denote the homage due to the Messiahrisenfrom the
dead; regarded by them now in a proper light, and entitled to the honor which
was due to God, agreeablyto John 5:23.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
And behold, Jesus met them saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of
his feet, and worshipped him.
Christ never once rejectedworship offeredto himself. As God incarnate, he
was fully entitled to it; and the worship of him is truly fit and proper at all
times, as here and throughout the New Testament.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And as they went to tell his disciples,.... This clause is wanting in the Vulgate
Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions, and in Beza's most ancient copy;
but it stands in the Ethiopic version, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel,
behold, Jesus met them: that they might be confirmed in what the angelhad
told them, and their fear might be removed, and their joy increased;and also
be capable of reporting to the disciples not only what they had heard from the
angel, but what they had seenthemselves;they being now eyewitnesses,as
well as earwitnesses ofhis resurrection:so souls in the way of their duty, as
these women were, oftentimes meet with Jesus, and he with them, as they may
expect, and indeed not otherwise:
saying, all hail; all health of soul and body, all happiness and prosperity, both
temporal, spiritual, and eternal, attend you. The Syriac and Persic versions,

and Munster's Hebrew Gospelrender it, "peace be to you"; which, it is highly
probable, was the phrase used by Christ, since it was the common form of
salutation among the Jews, andwhat Christ made use of at other times; see
John 20:19,
and they came;near unto him, being encouragedby the above salutation, and
knowing who he was by his voice, habit, and gesture:
and held him by the feet; they threw themselves prostrate at his feet, in token
of reverence and humility; and they laid hold on his feet, that they might
know, and be assuredthat he was really risen, and that it was not a spirit, or a
mere phantom and appearance;and they held him in affectionto him, and as
desirous of his continuance with them:
and worshipped him: with divine adoration, expressing their love to him;
their faith and hope in him, owning him to be their Lord and God; he being,
by his resurrectionfrom the dead, declared to be the Son of God, with power;
and so the proper object of religious worship.
Geneva Study Bible
2 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All
hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
(2) Christ himself appears after his resurrection, and sending the women to
his disciples, shows that he has not forgottenthem.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Matthew 28:9, Matthew 28:10. Appearance to the women.
This appearance is recordedonly by Matthew.
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail!
— the usual salute, but from the lips of Jesus bearing a higher signification.
And they came and held him by the feet — How truly womanly!

John Lightfoot's Commentary on the Gospels
9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All
[All hail.] In the vulgar dialectof the Jews, "The Rabbins saw a certain holy
man of Caphar Immi, and said All hail." How do they salute an Israelite? All
hail.
[They held him by the feet.] This seems to have been done to kiss his feet. So 2
Kings 4:27. For this was not unusual: "As R. Janni and R. Jonathanwere
sitting together, a certain man came and kissedthe feetof R. Jonathan."
Compare the evangelists here, and you will find that this was done by Mary
Magdalene only, who formerly had kissedChrist's feet, and who had gone
twice to the sepulchre, howeverMatthew makes mention but of once going.
The story, in short, is thus to be laid together:At the first dawning of the
morning Christ arose, a greatearthquake happening at that time. About the
same time Magdalene and the other women left their houses to go to the
sepulchre: while they met togetherand made all things ready, and took their
journey to the tomb, the sun was up. When they were come, they are informed
of his resurrectionby the angels, and sent back to the disciples. The matter
being told to the disciples, Peterand John run to the sepulchre; Magdalene
also followedafter them. They having seenthe signs of the resurrectionreturn
to their company, but she stays there. Being ready to return back, Christ
appears to her, she supposing him to be the gardener. As soonas she knew
him, she worships him; and embracing his feet, kisseththem. And this is the
history before us, which Matthew relates in the plural number, running it
over briefly and compendiously, according to his manner.
People's New Testament

Jesus met them, saying, All hail! This was the secondappearance ofthe Risen
Savior. The appearances were:1. To Mary Magdalene alone (Mark 16:9;
John 20:11-18), nearJerusalem--Sunday, April 9. 2. To the womenreturning
from the sepulcher(Matthew 28:9-10). 3. To Simon Peteralone (Luke 24:34).
4. To the two disciples going to Emmaus (Luke 24:13), etc. 5. To the apostles
at Jerusalem, excepting Thomas, who was absent (John 20:19). These are all
the same day. 6. To the apostles atJerusalema secondtime, when Thomas
was present (John 20:26, John 20:29)--Sunday, one week later. 7. At the Sea of
Tiberias, when sevendisciples were fishing (John 21:1). 8. To the eleven
disciples on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16). 9. To above five hundred
brethren at once (1 Corinthians 15:6), in Galilee, nearthe time of the last. It is
possible these two are identical. 10. To James only (1 Corinthians 15:7). 11. To
all the apostles onMt. Olivet at his ascension(Luke 24:51)--Thursday, May
18. 12. We may add to these that he was seenby Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:3) and
by John on Patmos (Revelation1:13).
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Jesus met them (Ιησους υπηντησεν αυταις — Iēsous hupēntēsenautais). Came
suddenly face to face (ανταω υπο — antaō αυταις — hupo) with them as they
brooded over the messageofthe angel and the fact of the empty tomb
(associative instrumental, χαιρετε — autais). Cf. Matthew 8:34; Matthew
24:1-6. Probably the lost portion of Mark‘s Gospelcontained the story of this
meeting with Jesus which changedtheir fears into joy and peace. His greeting
was the ordinary “Hail” (chairete). They fell at his feetand held them in
reverence while they worshipped him. Jesus allowedthis actof worship
though he forbade eagerhandling of his body by Mary Magdalene (John
20:17). It was a greatmoment of faith and cheer.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Hail — The word in its primary sense means, "Rejoice:" in its secondaryand
more usual meaning, "Happiness attend you."
The Fourfold Gospel
And behold, Jesus met them1, saying, All hail2. And they came and took hold
of his feet, and worshipped him3.
FIRST AND SECOND APPEARANCESOF THE RISEN CHRIST. THE
RESURRECTIONREPORTED TO THE APOSTLES. (Jerusalem. Sunday
morning.) Matthew 28:9,10;Mark 16:9-11;Luke 24:9-11;John 20:11-18
And behold, Jesus met them. The narrative turns to take up the accountof the
other women.
All hail. This was a customarysalutation. But the old formula took on new
significance, forthe Greek word"chairo" means "rejoice".
And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. This delay,
permitted to them, and denied to Mary (John 20:17), probably explains why
she became the first messenger,though the other womenwere first to leave
the tomb.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
9.And held his feet. This appears not to agree with the words of John, (John
20:17,)where he declares that Mary was forbidden to touch Christ. But it is
easyto reconcile them. The Lord, perceiving that Mary was too eagerto

embrace and kiss his fleet, orders her to retire; because it was proper to
correctthe superstition, and to point out the design of his resurrection, which
Mary was withheld from perceiving, partly by an earthly and carnal affection,
and partly by foolishzeal. Yet at first the Lord permitted her to touch his feet,
that nothing might be wanting to give her a full conviction; and, therefore,
Matthew immediately adds, that they worshipped the Lord, which was a proof
that they fully recognizedhim.
Scofield's ReferenceNotes
Jesus
The order of our Lord's appearanceswouldseemto be: On the day of his
resurrection:
(1) To Mary Magdalene John10:14-18.
(2) To the women returning from the tomb with angelic messageMatthew
28:8-10.
(3) To Peter, probably in the afternoonLuke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5.
(4) To the Emmaus disciples toward evening Luke 24:13-31.
(5) To the apostles, exceptThomas Luke 24:36-43;John 20:19-24. Eightdays
afterward:
(1) to the apostles, Thomas being present John 20:24-29. In Galilee:(1a) To
the sevenby the Lake of Tiberias John 21:1-23.
(2) On a mountain, to the apostles and five hundred brethren 1 Corinthians
15:6. At Jerusalemand Bethany again:
(1) To James 1 Corinthians 15:7.
(2) To the eleven Matthew 28:16-20;Mark 16:14-20;Luke 24:33-53;Acts 1:3-
12.

