1. Matthew 28:1-10
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14. The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary,
Copyright © Moody Press
and John MacArthur, Jr.,
1983-2007.

15. So what?
What difference does the
Resurrection make in my
life today and tomorrow?

16. 1. My past can be forgiven.
2. My present problems
can be managed.
3. My future can be secure.

17. Matthew 28:1-10
1 “Now after the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other
Mary came to look at the

18. Grave. 2 And behold, a
severe earthquake had
occurred, for an angel of the
Lord descended from heaven
and came and rolled away
the stone and sat upon it.

19. 3 And his appearance was
like lightning, and his
clothing as white as
snow. 4 The guards shook
for fear of him and became
like dead men.

20. 5 The angel said to the
women, “Do not be afraid;
for I know that you are
looking for Jesus Who has
been crucified.
6 He is not here, for He has

21. risen, just as He said. Come,
see the place where He was
lying.
7 Go quickly and tell His
disciples that He has risen
from the dead; and behold,

22. He is going ahead of
you into Galilee, there you
will see Him; behold, I have
told you.”
8 And they left the tomb
quickly with fear and great

23. joy and ran to report it to
His disciples.
9 And behold, Jesus met
them and greeted them.
And they came up and took
hold of His feet and

24. worshiped Him.
10 Then Jesus said to them,
“Do not be afraid; go and
take word to My brethren to
leave for Galilee, and there
they will see Me.” (Matt 28)

25. Matthew 28:1-10
Like every piece of good
literature, Matthew's gospel
is not a random collection of
facts or ideas or stories but
has a specific plan and

26. purpose.
Chapter 28 is the powerful
climax of everything else
Matthew had written about
Christ under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit.

27. The central event of that
climax, the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, is also the
central event of God's
redemptive history.

28. The resurrection is the
cornerstone of the Christian
faith, and everything that
we are and have and hope
to be is predicated on its
reality.

29. There would be no
Christianity if there were no
resurrection.
The message of Scripture
has always been a message
of resurrection hope,

30. a message that death is not
the end for those who
belong to God.
For the believer, death has
never been an end but
rather a doorway that leads

31. to eternity with God.
Abraham willingly obeyed
God's command to sacrifice
his only son, Isaac, because,
in faith, "he considered that
God is able to raise men

32. even from the dead" (Heb
11:19). ).
The psalmists declared,
"God will redeem my soul
from the power of Sheol; for
He will receive me" Ps49:15

33. and that "with Thy counsel
Thou wilt guide me, and
afterward receive me to
glory" (Ps 73:24).
Isaiah proclaimed, "Your
dead will live; their corpses

34. will rise" (Isa 26:19).
Through Daniel the Lord
assures His people that,
although they die, one day
they "will awake... to
everlasting life" (Dan 12:2).

35. Hosea assures believers that
the Lord will raise up all
believers to live before Him
(Hos 6:2).
Job asked rhetorically, "If a
man dies, will he live again?"

36. and then declared, "All the
days of my struggle I will
wait, until my change
comes" (Job 14:14).
That ancient man of God
even foresaw the reality of

37. resurrection, proclaiming to
his three friends, Bildad in
particular: "I know that my
Redeemer lives, and at the
last He will take His stand on
the earth.

38. Even after my skin is
destroyed, yet from my
flesh I shall see God"
(Job 19:25-26).

39. Such has been the promised
hope of God's people
throughout history, a hope
predicated on the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is His resurrection that

40. guarantees ours.
"Now Christ has been raised
from the dead," Paul
declares, "the first fruits of
those who are asleep.
For since by a man came

41. death, by a man also came
the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so
also in Christ all shall be
made alive" (1 Cor
15:20-22).

42. The resurrection of Jesus
Christ is the single greatest
event in the history of the
world!
It is so foundational to
Christianity that no one who

43. denies it can be a true
Christian.
Without resurrection there
is no Christian faith, no
salvation, and no hope.

44. “If there is no resurrection of
the dead," Paul explains,
"not even Christ has been
raised; and if Christ has not
been raised, then our
preaching is vain, your faith

45. also is vain" (1 Cor 15:13-14).
A person who believes in a
Christ who was not raised
believes in a powerless
Christ, a dead Christ.