To Paul:
(1) Near DamascusActs 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8
(2) In the temple Acts 22:17-21;Acts 23:11.
To Stephen outside JerusalemActs 7:55.
To John on Patmos Revelation1:10-19.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All
Ver. 9. Jesus met them] En obedientiae praemium, timoris remedium, saith
Pareus. Godstill meets his people in the use of his ordinances, showing them
greatand mighty things that they knew not before, Jeremiah33:3.
Held him by the feet] As those that would lose him no more: the saints do still
the same by faith; clasping about Christ aud cleaving unto him, as it were by
corporalcontact.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
9.] Neither Mark nor Luke recounts, or seems to have been aware of, this
appearance. Mark evensays οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον· ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ. But (see
above) it does not therefore follow that the narratives are inconsistent. Mark’s
account(see note there) is evidently broken off suddenly; and Luke’s (see also
note there) appears to have been derived from one of those who went to

Emmaus, who had evidently but an imperfect knowledge ofwhat happened
before they left the city. This being takeninto account, we may fairly require
that the judgment should be suspended in lack of further means of solving the
difficulty.
ἐκρ. τ. π.] partly in fear and as suppliants, for the Lord says μὴ φοβεῖσθε,—
but shewing also the χαρά with which that fear was mixed (Matthew 28:8),—
joy at having recoveredHim whom they loved.
προσεκ. αὐτ.] ‘Jesumante passionemalii potius alieniores adorarunt quam
discipuli.’ Bengel.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
Matthew 28:9. On seeing the strange and superhuman appearance presented
by the risen Lord, the women are so filled with consternation( μὴ φοβεῖσθε,
Matthew 28:10) that they take hold of His feet in a suppliant attitude ( ἐκράτ.
αὐτοῦ τ. πόδας), and testify their submission and reverence by the actof
προσκύνησις. Bengelsays correctly:“Jesumante passionemalii potius
alieniores adorarunt quam discipuli.”
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Matthew 28:9.(1228)καὶ ἰδοὺ, andbehold) An elegantexpression, denoting
something sudden and unforeseen.— ὁ ἰησοῦς, κ. τ. λ., Jesus, etc.)The
obedient receive a further revelation.— χαίρετε, all hail) A formula of
frequent occurrence, whichis employed by our Lord in a high and peculiar
sense.— προσεκύνησαναὐτῷ, theyworshipped Him) Before His passion,
Jesus had been worshipped by strangers, rather than by His disciples.
A supports the Rec. Text, in reading at the beginning of Matthew 28:4. ὡς δὲ
ἐπορεύοντο ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μὰθηταῖς αὐτοῦ.But BD Vulg. abc Memph. Syr.
rejectthe words, which seemto me to have originated from a transcriber’s
accidentalerror in repeating the closing words of Matthew 28:8—a class of
errors of frequent occurrence.—ED.

Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Held him by the feet; fell at his feet and embraced them.
And worshipped him; John 5:23. Matthew 28:17. While no holy man or angel
ever suffered himself to be worshipped, Christ received divine worship, and
never said any thing againstit, nor has God the Father, or the Holy Spirit. On
the contrary, it is the distinguishing trait of true believers, that they invoke his
name, and serve the Lord Christ. Acts 9:14, Colossians3:24. In doing this,
they follow the direction, chapter Matthew 4:10, "Worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve";and the direction, Hebrews 1:6, "Let all the
angels of God worship him."
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
9. ὑπήντησεν. See note, ch. Matthew 8:28.
Χαίρετε. The Greek salutation, both on meeting and on parting.
ἐκράτησαναὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας κ.τ.λ. The immemorial usage in the Eastin
obeisance to a sovereignprince.
In the interesting claycylinder of Cyrus he says of the subject kings:‘they
brought me their full tribute and kissedmy feet.’(Canon Rawlinson, Cont.
Rev. Jan. 1880).
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
§ 148. — SECOND APPEARANCE OF JESUS, Matthew 28:9-10.
9. Jesus met them — According to John, Mary Magdalene leftthe company of
women and brought John and Peter to the sepulchre, and then she saw the
Lord. But this appearance to the women must apparently have takenplace

before she could have performed such a walk and returned, and therefore
must have been the first of all. But if these womensaw Jesus first, how says
Mark (Mark 16:9) that Mary Magdalene saw the Lord first? See note on that
passage.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
‘And behold, Jesus met them, saying, “All hail.” And they came and took hold
of his feet, and worshipped him.’
And as they sped on their wayJesus Himself appeared to them and greeted
them. And the result was that they fell down and worshipped Him. The taking
hold of His feet may have been as an indication of allegiance,orit may have
been in order to show their affectionin a worshipful way. What it did,
however, revealwas that Jesus appearedin a genuine body. He was not just a
spirit.
‘All hail.’ This was a typical courteous greeting ofthe period. Compare the
greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28. It is clearthat Jesus did not mind appearing to
the womenin Jerusalem. No one would take that as an officialevent.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Matthew 28:9. The first clause is to be omitted, but the sense is not affected.
Behold, Jesus met them. This (the second)appearance is mentioned by
Matthew only. Luke 24:24 : ‘but Him they saw not,’ is a report of what the
two disciples had heard before they left Jerusalem.
All hail. A joyous salutation.
Took hold of his feet. In mingled fearand joy. The action was very natural in
such circumstances, andwas allowedto strengthen the evidence of His
resurrection(comp. on the other hand, John 20:17). In Mary’s case this was
not necessary.

And worshipped him. Before the resurrection, ‘worship’ had been rendered to
Jesus by strangers, notby the disciples. We therefore think that religious
worship is here meant, not mere reverence, though the word often has the
latter sense. ‘The intercourse and companionship of the Lord, after His
resurrection, with His disciples, during the forty days of joy, bore manifestly a
different characterfrom what they did before His death. Through His death
and resurrection, the glorificationof His body had begun’ (Lisco).
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 28:9. καὶ ἰδοὺ, and behold, another surprise (Matthew 28:2). They
are on the wayto tell the disciples that they are to be favoured with a meeting
in Galilee, and lo! they are themselves privileged to meet the risen One.—
ὑπήντησεν, cf. chap. Matthew 8:34, Matthew 25:1; Matthew 25:6.—
ἐκράτησαν, etc., they took hold of His feetand castthemselves before Him;
the gesture befitting the circumstances, anunlooked-formeeting with one who
has been crucified and whose aspectis greatlychanged. Impossible to resume
the old familiar relations as if nothing had happened.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Jesus met them. According to St. Mark, Christ appearedfirst to Mary
Magdalene;and the particulars are related by St. John. She at first did not
know him, but took him for the gardener: then he calledher by her name
Mary, and she knew him: he said to her, touch me not, for I have not yet
ascendedto my Father; i.e. according to the common exposition, I have not
ascended, nor am yet going to ascend;thou mayest see me againbefore I
ascend:this is not the last time. --- We also read here, (ver. 9,) that he
appearedto some of the other women, as they were returning to Jerusalem
from the sepulchre, and that they laid hold on his feet, and adored him; nor is
it said that he hindered them. (Witham) --- They were then returning to carry
the news to the disciples, when they laid hold of his feet. To touch the feet, was

in the Scripture a species ofveneration; (see Exodus iv. 25; 4 Kings iv. 27.) as
among the Greeks, the touching of the knees. Thus Homer's Illiad, b. i.,
Greek:Kai ra paroith autoio Kathezeto, Kai labe gounon. (ver. 500.)
And again, ver. 512, Greek:os epsato gounon.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
went = were going.
met = confronted. As from an opposite direction, Compare the noun (Matthew
25:1, Matthew 25:6. Acts 28:15. 1 Thessalonians4:17).
held Him by the feet = seizedHim by the feet.
worshipped = prostrated themselves before. See App-137.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail!
[ Chairete (Greek #5463)] - the usual salute, but from the lips of Jesus bearing
a higher signification.
And they came and held him by the feet. How truly womanly!
And worshipped him.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(9) All hail.—Literally, rejoice. The word was probably our Lord’s wonted
greeting to the company of devout women, and though used in homage, realor
derisive, as in Matthew 27:29, John 19:3, had not necessarilythe solemnity
which modern usage has attachedto “hail.” It was, we may believe, by that

familiar word and tone that the other women at first recognisedtheir Lord, as
Mary Magdalene had done by His utterance of her own name.
Held him by the feet.—Better, claspedHis feet. Mary Magdalene had, we
must remember, already heard the words “TouchMe not” (John 20:17), but,
if we suppose her to have rejoined the other women, passionate andrejoicing
love carried her, as it carried the others, beyond the limits of reverential
obedience.
Worshipped him.—The word does not necessarilyimply a new form of
homage. The prostration which it indicates had been practisedbefore
(Matthew 8:2; Matthew 9:18); though (it is right to add) by many persons not
connectedwith the apostolic company, who came with definite petitions. It
was the natural attitude of a suppliant servant before his master (Matthew
18:26). It was, perhaps, not till later that the disciples were led to feelthat the
attitude was one that was due to God and to the Man Christ Jesus, and to no
other of the sons of men (Acts 10:26) or angels (Revelation22:9). (See Note on
Matthew 28:17.)
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
as
Isaiah64:5; Mark 16:9,10;John 20:14-16
All hail
Luke 1:28; John 20:19; 2 Corinthians 13:11;*Gr:
and held
Song of Solomon 3:3,4;Luke 7:38; John 12:3; 20:17;Revelation3:9
worshipped