46. If Christ did not rise from the
dead, then no redemption
was accomplished at the
cross and "your faith is
worthless," Paul goes on to
say; "you are still in your

47. sins" (v. 17).
The foundation of all our
hope is expressed in Jesus'
own words: "I am the
resurrection and the life; he
who believes in Me shall live

48. even if he dies" (John 11:25),
and, "Because I live, you
shall live also" (14:19).
Although they reveal the
same divine truths in perfect
harmony with one another,

49. each of the gospel writers
presents the resurrection
from a distinctive
perspective.
Matthew does not approach
the resurrection from a

50. scholarly, historical,
analytical, or evidential
perspective but focuses
rather on the emotional
reaction of a some women
who loved Jesus deeply.

51. Because Jews considered
reference to "a day" as
meaning any part of that
day, Sunday was the third
day of Jesus' interment, the
day which He had

52. repeatedly predicted would
be the day of His
resurrection.

53. It is because of the
resurrection that Christians
worship on Sunday rather
than on the Sabbath.

54. Matthew 28:1
1“Now after the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other
Mary came to look at the

55. grave.”
Matthew 28:1

56. Although they had
witnessed Joseph's and
Nicodemus' wrapping of
Jesus' body in the linen
cloths and spices, the
women had secured and

57. prepared their own spices
(probably a small amount in
comparison to that brought
by Nicodemus) with which
they would personally
anoint the Lord.

58. Although Salome, the
mother of James and John
and the wife of Zebedee and
Joanna were also there,
Matthew focuses only on
the two Marys.

59. The other Mary was the
mother of James and Joseph
and the wife of Clopas.

60. The women obviously
thought Jesus would still be
in the grave and would
remain there, or else they
would not have brought the
anointing spices.

61. They had not come to see
Jesus risen but to look at the
grave where they expected
His body to still be lying.
They had been among the
women who ministered to

62. Jesus in Galilee and who had
stood with Him at the cross.
Now they came to the
garden hoping that
somehow the great stone
could be removed so they

63. could minister to Him one
last time.
But despite their lack of
faith in Jesus' promises to
rise on the third day, they
came to the tomb out of

64. deep affection for their
Lord.
Jewish tradition wrongly
held that the spirit of a dead
person left the body four
days after death because by

65. that time the body had
become so disfigured by
decay that the spirit could
no longer recognize it.
That tradition may be
reflected in Martha's

66. comment to Jesus about her
brother, Lazarus: "Lord, by
this time there will be a
stench, for he has been
dead four days”.

67. Perhaps the two Marys and
the other women came to
Jesus' grave with the intent
of anointing His body one
more time before His spirit
departed from it.

68. 2 And behold, a severe
earthquake had occurred,
for an angel of the Lord
descended from heaven and
came and rolled away the
stone and sat upon it.”(28:2)

69. This was the second
supernaturally caused
earthquake in connection
with Jesus' death and burial,
the first one having
occurred at the moment of

70. His death.
God caused an earthquake
on Mount Sinai just before
He revealed the law to
Moses (Ex 19:18) and on
Mount Horeb when He

71. revealed Himself to Elijah (1
Kings 19:11).
In the end times He will also
send numerous earthquakes
(Joel 2:10; Matt 24:7; Rev
6:12; 8:5; 11:13-19).

72. Now, within three days, He
caused two earthquakes just
outside Jerusalem.
The angel did not move the
stone in order to let Jesus
out of the tomb.

73. 'If Jesus had the power to
raise Himself from the dead,
which He did (John 10:18), He
certainly had the relatively
minor power required to
escape a sealed grave.

74. As He demonstrated during
several post resurrection
appearances, just as He was
no longer bound by death,
He was no longer bound by

75. the limitations of the
physical world or of time.
In His glorified form He
could escape a closed grave
just as easily as He could
enter a closed room.

76. In comparing the gospel
accounts, it becomes clear
that Jesus had already left
the tomb when the stone
was rolled away.

77. The angel moved the stone
not to let Jesus out but to let
the women and the apostles
in.

78. Matthew 28:3
3 “And his appearance was
like lightning, and his
clothing as white as snow.”

79. The description suggests
that God transmitted some
of His own Shekinah glory
to the angel, just as He had
transmitted a measure of it
to Moses on Sinai when the

80. covenant was renewed (Ex
34:29).
In a similar way, the angel's
glistening garment that was
as white as snow suggests
God's purity and holiness.

81. The angel bore the very
character of God in order to
make clear to the observers
not only that he was a
supernatural messenger but
that he was an agent of God

82. and not Satan.
Matthew 28:4
4 “The guards shook for fear
of him and became like
dead men.”

83. Shook translates a Greek
term that has the same root
as "earthquake" in verse 2,
indicating that the soldiers
experienced personal
earthquakes of both mind

84. and body.
But after a brief moment of
shaking, they then became
like dead men, paralyzed
with fear.