17; 14:33;Luke 24:52; John 20:28;Revelation5:11-14
The Bible Study New Testament
Suddenly Jesus met them. This is his secondappearance.(1) He was first seen
by Mary Magdalene Mark 16:9;John 20:11-18. (2)This is the secondtime he
was seen—bythe womenreturning from the grave. (3) By Simon Peteralone
(Luke 24:34). (4) By two disciples going to Emmaus (Luke 24:13). (5) By the
apostles atJerusalem, exceptThomas (John 20:19). (6) By the apostles at
Jerusalem, Thomas present(John 20:26; John 20:29). (7) At Lake Tiberius
[Galilee](John 21:1). (8) By eleven disciples, on a mountain in Galilee
(Matthew 28:16). (9) By five hundred followers in Galilee (1 Corinthians
15:6). [This and #8 might have been at the same time.] (10) By James only (1
Corinthians 15:7). (11) By all the apostles onthe Mount of Olives (Luke
24:51). (12) He was also seenby Paul (Acts 9:3-6) [to offer him a commission
as an apostle];and by John on Patmos (Revelation1:12-13). Took hold of his
feet. Jesus allowedhimself to be touched and handled, and ate food(Luke
24:39-43)to show that he was not a ghost.
E.M. Zerr's Commentary on SelectedBooksofthe New Testament
Jesus had left the tomb before the women arrived, and as they were leaving he
met theme and gave them a joyous greeting. The reader should see the note on
the subjectof "worship" at chapter2:2 and note the various shades of
meaning of the word. In our present verse the only outward demonstration
indicated was their grasping the feet of the Lord. This act of respectful
condescensioncouldvery properly be called one of worship and is included in
the definition of the word.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES

RICH CATHERS
Jesus has now risen from the dead.
:9-10 Women meet Jesus
:9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying,
"Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feetand worshiped Him.
rejoice – chairo – to rejoice, be glad; in salutations, hail!; at the beginning of
letters: to give one greeting, salute
worshiped – proskuneo – to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of
reverence;among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and
touch the ground with the foreheadas an expressionof profound reverence;
in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance,
whether in order to express respector to make supplication
I don’t think Jesus would have allowedthe womento do this unless one thing
was true:
He was God.
The Jewishmindset is that you only bow down before God. This is what God
Mordecaiinto trouble with Haman (Est. 3).
Satantried to tempt Jesus to “worship” him, Satan. Jesus responded:
(Mat 4:10 NKJV) Then Jesus saidto him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is
written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall
serve.'"

When Cornelius first met Peter, he fell down before Peter, but Peter told him
to stand up because he was just a man (Acts 10:25-26)
We read of an incident with an angel:
(Rev 22:8-9 NKJV) Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I
heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feetof the angelwho showed
me these things. {9} Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. ForI am
your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep
the words of this book. Worship God."
And yet here Jesus allows the disciples to bow in worship before Him.
:10 Then Jesus saidto them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go
to Galilee, and there they will see Me."
We mentioned last week how the disciples would respond when they first hear
these things from the women:
(Luke 24:9-11 NKJV) Then they returned from the tomb and told all these
things to the eleven and to all the rest. {10} It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these
things to the apostles. {11}And their words seemedto them like idle tales, and
they did not believe them.
Apparently Jesus had to make severalappearances to the disciples before they
made their way to Galilee. Theywill be in Jerusalemfor at leasteight days
before going up north.
Luke tells us that Jesus would appear overand over againfor a period of
time:
(Acts 1:3 NKJV) to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering
by many infallible proofs, being seenby them during forty days and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Apparently most of this time was spent in Galilee. The last day before Jesus
would ascendinto heaven would be back in Jerusalemon the Mount of Olives.

One of the times Jesus met with the disciples in Galilee was in John 21, where
Jesus askedPeterthree times if Peterloved Him.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Jesus has now risen from the dead.
:9-10 Women meet Jesus
:9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying,
"Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feetand worshiped Him.
rejoice – chairo – to rejoice, be glad; in salutations, hail!; at the beginning of
letters: to give one greeting, salute
worshiped – proskuneo – to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of
reverence;among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and
touch the ground with the foreheadas an expressionof profound reverence;
in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance,
whether in order to express respector to make supplication
I don’t think Jesus would have allowedthe womento do this unless one thing
was true:
He was God.
The Jewishmindset is that you only bow down before God. This is what God
Mordecaiinto trouble with Haman (Est. 3).
Satantried to tempt Jesus to “worship” him, Satan. Jesus responded:

(Mat 4:10 NKJV) Then Jesus saidto him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is
written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall
serve.'"
When Cornelius first met Peter, he fell down before Peter, but Peter told him
to stand up because he was just a man (Acts 10:25-26)
We read of an incident with an angel:
(Rev 22:8-9 NKJV) Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I
heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feetof the angelwho showed
me these things. {9} Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. ForI am
your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep
the words of this book. Worship God."
And yet here Jesus allows the disciples to bow in worship before Him.
:10 Then Jesus saidto them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go
to Galilee, and there they will see Me."
We mentioned last week how the disciples would respond when they first hear
these things from the women:
(Luke 24:9-11 NKJV) Then they returned from the tomb and told all these
things to the eleven and to all the rest. {10} It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these
things to the apostles. {11}And their words seemedto them like idle tales, and
they did not believe them.
Apparently Jesus had to make severalappearances to the disciples before they
made their way to Galilee. Theywill be in Jerusalemfor at leasteight days
before going up north.
Luke tells us that Jesus would appear overand over againfor a period of
time:

(Acts 1:3 NKJV) to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering
by many infallible proofs, being seenby them during forty days and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Apparently most of this time was spent in Galilee. The last day before Jesus
would ascendinto heaven would be back in Jerusalemon the Mount of Olives.
One of the times Jesus met with the disciples in Galilee was in John 21, where
Jesus askedPeterthree times if Peterloved Him.
JOHN MACARTHUR
Eyewitnesses to the Resurrection
Sermons Matthew 28:1–10 80-134 Apr 3, 1994
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Well, fittingly on a day when we celebrate the resurrectionof Jesus Christ,
we bring our great service to its climax by turning to the Scripture and
hearing the record that God has given us of the resurrection. It’s always a
challenge to decide where in Scripture to go, because the Scripture is so filled
with resurrectiontruth. After all, the resurrectionis the foundation stone
upon which the church is really built, the factthat Christ died and rose again.
Without the resurrectionthere would be no service this morning, there would
be no church here or anywhere else, there would be no Christian faith.

The first sermon ever preachedafter Jesus rose from the dead, as I read
you from Acts 2, was preachedon the resurrection. And the resurrectionthen
became the theme for all apostolic preaching and for all gospelpreaching
through all the years of history since. In the book of Acts, Peternot only
preachedon the resurrectionin chapter two, but he preachedon the
resurrectionin chapter four, and then againhe preached on the resurrection
in chapter ten. Stephen preached on the resurrectionin chapter seven. Phillip
preachedon the resurrectionin chapter eight. And then Paul preached on the
resurrectionin chapter nine, chapter 13, and chapter28.
When you come into the Epistles, they’re just loaded with resurrection
truth. The book of Romans says that Christ was raisedup from the dead by
the glory of the Father. 1 Corinthians says that He rose againthe third day
according to the Scriptures. 2 Corinthians says He was raisedup, and He
being raised up shall raise us up also. The book of Galatians talks aboutGod
the Fatherwho raisedJesus Christ from the dead. The letter to the Ephesian
church talks about Christ who was raised from the dead. The book of
Philippians speaks ofthe heart of Paul, “That I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection.” To the ColossiansPaulwrote, “Godwho has raisedHim
from the dead.” To the Thessalonians he wrote, “His Son whom He raised
from the dead” – speaking of Christ.
Paul was not alone. Peterthe apostle, writing alone in his first epistle said
in verse 3 of the first chapter, “Blessedbe the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ who, according to His greatmercy, has causedus to be born
againunto a living hope.” And that hope comes through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ our Lord. The greatbook of Revelationwhich culminates all of
divinely inspired Scripture begins by talking about the one who was alive and
died and comes to life againin whose hands are the keys to hell and death.
The resurrectionis not just the theme of the New Testament, but it is a
theme in the Old Testamentas well, as noted by the sermon from Peter,
quoting from the Psalmist. The foundation of our faith, the foundation of the
church, the foundation of our eternalhope is the resurrectionof Christ. It was
summed up in the words of Jesus, “Because Ilive you shall live also.” Or in
John 11, that greattestimony of the Lord at the death of Lazarus, and just

before He raisedLazarus from the dead He said, “I am the resurrectionand
the life, whosoeverbelieves in Me shall never die. And whosoeverlives and
believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Do you believe this,” He
asked.
We come then to the greatestsingle truth in Christianity – the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. We could discuss it from the viewpoint of apostolic preaching
or apostolic doctrine. We could discuss it as Peterdid from the viewpoint of
prophesy. We could discuss it in terms of the ongoing intercessorywork of
Jesus Christ as He ever lives to make intercessionforus even now. We could
discuss it in the viewpoint of Revelationlooking at the risen Christ returning.
But for this morning I want us to go back to just the simple truth of the
narrative. Back to the history, back to the gospels:Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John, who recordfor us the eyewitness accountofthe resurrection.
To do that, let’s go to Matthew chapter 28 - Matthew chapter 28. We are
going to view the resurrectionthrough the first eyewitnesseswho were a
group of women- very wonderful, very specialwomen. Women who had come
to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviorand Messiahwhile he
was ministering in Galilee. Theytraveled through Galilee following Him,
ministering to Him personally, caring for Him whenever and howeverthey
could. They made the trek with Him south to celebrate the Passoveratwhich
He was crucified. They were there surrounding the foot of the cross atHis
death. These same womenwere there at the burial, anointing His body
profusely with spices, helping to see that He was placed in the tomb in a
dignified and respectful way, though dead. They were there sitting in the
darkness as the tomb was sealed;their hearts grieved to the point of breaking.
It is those very women who were there in the morning of the dawn of
resurrection.
And Matthew begins in verse 1 by recording this, “After the Sabbath, as it
beganto dawn toward the first day of the week, MaryMagdalene andthe
other Mary came to look at the grave.” Here we meet the women. Not just
these women, there were some others as well. Mark adds that Salome was
there, the mother of James and John, the wife of Zebedee. Luke adds that a
woman by the name of Johanna was there, the wife of one of Herod’s

stewards. Johnmentions only Mary Magdalene but uses the pronoun we,
indicating there were others. It was a group of women. Women who had come
all the way from Galilee, womenwho had stoodby Him at the cross, women
who were there at the burial and had lingered long into that Friday night, and
women who were back that Sunday at the dawn having left their place of rest
in the dark.
And why? Why women? Why did God choose womento be the first
eyewitnesses ofthe resurrection? Well some saybecause Godlikes to choose
the weak, those who are not the noble, those who are behind the scenes,those
perhaps who are unexpected. God likes to surprise us and maybe even startle
us with his sovereignchoices. And some have suggestedthat God rewards the
faithful, and after all the disciples had forsakenHim and fled. Where were
they at the footof the cross? Where were they at the burial? The womenwere
there and God rewards faithfulness. And some have suggestedthat, after all,
death came to the whole human race in a garden through a woman, namely
Eve. Why shouldn’t life come to redeem the race, first to women in another
garden? And perhaps it could be said that the deepestsorrow deserves the
highest joy, and the women had the deepestsorrow. After all, whatever
sorrow the disciples had seems to me to be overpoweredby their cowardice.
Whatevercowardice the womenhad was overpoweredby their sorrow. And
some might suggestthat supreme love deserves supreme blessing. However
greatly the disciples may have loved Jesus, their fear restrained them, but
howevermuch their fear restrained them the womenloved Jesus so much,
they were there.
Well all of that may be well and good, but you know why they - the real
reasonwhy they were the eyewitnesses ofthe resurrection? You know why
they were the first to know about it? Becausetheywere the first to show up.
How profound is that? It’s amazing how you will find yourself in the center of
God’s purposes if you’re just around were He’s working and speaking and
moving.
Matthew tells us, “It was after the Sabbath as it beganto dawn towards the
first day of the week.” Mark adds, “It was very early at the rising of the sun.”
Luke adds, “It was at early dawn.” And John says, “While still dark.” Right

at that time when darkness is slowlyfading and light is coming, that’s the
hour of the greatesteventof all events, the resurrectionof Jesus from the
dead. And now we’re going to see that event, and we’re going to see it through
the eyes of these women. But not just through their eyes. We’re going to see it
through their emotion, through their attitudes. Yes, their eyes will behold
some things, but beyond what they see is how they reactto it. And the real
story of the resurrectionhere is to go through the emotional transformation
that takes place in the hearts of these women.
The first attitude that I want you to note is sympathy - sympathy. It simply
says in verse one that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and of course the
rest of the women, came to look at the grave. They came to see. There was no
thought of resurrectionin their minds. They didn’t come to see the
resurrection. They didn’t come to pray for the resurrection. They didn’t come
wistfully to hope it might have happened. The resurrectionwasn’t even on
their mind. You know why they came?
Mark 16:1, “Becausetheyhad bought spices that they might come and
anoint Him.” On Friday when He was being placed in the grave you canbe
sure that they anointed His body profusely with anything that would grant the
body some fragrance and minimize some of the stenchof inevitable decay. The
Jews did not embalm their bodies. You remember in John 11 that Lazarus,
having been dead by four days, already his body would stink. And here we are
on the morning of the third day, decay already beginning, and the women
having a hard time handling that emotionally, come for one lasteffort to put
spices on a body that will send out a fragrance that will overpowerthe stench
of decaying flesh. It’s purely an actof sympathy. It’s purely an expressionof
compassion. Theyhad no idea that Jesus wouldbe alive.
When they gotthere they had a problem because there had been a stone
rolled across the face of the grave. And Mark 16:3 says they ask, “Who will
roll the stone away for us?” It was very large, massive. Theycouldn’t do it.
Certainly the Roman soldiers weren’tgoing to break the sealand do it, and
maybe the women never realized that it was sealedwith a Roman sealthat
couldn’t be broken. And there they are, spices in hand, ready to demonstrate
their sympathy and compassionto this one who they loved so deeply, caring

little for whether or not they are going to be associatedwith him, caring not at
all that they will be called followers ofJesus - followers of this insurrectionist
rebel, having greatercourage, I sayagain, than the disciples themselves who
were hovering in fear for their lives. They come to do this last deed of
compassionand kindness and there’s a barrier in the way.
But we commend their sympathy. And I think all through history and even
today and perhaps this morning in this church, there are some of you who
look at Jesus with sympathy. It’s not difficult to be sympathetic to someone
who gives his life for a cause, someone who is noble enough to say, “I’ll die for
what I believe in.” All the world applauds someone who dies for what he
believes and even particularly when what he believes is noble and lofty, and
it’s all about love and kindness and goodness andmercy and forgiveness - all
those things of which Jesus spoke. And people usually applaud someone who
is willing to go againstthe establishment, whether it be the elite religious
establishment or whether it be the powerof a military army of Rome.
Certainly here is a man who could gaina measure of sympathy and
compassionfrom anybody because ofthe fact that he was willing to give his
life for what was unpopular, counter culture, antiestablishment, for a cause
that belongedto a handful of people. And certainly we could be sympathetic
to one who was so loving toward women and children, One who carried
himself among the poor and those who were the despairing and despondent
and who had nothing, and He gave His life to them. A lover of poor people.
And now he was dead, and we too could come to the tomb out of sympathy
for such a one. But that wasn’t where it ended because immediately another
emotion replacedsympathy. And the secondthing they felt was fear – fear.
Terror. Verse two, “And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an
angelof the Lord descendedfrom heaven and came and rolled awaythe stone
and satupon it. And his appearance was like lightning and his garment as
white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead
men. And the angelansweredand said to the woman, ‘Do not be afraid for I
know that you’re looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for
He has risen just as He said. Come see the place where He was lying, and go
quickly and tell His disciples that He’s risen from the dead. And behold He’s
going before you into Galilee. There you will see Him. BeholdI’ve told you.’”

That secondsectionfocuses onfear, you’ll notice in verse five the angel
says, “Do not be afraid.” Their sympathy and their tender compassion
immediately turned to terror. Matthew alone gives us the detail of verse two
that a severe earthquake occurred. It was a mega seismos, notjust a small
tremor. It was not just an aftershock ofthe earthquake that is described in
chapter 27 verse 51, the earthquake that occurredwhen Jesus died on the
cross that split open the graves and let the dead saints out – a massive
earthquake, the earthquake that ripped the temple veil from top to bottom.
This is no aftershock. This cannotbe explained as anything other than an act
of God. In and of itself, a greatearthquake.
And even without any kind of equipment, there was no problem finding the
epicenter. The epicenterwas the tomb and everything radiated out from that
point. You say, “What causedthe earthquake?” Notwhat – who. An
earthquake occurred, a severe one, because anangelof the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled awaythe stone and saton it. It wasn’t some
plates shifting. It was an angellanding. An angelof the Lord descending from
heaven hit the tomb and a radiating earthquake sent shock waves out
rumbling through the earth under the feet of the womenwho were
approaching that very place.
Now let me tell you something, the earthquake came. The angelrolled the
stone from the front of the grave and saton it. Nothing says Jesus came out.
Nothing. You know why? He was alreadygone. He was already gone. Do you
understand that the angel did not roll the stone awayto let Jesus out? He
rolled the stone awayto let the women in. Jesus didn’t need the stone removed
to get out any more than he neededthe door opened to getinto the upper
room where he appearedto the disciples. In fact, the Scripture tells us that the
grave clothes, which were wrapped around His body when He was buried,
were lying in the very place that they were when they were on His body. He
went through the grave clothes and through the grave, the door - the stone -
being over the entry, the hole.
No, Jesus didn’t need the angelto move the stones so He could get out. He
needed the angelto move the stones so the womencould getin. A glorified,
resurrectedChrist rearrangedthe molecules of His supernatural body and