85. The idea seems to be that
they not only became rigid
but unconscious, completely
traumatized by what they
saw.

86. The soldiers had good
reason to be afraid.
Not only was the angel's
appearance terrifying in
itself but, because they had
been charged with

87. protecting the grave, an
empty tomb could spell
their death.

88. Matthew 28:5
5 “The angel said to the
women, “Do not be afraid;
for I know that you are
looking for Jesus Who has
been crucified.”

89. Unlike the soldiers, the
women had no reason to
fear, and the angel's first
words were meant to give
them comfort and
assurance.

90. They had not come
expecting to find Jesus
raised, but in His gracious
mercy God overlooked their
weak faith and their lack of
understanding.

91. Acknowledging their great
love, God responded with
great love, not
condemnation.

92. Matthew 28:6
6 “He is not here, for He has
risen, just as He said. Come,
see the place where He was
lying.”

93. "He is not here, for He has
risen, just as He said."
Has risen translates a Greek
aorist passive and can also
be rendered, "has been
raised."

94. Jesus Himself had power to
give up His life and to take it
up again (John 10:18).
But Scripture makes clear
that He also was raised by
the power of the Father

95. (Rom 6:4; Gal 1:1; 1 Peter
1:3) and of the Holy Spirit
(Rom 8:11).
The entire Trinity
participated in the
resurrection of Jesus!

96. When Peter and John
entered the tomb a short
while later, they "beheld the
linen wrappings lying there,
and the face-cloth, which
had been on His head, not

97. lying with the linen
wrappings, but rolled up in a
place by itself"
(John 20:6-7).

98. The burial clothes were just
as they were when Joseph
and Nicodemus laid the
body to rest, except for the
face-cloth, which was set to
one side.

99. Jesus did not have to be
unwrapped any more than
He had to have the stone
removed.

100. At one moment He was
encased in the linen, and the
next He was free, leaving
the wrappings unchanged.

101. While the women were in
the tomb, another angel
joined the first, "one at the
head, and one at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had
been lying" (John 20:12).

102. Their positions are
reminiscent of the two
golden cherubim who were
on either side of the Mercy
Seat on the Ark of the
Covenant (Ex 25:18).

103. The two angels in the
garden were posted at
either end of the tomb of
Jesus, Who, by the sacrifice
He had just made of His own
life, became the true and

104. eternal Mercy Seat for sinful
mankind.

105. Matthew 28:7
7 “Go quickly and tell His
disciples that He has risen
from the dead; and behold,
He is going ahead of you
into Galilee, there you will

106. see Him; behold, I have told
you.”

107. The women's fascination
must quickly turn to
proclamation.
They did not have time to
revel in the marvelous
reality of the Good News

108. but were to go immediately
and announce it to the
cowering disciples, who
were still hiding in
Jerusalem.

109. It would seem more than
justified for the Lord to have
allowed the disciples to
suffer in fear, despair, and
agony for a week or so
before telling them the

110. Good News.
They had stubbornly
refused to believe that Jesus
would die and be raised,
although He had told them
of His death and

111. resurrection many times.
*God is not interested in
beating you up (Jesus took
your beating for you) so
don’t beat yourself up
either.

112. But in His gracious mercy
God sent the women to tell
the disciples as soon as
possible, so they would not
have to experience another
moment of misery and grief.

113. He did not rebuke them for
their lack of faith and for
their cowardice but rather
sent them messengers with
a gracious word of hope and
comfort.

114. One wonders why God
chose to reveal the truth of
the resurrection first to
those women rather than to
the disciples.

115. One commentator suggests
that it was because God
chooses the weak to
confound the strong.
Another suggests the
women were rewarded for

116. their faithful service to the
Lord in Galilee.
Another holds that, because
death came by a woman in a
garden, so new life was first
announced to a woman in a

117. garden.
Others propose that it was
because the deepest sorrow
deserves the deepest joy or
that supreme love deserves
supreme privilege.

118. But Scripture offers no such
explanations.
It seems obvious that the
women were the first to
hear the angelic
announcement of the

119. resurrection simply because
they were there.
Had the disciples been
there, they, too, would have
heard the Good News
directly from the angel

120. rather than indirectly
through the women.
This is analogous to the
reality that the closer a
believer stays to the Lord
and to His work, the more

121. he is going to witness and
experience the Lord's
power.
Those who are there when
the Lord's people gather for
worship and prayer, who are

122. there when His Word is
being taught, who are there
when the lost are being won
to Christ, who are there
when others are being
served in His name, who are

123. regular in their times of
private prayer— those are
the ones who will most
often experience firsthand
the work of God.