went right through. He had already risen. In fact, that’s what the angel said,
“He’s not here.” He’s not in the tomb and He’s not around. He is gone. His
resurrectionalready happened. Interestingly, no one saw it. No one. Not
anyone saw the actualresurrection of Christ. The soldiers, they were there
but what were they doing? Sleeping. And in the first gleaming light at the
dawn of the third day to fulfill the prophecy, He came out of the grave
through the wallof that grave, through the stone. Alive. Then the angel came
and rolled the stone awayto let the people in. And when they went in, there
were the linen clothes lying exactly where they were when they were on the
body of Jesus. So the women came and when they saw what they saw, it
generatedterror in their hearts. The earthquake, the stone is rolled away, and
sitting on it is an angel.
Now there’s an interestingly little piece of the drama that happens here
that Matthew doesn’t record. The lady who seems to be most prominent in the
group is a lady by the name of Mary of Magdalene, lovedand savedby Christ
and a devout follower. When she came along with the others and saw the stone
rolled away, she panicked. If she saw the angel, she didn’t look very carefully,
because Johntells us what she did. John chapter 20, “Mary Magdalene came
early to the tomb ... saw the stone taken awayfrom the tomb.” And
apparently, that’s all she saw. “And she ran.” She spun around on her sandals
and took off in the opposite direction. “She ran and came to Simon Peter.”
Now Simon Peter, mostwould say, along with John, were staying in Bethany
and that’s a two mile run. A two mile run up and down a mountain - the
Mount of Olives - or around it, and even then it would be longer.
And she ran, and all she remembers is the stone is gone. The grave is
opened. And she has jumped to this conclusion, “Theyhave taken awaythe
Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” This is
the messageshe gives to Peterand John. John is described here as the disciple
whom Jesus loved. That’s always the way he refers to himself or similarly in
his gospel. She’s reporting in to the two leading apostles. Herconclusionis the
body has been stolen. She doesn’tknow that. She never lookedto see if it was
there. She has no idea who the they are who have taken the Lord out of the
tomb or where they’ve takenHim. Her assumption is: Some grave robbers
have come. They’ve stolenHis body. They have some desecrating, humiliating

thing that they’re going to do. And in her fear, she takes in nothing about the
angelsitting there, spins, and goes onher way.
Now, in response to the report that she gives, Peterand John start on their
way back to the grave. Petergoes first. John comes after Peter. They head
towards the tomb, the two are running together. And of course, Johnnotes for
us that he is fasterthan Peter. He came to the tomb first. But he is also more
timid than Peter. He stoops and looks in. Peterbolts by him and goes in to see
who isn’t there.
Now that’s the little interlude. We’re back at the tomb with the women.
Mary is gone. She’s running to Bethany. She’s going to tell the disciples.
They’re going to be running back. But while all of that is happening, the
women look from the open tomb to the angel. Verse 3, “And his appearance
was like lightening” - blazing, dazzling lightening. That’s the reflection of
deity. You remember in the book of Revelationwhen we look into the throne
room of God we see lightening - the flashing, brilliant glory of God that
surrounds His throne. So this angel - the angel of the Lord, as he is called -
takes on the characterof deity. He manifests the blazing glory of deity. His
raiment, or his garment, is as white as snow. It’s dazzling. It’s brilliant. Its
shining light, demonstrating the deity reflectedin this angelic being, not his
own, but reflectedfrom God and also demonstrating his purity.
The reactionof the Roman soldiers who are now rubbing their eyes and
waking up after an earthquake and the removal of the stone and the angeland
the womenarrived. The commotionawakens them and it says, “The guards
shook for fear of Him and became like dead men.” Now these are Roman
soldiers. These aren’tyour localwimps. These are soldiers. And they’ve been
around, and they’ve seensome things, and they should be ready for anything,
and they fall over in a coma when they see an angel. They literally fell over in
unconsciousness.Theywere paralyzed with fear and went into a coma. They
were victims of their terror. They were overcome by the divine presence
representedby that angel. No comfort, by the way, was offeredto them at all.
They later came to see the chief priests and tell them their story. And of
course, the chief priests bribed them to lie about it.

But only those who loved the Lord are comforted. So the angelhas nothing
to say to the comatosesoldiers. They’re outside the family, but verse five,
“The angelansweredand saidto the women, ‘Do not be afraid.’” Fearnot.
Literally, stop fearing. The women were terrorized. Why? I think it’s a holy
fear. I think it’s the terror of realizing they’re in the presence ofone who
comes from God. I think they believed that Jesus was Godin human flesh.
That was enough. That was a terrorizing reality in itself. That was a fear
inducing reality in itself, to know you were in the presence ofGod incarnate.
But here comes a blazing, flaming, shinning angelfrom the throne of God,
and that’s a terrorizing thing.
They must have had something of the fear of Isaiahwho said, “Woe is me,”
when he saw the glory of the Lord in the temple. Something of the terror of
Peterwho, when seeing Jesus, said, “Departfrom me for I am a sinful man.”
And so there is here not just a personalfear that they might lose their life or
something awful is going to happen to them, that the guards are going to do to
them because the body is stolen, but here is a holy terror. That they’re seeing
something that is divine and something that is supernatural, and it engenders
tremendous fear. And so the angel says, “Stopfearing. I know that you’re
looking for Jesus who has been crucified.” They had come looking for Jesus to
anoint His body with spices.
The angelsays, “I know what you’re here to do. I know why you’ve come.
Stop fearing.” You might have expectedthe angelto say, “You know, God
told me to tell you He’s sick of your weak faith. He told me to tell you He’s
really tired of the fact that you guys never believe anything Jesus says.”He
doesn’t rebuke the women in that way. There was a mild rebuke. “I know
you’re looking for Jesus who’s beencrucified.” Then he adds, “He isn’t here
for He has risen just as He said.” There’s a mild rebuke in that but no anger,
no condemnation of their feeble minds and their weak faith, their inability to
remember what Jesus saidor what the prophets wrote or to believe it. They
were loyal, loving, sympathetic women whose devotionto Jesus Christwas
very clear. There’s just a word of comfort. That’s all. “He’s not here. He is
risen.” Literally, aoristpassive. “He was raised. It’s over. He’s gone. It
happened before you gothere. Or before I gothere,” the angelcould say.

The new Testamentsays, “He raisedHimself.” The New Testamentsays
the Fatherraised Him. And the New Testamentsays the Spirit raised Him.
They were all in on it, the whole Trinity. And he’s alive as He said. And Luke
24:8 says, “And they remembered His words.” Theycame to the place where
they did remember, but not quite yet. The angelsays at the end of verse 6,
“Come, see the place where He was laying.” The angel openedthe tomb to let
them in. Come on in, he says. They went in. Luke 24:3 says, “Whenthey
entered they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happens, that
while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stoodnear
them in dazzling apparel.” Angel number one went in and was joined by
another angel. Now there are two angels. And, by the way, John 20:12 says
one of them sat at the head and one of them sat at the feet of the slab where
Jesus had been lying. And it says, “The women,” Luke 24:5, “were terrified
and bowedtheir faces to the ground.” It was a holy fear. They knew they were
sinners and they were in divine presence.
And then the angelsaid, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
He is not here. He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was
still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of
sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again.” Do you remember
that? “And they remembered His words.” Notuntil then did they re-grip the
promise that Jesus had made that He would die and rise again. It was in that
fear that they were given a command. Verse 7, “Go quickly. Tell His disciples
He is risen from the dead. He is going before you into Galilee, there you will
see him.” And then he signs off, “Behold, I have told you.” Which is an angelic
way of saying, “Rogerand out.” Message delivered.
Fear, terror, holy presence, that’s a reasonable emotion - a certainfear was
rightly in their hearts. And I think that that’s still true. I think that there are
people, perhaps you, who readthe resurrectionand you say, wow, that’s a
traumatic thing. That’s an incredible event. The evidence for its truthfulness
is beyond question - beyond question. Hundreds and hundreds of eyewitnesses
saw the risen Christ. Grave clothes lying exactlyas they were. Womenwho
never expecteda resurrection don’t fabricate one. Disciples who never
expecteda resurrectiondon’t fabricate one. And leastof all, do they all go out
and die as martyrs for a one who’s resurrectionthey faked. And how can you

explain their transformed lives? And how can you explain the church? And
how can you explain thousands of years of history of transformed lives by the
living, risen Christ?
When Jesus rose from the dead even the guard knew it and had to be
bribed to lie. There is no more attested - better attestedtruth in ancient
history than the resurrectionof Christ. And maybe you can look at it and say
it’s an amazing event. It’s an astonishing and startling and wondrous thing,
and I canunderstand the sense ofawe and terror and holy fear that the
women had because,afterall, if He was alive, then He could take vengeance
on His executers and on those who denied Him and rejectedHim and did not
believe. Maybe you canstand back and say it’s an awesome event. Boy, I
certainly affirm the resurrection. The eyewitnessesand evidence indicates it
happened. It’s an amazing and an astounding event. And it may inspire awe
and wonder and even fear in your heart, but that shouldn’t be all.
There’s another emotion, another attitude that comes. Let’s pick that up in
verse 8, “And they” – the women – “departedquickly from the tomb with fear
and greatjoy, and ran to report it to His disciples.” Fearstarts to give way to
joy as they head toward the disciples. Now they’re running awayfrom the
tomb toward the disciples. Two of the disciples and Mary are running the
other way. They must have been on different paths. They never met. By the
time Peterand John arrived, the women are gone. And they’re going to tell
the disciples the message the angelgave them. And that is to go to Galilee and
Jesus will meet you there. Galilee ofthe Gentiles;Galilee of the darkness;
Galilee where the Lord first ministered, performed miracles, redeemedsouls,
was hated and rejected;Galilee the microcosmof the world. They would all
meet there. They would have some preliminary meetings with the disciples in
Jerusalem. There would be severaloccasions where Jesuswould meet with the
eleven, but not until Galilee would everybody be gatheredtogether. Every
meeting in Jerusalemwas only a preparation for the greatassemblagein
Galilee. And in that greatassemblage in Galilee would come the great
commissionto go into all the world and preachthe gospel.
That was the messagethat they were to give to the disciples, to tell them
that He is risen; He’s alive; and He’ll meet you in Galilee. And so they run

and their hearts are filled with joy. It’s important to note - and nothing is
worse than this - that when they tell the disciples what happened, the disciples
don’t believe it. Nothing could be worse than to know that Jesus was alive and
not be able to convince them that what you said was true. The disciples were
so unwilling to believe, they didn’t believe the women. It’s a sadreality that
their faith was so shallow. Obviously, they came to believe when Jesus showed
up in the upper room coming through the wall.
But as the women went to tell the disciples their attitude was joy. Why?
Becauseit was dawning on them that Jesus really was alive. And what that
meant was there’s a future. There’s more to life. It’s not over. It’s not all
darkness and the end and despair. And I suppose there were people who
would come that far. They might come to the death and resurrectionof Christ
with sympathy and compassionfor a well-intentioned martyr. They might
even come so far as to say, hey, it was an amazing event. We’ll even allow for
the miraculous astounding to happen, and He did come out of the grave. And
they might go that far. And they might even go so far as to say what G.B.
Hardy the scientistaskedwhen he said, “Justanswerone question, is there a
way through death and has anybody ever made it possible for me to get
through?”
And the answeris yes, Jesus died and He rose againand He blazed a trail
through the grave and out the other side. There is a future. Some people
might even go that far, as to say, yes, I believe in the afterlife. I believe there’s
more. I believe this isn’t the end. I believe we’re not in a cul-de-sac. I believe
we’re not at the end of a black tunnel that closes in with a final wall. I believe
that there’s a thoroughfare of death and there’s something on the other side,
and Jesus wentthrough and out the other side. And that means there’s a
future. Somebody might even go that far. There was a future for the women.
They could see the fullness of all that future knowing who Jesus was. But that
wasn’t the end of their transformation.
There’s another attitude that comes in verse 9 – most wonderfully. I love
this. They’re walking along or running to the disciples to tell them this
messagefrom the angelthat He’s alive and they’re to meet Him in Galilee.
“And behold, Jesus met them” – on the way, there He is in resurrectedglory –

“and greetedthem.” I love that. You know what He said to them in the
Greek? Hello. Hi. I mean, it wasn’tany greatprofound statement. It was, “Hi.
Goodmorning, ladies.” Boy, that’s a common greeting for such an immense
event. It was the ordinary salutationof the marketplace, the highway, and the
home. He must have saidit in a majestic tone, but it must have put their
hearts at ease instantaneously. It was Him, and they knew it. And they came
up, and they took hold of His feet. And what did they do? They worshipped.
That’s the next attitude.
They moved from sympathy to fear to joy to worship. This is, by the way,
no spirit. This is no apparition. This is no figment of their imagination. This is
not a group hallucination. You can’t grab the feetof a group hallucination.
This is a person. They graspedHis feet. They seizedHim with adoring love.
They were overwhelmed with thanks, overwhelmedwith wonder. They fell at
His feetand they worshipped Him. What does that mean? They acknowledged
Him as Lord and God and Christ. They offered homage and worship. They
bowed the knee to Him. They recognizedHis deity. The recognizedHis glory.
They recognizedHis lordship.
So they had gone from sympathy for His death to fearof the supernatural
powerto joy over the reality of resurrection to worship at the feetof the risen,
exalted Lord. That’s where God wants to take you. Your sympathetic feelings
toward a crucified martyr will damn you if that’s all you’ve got. Your
amazement and wonder and awe, your astonishmentover the reality of a
resurrectionwill damn you if that’s all there is. And so will your joy that there
may be another life because Jesusconquereddeath, unless you come to the
place where you bow your face before Him and confess Him as Lord and
worship Him. And that’s what they did.
And that wasn’t even the last note. There’s a fifth attitude, and it’s bound
up in what Jesus saidto them. Verse 10, “Then Jesus saidto them” - this is the
same speechthey heard from the angel – “Do not be afraid. Go in and take
word to my brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see me.” Boy,
that angelreally did his job right, didn’t he? He gave the right word. And
here, they get it from Jesus. And what does this produce? They’ve gone from
sympathy to fear to joy to worship to what? Hope - hope. What? We’re going

to see Him again? We’re going to be with Him again? We’re all going to go to
Galilee and we’re all going to be together.
And the last vestiges offearcrumble. At first it was all fear. Then it was
fear mixed with joy. Then it was fearmixed with worship. And Jesus had to
say to them, “Stopfearing.” And now the fear is gone and the heart is left with
hope. “Stopyour fear. Justgo tell my brethren, we’re all going to meet in
Galilee.” Wellthat’s the right response - hope. Not that we’re all going to
meet in Galilee, but that we’re all going to meet in glory. That’s the way to
respond to the resurrection. There’s a place for sympathy. There’s a place for
holy fear. There’s certainly a place for joy. But what really matters is that you
fall on your face and worship and that your heart be filled with eternal hope.
That’s the evidence of salvation.
Father, as we close this greatservice together. We are so thankful that
Jesus lives. That the One who went through that tomb in the dawn of that
Jerusalemmorning still lives - ever lives – and will return for His own. We
thank You that He is our Lord, our God, the One in whom we hope, the One
who will bring us to the greatreunion in glory. Father, we thank You for the
gift of Christ in His death and in His resurrection. A resurrection that proves
the Word of God is true. That proves the Lord Jesus is God, that salvationis
complete, that the church is begun, that judgment is coming, that heaven is
waiting. So much is built on the resurrection. Move every heart to worship
and hope. Maythere be no one who comes only as far as sympathy or
amazement or even joy. May everyone come all the way to worship and be
filed with hope.
And Lord, I pray that in your mercy and grace, you will callmany today to
believe. Call many to name the Son as Lord and King, to fall on their face at
His feet, thanking Him for dying for them, for rising again, having paid the
penalty for their sin. Lord, bring many to the Son, bring many to salvation
before this day closes aroundthe world. May it truly be a resurrectionday.
May many pass from death into life. Forthe glory of Christ, Amen.

JOHN MACARTHUR
A First-hand Perspective onthe Resurrection
Sermons Matthew 28:1–10 80-204 Apr 4, 1999
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The world has heard many important messages,learnedmany greattruths,
and through human history seenmany dramatic, far-reaching and life-
changing events. Nothing, however, in the history of the world even comes
close to the importance of the resurrectionof Jesus Christ from the dead.
His resurrectionis, of course, the cornerstone ofthe Christian faith; it is the
foundation of our salvation. It is the essence ofour hope. It is because Jesus
lives that we live. It is because He conquered death that we conquer death. It
is because He went through the grave and out the other side that we shall do
the same. He is the resurrectionand the life, He said, and because He lives, we
live. And whoeverbelieves in Him shall live and never really die. That is the
Christian hope.
Eachof the four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John with which the
New Testamentbegins – presents the resurrection, eachgospelwriter focusing
on specialdetails. Together, the composite of the four gospels gives us the full
picture of this monumental event. And obviously we don’t have time to look at
them all. So, let’s look at the resurrectionthrough Matthew’s gospel. Open
your Bible againto Matthew chapter 28.

My intention, this morning, is to just give a simple and straightforward
accountof the resurrection, and a brief comment or two about its significance,
and Matthew will aid us in doing that. Earlierin the service, I read this
portion to you.
We’re going to look at the ten verses that I read from Matthew chapter 28,
and they view the resurrectionin a unique way, I think. They view the
resurrectionthrough the eyes of a group of women. A group of womenwho
were familiar to the story of Jesus. Theywere Galileanwomen. They were
sort of like the secondline who followedJesus. Firstthere were His apostles,
and then there were these women. And they appear at various intervals
through the life and ministry of Jesus, demonstrating love, and care, and
affection, and trust in the Lord. They are a specialgroup, and they really are
the window through which we will look at the resurrection. We’re going to see
it through their attitudes and through their emotions as we look at the first
ten verses ofchapter 28.
The setting is given us in verse 1. The text says, “Now afterthe Sabbath, as it
beganto dawn toward the first day of the week” – you’ll remember that Jesus
was crucified on Friday – Friday afternoon, before Sabbath; Sabbath coming
at sundown, around 6:00 in the evening. And so now, it is, as the text says,
after the Sabbath, and the original text would indicate long after the Sabbath,
Jesus having been laid in the tomb on Friday. Saturday has passedby.
Saturday evening at sundown ended the Sabbath. It is now dawning on
Sunday morning. So, it is long after in the sense that it is many hours, perhaps
12 hours after the Sabbath has ended. It’s now the first day of the week, the
third day that the Lord had been in the tomb. He was in the tomb a part of
Friday, all of Saturday, and now a part of Sunday.
At that point, we’re introduced to the women. Verse 1 indicates “Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.” We learn also that
there were additional women there. Mark adds there was a womannamed
Salome, who was the mother of James and John and the wife of Zebedee.
Luke adds there was a woman by the name of Joanna, the wife of Chuza who
was one of the Herod’s stewards. Johnmentions only Mary Magdalene, but
implies the other women by using the plural pronoun “we” in John 20.