124. Matthew 28:7b
7b “He is going ahead of
you into Galilee, there you
will see Him; behold, I have
told you.” Matthew 28:7b

125. The angel's further
instruction to the women
was to tell Jesus' disciples
that "He is going before you
into Galilee,"

126. Earlier in the week Jesus had
told the eleven remaining
disciples,
"After I have been raised, I
will go before you to
Galilee" (Matt 26:32).

127. Being both Jewish and
Gentile, Galilee represented
the world at large.

128. It was there that Jesus
began His ministry, in
"Galilee of the Gentiles, "
where "the people who were
sitting in darkness saw a
great light" (Matt 4:15-16).

129. It would also be in Galilee
that the disciples would
receive the Great
Commission from the Lord
to "go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations”.

130. It was not that Jesus would
first appear to the disciples
in Galilee, because He
manifested Himself to them
several times before that.

131. He appeared to Peter, to the
two disciples on the road to
Emmaus, to ten of the
disciples as they were
assembled on resurrection
evening, to all eleven

132. disciples eight days later,
and to seven of the disciples
as they were fishing in the
Sea of Galilee.

133. But Jesus' supreme
appearance to the disciples
was to be in Galilee, where
He "appeared to more than
five hundred brethren at
one time" (1 Cor 15:6) and

134. where He would
commission the eleven to
apostolic ministry.

135. Matthew 28:8-9
And they departed quickly
from the tomb with fear and
great joy and ran to report it
to His disciples. (Matt 28:8)

136. 9 And behold, Jesus met
them and greeted them.
And they came up and took
hold of His feet and
worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:8-9

137. As the women were on their
way to report the angel's
message to the disciples,
Jesus met them and greeted
them.

138. Greeted translates
chairete, a common
greeting that loosely
rendered means something
like “Hello" or “Good
morning."

139. It was the ordinary
salutation of the
marketplace and of
travelers who passed each
other on the road.

140. In other words the greeting
was casual and ordinary,
seemingly too mundane to
be appropriate for such a
momentous occasion.

141. Yet the glorified Christ, Who
had just finished conquering
sin and death, greeted those
faithful women with warm,
informal tenderness.

142. As the writer of Hebrews
assures us,
"We do not have a high
priest who cannot
sympathize with our
weaknesses" (Heb 4:15).

143. They now knew with
certainty that He was the
risen Messiah, the divine
Son of God, and that
adoration and praise were
the only proper responses to

144. His presence.

145. They did what every person,
unbeliever as well as
believer, will do one day
when He comes again,
"every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess

146. that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father"
(Phil 2:10-11).

147. Matthew 28:10
Then Jesus said to them,
"Do not be afraid; go and
take word to My brethren to
leave for Galilee, and there
they shall see Me." (28:10)

148. Despite the disciples' lack of
faith, their cowardice, and
their defection, the Lord
graciously spoke of them as
His brethren.

149. When they arrived in
Galilee, they would see Him
again, and there they would
experience a great
convocation and
commissioning by the Lord.

150. The basic truth of the
resurrection under-girds a
number of other truths.

151. First, it gives evidence that
the Word of God is totally
true and reliable.
Jesus rose from the dead
precisely when and in the
way He had predicted.

152. Second, the resurrection
means that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, as He
claimed to be, and that He
has power over life and
death.

153. Third, the resurrection
proves that salvation is
complete, that on the cross
Christ conquered sin, death,
and Hell and rose victorious.

154. Fourth, the resurrection
proves that the church has
been established.
Jesus had declared, "I will
build My church; and the
gates of Hades shall not

155. overpower it" (Matt 16:18).
"The gates of Hades" was a
Jewish colloquialism that
represented death.
Jesus’ resurrection proved
that death itself could not

156. prevent Him from
establishing His church.

157. Fifth, the resurrection
proves that judgment is
coming.
Jesus declared that the
heavenly Father "has given
all judgment to the Son"

158. (John 5:22), and since the
Son is now risen and alive,
His judgment is certain.

159. Sixth, the resurrection of
Christ proves that Heaven is
waiting.
Jesus promised, "In My
house are many dwelling
places; if it were not so, I

160. would have told you; for I go
to prepare a place for you"
(John 14:2).
Because Christ is alive by
the resurrection, we have
the assurance that He is

161. is now preparing a heavenly
dwelling for us.
(from The MacArthur New
Testament Commentary,
Copyright © Moody Press
and John MacArthur, Jr.)