This group of womenwere from Galilee. They were Galileanwomen. They
were from the north. And there they had come to know about the Lord. They
had traveled along with the Lord, and we see them, as I said, appearing at
certain points. They, most notably of all, were there at the cross whenall the
other disciples - the men supposedly of strength and courage – had scattered
in fear. The womenshowedup at the cross. Theywere there at His burial, as
we read earlier. Chapter 27, verse 61, indicates that Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary were sitting opposite the grave when Jesus was being placed there.
They remained after - lingering at darkness on that Friday night into the
Sabbath - opposite the tomb, in grieving love.
And now it is Sunday, and they’re back. They must have started out from
their dwelling place. We don’t know where they were staying; somewhere
around Jerusalem. Theycame early in the morning, before the sun had risen,
heading for the tomb. It says, at the end of verse 1, they came to look at the
grave. That’s really all they had in mind; they just wanted to look at the
grave, to see the tomb. No thought of resurrectionis indicated, for none was
really in their minds.
They had something else in mind, actually. They came to look at the grave,
but something more. Mark 16:1 says, “Theycame with spices to anoint the
body of Jesus.” Perhaps, afterSabbathhad ended on the Saturday night –
nothing could be purchasedduring the Sabbath – after Sabbath had ended,
they had acquired some spices, and they were coming for one final anointing
of the body of Jesus is an actof sympathy. And the first attitude we see of the
women is sympathy. Sympathy, compassion.
The Jews did not embalm bodies, and so there was no realpreservative for the
rapid decay of human flesh. The body was wrapped in cloth. One cloth
wrapped the body, anotherwrapped the head. Into the cloth were wrapped
certain spices. Thosespices wouldretard, a little bit, the severe odor. You
remember that when Lazarus had been dead four days, there was concern
about the stenchof his body should the tomb be opened, because the decay
would be severe by just that amount of time.

And these women, realizing that and wanting to do one lastdeed of honor,
came with their spices to just refresh the body. Assuming they would be able
to find a man who could roll the stone away, they would go in, and they would
anoint the body againas an act of sympathy and compassion.
In Mark 16:3, Mark’s record of the resurrection indicates they didn’t know
that the tomb had been sealedwith a Roman sealand, therefore, couldn’t be
opened. They didn’t know that a guard had been establishedin front of the
tomb to keepany would-be grave robbers away. They assumedthat they
would just go there and they would find some man who would roll the stone
away. They knew they were unable to do it because it was very large, but
perhaps they could find someone ofstrength who would assistthem.
And so, the first thing we see, whenwe look at this event, is sympathy. The
first emotion, the first attitude was sympathy toward one they loved. They
sympathized over Him. He was a kind and gracious man, obviously, to them.
He was more than that; He was a man who forgave their sins. He was the one
who taught them about God and the truth of Godand the kingdom of God.
He had endeared Himself to them as no other had ever done. And it was in
view of Him as a great teacher, and as a sympathizing friend, and as a willing
sacrifice for what He believed that they came out of compassionand sympathy
to anoint His body in one final act of adoring love.
No soonerdid they arrive, filled with sympathy, than the emotion of sympathy
turned to terror. Look at verse 2. And this is the secondemotion, the second
attitude that we see. “Behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel
of the Lord descendedfrom heavenand came and rolled away the stone and
satupon it.” Now, Matthew alone gives us this detail, and it is marvelous. The
language is very simple and unmistakable.
The word “behold” indicates the surprise, the startling nature of the situation.
There was a greatearthquake. Though still approaching the garden, where
the tomb was located, in proximity to Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified,
they might well have felt the seismic waves that would be rumbling through
the earth beneath their feet as they radiated from the epicenter at the tomb.
This isn’t the first earthquake, however, to round the event of Jesus’death.

You remember that in chapter27 of Matthew, in verse 51, it indicates that at
the time that Jesus said“It is finished,” at the time He yielded up His Spirit,
the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook.
The rocks split, and tombs were actually opened, and the bodies of saints who
had fallen asleepwere raised. There had already been a resurrection;there
had already been a significantearthquake. Here againis another seismic
upheaval, a supernatural earthquake, a severe one – megas in the Greek, a
mega quake. We don’t know what the number of that quake is. I don’t know
that they had any way to measure those, but it was a mega quake, coming
from the epicenterof the tomb itself.
What causedit? It wasn’t any shifting of plates in the ground. It wasn’tany
physical phenomena at all. It was the arrival of an angelof the Lord
descending from heaven who came, rolled the stone away and sat on it. By the
way, the earthquake was not causedby Jesus leaving the tomb; it was caused
by the arrival of the angel coming to the tomb. Nothing says that he came to
let Jesus out. Nothing says that He rolled the stone awayso Jesus couldget out
of the tomb. By the time the angelarrived, by the time the earthquake hit, by
the time he rolled the stone away, Jesus was alreadygone. He had already
arisen. He was alive and gone from the tomb. You see, He didn’t need the
stone to be removed to get out; He simply could rearrange the molecules in
His glorified body and move right through the rock. The same way, John
20:26 indicates to us that He appeared a week laterto the apostles in the
upper room, the door being shut. Again, He simply moved through the wall in
glorified body form; He had that capability.
No one actually saw the resurrection. There is no record in the Bible of
anyone who saw Jesus come through the rock, come out of the tomb. No one
actually saw Him ascendfrom the wrappings and move out of that tomb. The
only one who saw was God Himself. Sometimes you see a painting of the
resurrectiondepicted, and the angel is pushing the stone away, and Jesus is
emerging. That is not an accurate picture. Look at it this way: the angeldidn’t
move the stone to let Jesus out; he moved the stone to let the world in. He
moved the stone so that the women and the apostles could come in and give
testimony to the fact that Jesus wasn’tthere. He moved the stone so that they
could go in and see the grave clothes lying exactlyas they were when they

were wrapped around His body, indicating He went through them as well.
The linen clothes weren’teven displaced. He left the tomb without moving the
stone. He came forth in glorified form, unseenby anyone.
The angelarrived with an earthquake, rolled the stone back, laid it flat, and
saton it. There sat divine testimony to the resurrectionan angelfrom heaven.
As the women arrived, they see him. And what did they see? Verse 3, “His
appearance was like lightning, and his garment as white as snow.” He has a
supernatural brilliance because he comes as a supernatural being from a
supernatural place. This angeltakes on the characterofshining glory, the
glory of God in whose presencehe dwells. He is transmitting the divine glory
from his holy person. His raiment as white as snow indicates the purity, the
holiness of this being right out of the presence ofGod.
When he appeared, and the earthquake occurred, and he moved the stone and
saton it, verse 4 says, “The guards shook” – literally, physically shook;it’s the
same root Greek word as the word for earthquake, and the root is seisma. The
guards had their own seismic experience. They shook out of sheerterror of
seeing a heavenly angle – “and became like dead men.” They were paralyzed
in unconsciousness. Theywent into a comatose state outof sheer terror,
victims of the invasion of the supernatural. No comfort was offeredto them,
by the way. No comfort at all.
Later on, when they tried to tell the story of what had happened, they were
bribed to lie. At the same time the guards were in a coma, the womenwere
there. In verse 5, “The angelansweredand said to the women, ‘Do not be
afraid.’” Their sympathy immediately turned to terror. The scene was unlike
anything they’d ever experiencedin their entire life. They were in sheer
terror. Their terror would be little different than the terror of the guards,
with the exceptionof the factthat they at leasthad an angelologyto hold onto.
And the angel comfortedthem, “‘Do not be afraid,’ he said’” – stop being
afraid; there’s no reasonto be terrified – none at all. The soldiers had reason
to fear when Christ arose, but not those who belongedto the risen Lord. The
angelknew who they were, identified them, spoke to them, and said, “‘I know
you’re looking for Jesus who has been crucified.’” That’s what they were
looking for, coming to find His body, put some spies on it. They thought of

Jesus only as dead. Gone. Their hearts were shatteredand broken. They
didn’t understand His promise. They loved Him so much that even though,
from their viewpoint, He had failed them; He had failed to fulfill their
kingdom hopes. They loved Him enoughthat they would minister to Him even
though He were dead.
And I suppose, you know, we might expecta rebuke. We might expectthe
angelto say, “You know, it’s a little wearying for God to deal with you people
who never believe anything Jesus says,”but he doesn’t.
It would have been reasonable,I suppose, from our viewpoint, to condemn
their weak minds and feeble faith. But there’s none of that to the loyal, loving,
and sympathetic women whose devotionto Jesus Christ is so clearthere is no
rebuke, only a word of comfort. And that’s notable, I think. That’s the way
the Lord treats us in the times of our weak faith. That’s the way the Lord
treats His own in the times of our mental feebleness, whenwe don’t
understand the truth of God or believe it. There’s always comfort - even for us
in our failures - dispensedby God; in this case through angels.
And then the angel brings them the word of encouragementin verse 6, “‘He’s
not here, for’” – in the Greek, aoristpassive, “‘He was raised.’” He was
raised. He saidHe would be raised. And the angel said, “‘Justas He said.’”
That’s a little bit of reminder of their weak faith. “‘He was raised.’”
Romans 6:4, Galatians 1:1, 1 Peter1:3 says, “He was raisedby the Father.”
Romans 8:11 says, “He was raised by the Spirit.” John 10:18 indicates He
raisedHimself. He was raised by the consummate powerof the Trinity. He
was raised. He was raised from the dead. The point is He’s alive, just as He
said.
In the accountof Luke chapter 24, it says, “And they remembered His
words.” He had said that He would come out of the grave. It was just too
much to believe. And then the angelwants them to have the evidence, the
reasonhe rolled the stone away, the reasonhe was there was to give divine
and heavenly conformation of the miracle, and to assistthem in being able to
go in and see the tomb. The reasonhe came was to hit the Roman guard with

a comatose joltso they wouldn’t be any barrier, remove the stone, and let
them in to see the evidence. And the evidence is amazing.
Verse 6, at the end, “‘Come see the place where He was lying.’” And in they
went. They were so stunned. Luke tells us, in His account, that when they
went into the tomb, the angelappearedagain on the inside and reiterated the
same message.
Some critics have said, “Well, you know, that may be a glitch in the text; that
may be a problem for us if we’re going to have a commitment to an inerrant
text to have one accountsaying it’s on the outside and another accountsaying
it’s on the inside. But if you can only put yourself in the position of those
women who have just seenthe most shocking, the most startling, the most
unbelievable thing they have ever seenin their entire life, and just been told
about the most incredible and impossible miracle, it’s not too hard to imagine
that the message neededto be repeatedtwice:once on the outside; and then
when they went into the inside, in very similar words as recordedin Luke 24:3
and 4, the angelrepeats the same greattruth.
John adds, in chapter 20 of his accountof the resurrection, verse 12, that
another angelappearedas well, and that those angels were positioned, one at
the head, where the garments were lying, where Jesus had been, and one at
the feet. And so, like bookends, there were two angels, one at either end. One
of them reiterating the messagethathad been given on the outside to the
terrified and startled women. And there it was – empty. And there were those
grave clothes, lying there, not as if they had been unraveled by some people
who were in a mad rush to get the body out before the Roman soldiers could
awaken, hadthey been sleeping, and catchthem. Notas if someone had
himself assistedthem in sneaking by or detracting the Romans in some
hurried escapadeto try to stealthe body. Not at all.
And I can imagine if somebodyhad wanted to stealthe body, they wouldn’t
bother to unwrap it in there anyway; they would just haul it out, unwrap it
somewhere else ornever unwrap it. Why would it be necessaryto unwrap a
corpse anyway? So, the fact that the grave clothes were there was significant.
And the fact that they were lying there, in the same exactform as when the

body was in them, was monumental testimony to a realresurrection, to say
nothing of angels from heavenconfirming it.
Beyond, however, the physical evidence, there would be a very personal
appearance ofJesus. And the angelsays that in verse 7. “‘Go quickly,’” - he
says - “‘and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He
is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told
you.’”
The angelsays there’s going to be a personal verification; there’s going to be a
greatconvocation;there’s going to be a greatassemblyof His people, of the
believers, and it’s going to be in Galilee. Galilee. Galilee ofthe nations. Galilee
of the darkness where the light shined. Galilee where the Lord first
ministered. Galilee where the Lord performed miracles. Galilee where the
Lord first redeemedsouls. Galilee where He was first hated and rejected.
Galilee, the microcosmof the world in that place. They would all see Him in
one greatand final convocationwhich, by the way, is described down in verse
16, “And the elevendisciples proceededto Galilee” - as they had been told by
the women– “to the mountain which Jesus had designated” - a specific place.
“When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And
Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, evento the end of the age.’”
It is as if Jesus distains Jerusalem, the religious capital, and goes to this out-
of-the-way place, this place of uneducated and unrefined people, this place of
mingled Jew and Gentile called Galilee, and finds that place to be the fitting
place to give the GreatCommissionto His disciples to go and reachthe world.
The world in microcosmform was right there in Galilee. It served as an
illustration of His intentions for the gospelto spread acrossthe earth.
It was that meeting, that greatconvocation, that I think the apostle Paulwas
describing in 1 Corinthians 15, when he said Jesus wouldappear to 500 at one
time. They would all be gatheredthere in Galilee for that greatconvocation.

And before the disciples went to Galilee, there was a week ormore of time still
in Jerusalem. You remember that Jesus appearedthis afternoon, the
afternoonof this Sunday, to the disciples. He later appearedthat evening to
the disciples. And He appearedagainthe following Sunday evening, in the
upper room, to the disciples. Those were appearancesto just the disciples.
There was another appearance to the disciples in Galilee prior to the main one
of which the angelspoke, and that occurredand was recordedin John 21,
where Jesus appearedto His disciples by the sea, whenPeter was fishing, and
gatheredthem around Him and instructed them, and we remember that in
John 21. It’s a greattext.
But the convocationof which the angelspoke is the greatone when 500 at
leastcame togetherto see Christ personally. It does indicate to us that there
was n to a greatnumber of people who had become followers ofJesus Christ
in His lifetime. Even when the church was founded, on the Day of Pentecost,
there were just 120 who gathered – remember? – in the upper room to pray.
There were 3,000 convertedon the Dayof Pentecost, andnumerous others
after that. But the church, in its inception or the believers, initially, were small
in number. And yet, 500 eyewitnessesis plenty to verify a resurrection. Every
preliminary meeting in Jerusalem, and the one preliminary meeting in
Galilee, were just preparation for this great assemblagethatwas to occur in
Galilee when the Lord commissionedHis people to take the gospelto the
world.
All of this was a very terrifying experience. And even after the angel had told
them what to do, and had told them that Christ had arisen and to go tell the
disciples, and there would be a meeting in Galilee – even then, it says in verse
8, “Theydeparted quickly from the tomb with fear.” The feardidn’t subside;
the terror didn’t subside. It was just such an awesome,awesomereality. But,
we come to the third emotion or the third attitude, and it starts to move on
their hearts in that same eighth verse. And they departed quickly from the
tomb with fear and greatjoy and ran to report it to His disciples.”
All of a sudden, the fear is transitioning into a third emotion: joy. They’re
starting to get it. It’s starting to sink in, “He is alive. He is alive.” And they do

exactly as the angeltold them to do with dispatch. And they run to reachthe
disciples with this ms, with this word from the angel that Jesus is alive.
Now, Mary Magdalene had earlierleft them, and she had run to find Peter
and John when she realized what was happening. So, at the very time that the
remaining womenwere leaving to go tell the disciples, Mary Magdalene was
sending back Peterand John who themselves were hurrying to the scene.
Women had a responsibility, then, to go to these disciples who remained and
give them the message. And they do that. It’s recordedin the sixteenth
chapter of Mark. They recited to the disciples their experience there. But
already their hearts are beginning to well up with greatjoy.
And then the most wonderful thing happens. It says, “As they were running to
report it to His disciples” – verse 9 – “and behold, Jesus met them and greeted
them.” I read earlier from the New King James. It indicates that Jesus said
the word “Rejoice.”Thatwas the common greeting chairete. It was like
saying hello to someone. It wasn’tsomething abnormal for him to say –
sometimes it’s translated, “Hello” - or “All hail,” which is the Old English way
of saying, “Hello.” The actualword means to rejoice. It’s like, “I’m happy to
see you; it’s wonderful to meet you.” It was the simple, common greeting.
And again, it strikes me that the salutation of the risen Christ is just the
common, normal, marketplace, business place highway and home salutation.
Well, I’m sure He said it in a way the likes of which it had never been said
before. I’m sure it had a majestic tone and touch, but it’s just a simple
greeting. Just a lack of fanfare, the lack of being affectedby all of this, the
lack of trying to embellish this and make it somehow more believable is
testimony to its simple voracity. I mean Jesus met them and, in effect, said,
“Hello,” which seems plain, given the circumstances. And this is the fourth of
their attitudes, “Theycame up and took hold of His feetand worshiped Him.”
Joy turns to worship. They recognizedHis deity.
And by the way, “They took hold of His feet” indicates that He was not an
apparition, He was not a figment of their imagination. He was not a dream;
He was not a fantasy; this was not an illusion. They fell down; they took hold
of His feet, seizing Him in adoring love, overwhelmed with thanks and wonder

Jesus was worshiped by women

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