Matthew — Chapter 28
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1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
2Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
4The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men.
5But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.
7Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.”
8So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples.
9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him.
10“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”
11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
12And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money
13and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
14If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
15So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day.
16Meanwhile, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had designated.
17When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.
18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9And 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.
10Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
12And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
13Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
15So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
1Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
3His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.
5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath been crucified.
6He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7And go quickly, and tell his disciples, He is risen from the dead; and lo, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
9And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.
10Then saith Jesus unto them, Fear not: go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things that were come to pass.
12And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers,
13saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14And if this come to the governor`s ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care.
15So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews, [and continueth] until this day.
16But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17And when they saw him, they worshipped [him]; but some doubted.
18And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
19Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
20teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
1Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.
3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
4The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him.
5But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying.
7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!”
8So they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
9But Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him.
10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”
11While they were going, some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened.
12After they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
13telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole his body while we were asleep.’
14If this matter is heard before the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
15So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day.
16So the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated.
17When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.
18Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
2Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.
3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
4For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.
5The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.
6He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.
7Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
8They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
9As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
10Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”
11Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.
12When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,
13saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.”
15So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.
16But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them.
17When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted.
18Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
19Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Summary
On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb and find it opened by an angel, who tells them Jesus has risen just as he said and sends them to tell the disciples he is going ahead of them to Galilee (vv. 1-7). Jesus himself meets the women on their way, and they worship him and take hold of his feet (vv. 8-10). Meanwhile, the guards report what happened to the chief priests, who bribe them to spread the false story that the disciples stole the body while they slept (vv. 11-15). The eleven disciples meet Jesus on a mountain in Galilee, where, though some still doubt, he declares that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him and commissions them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he commanded, promising to be with them always, to the end of the age (vv. 16-20).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- The tomb (vv.1-6): The rock-hewn tomb near Golgotha in Jerusalem. The women came at dawn and found it empty.
- Galilee (v.16): Jesus instructed the disciples to meet Him in Galilee after the resurrection. The Great Commission was given on a mountain in Galilee.
- "All nations" (v.19): The geographic scope of the commission — from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The Gospel that began in a small corner of the Roman Empire is to reach every nation.
Places on this map
- CalvaryChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, JerusalemGolgotha, place of a skull, was an outcrop of rock beside a road just outside the city wall of the time, next to a disused quarry used for tombs. The wall was later extended, which is why the traditional site now sits inside the Old City. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- Galileenorthern IsraelThe northern hill country above the Jezreel Valley, wetter and greener than Judah and crossed by the trade road to Damascus. That traffic is why Judeans considered it mixed and provincial, and why Jesus grew up hearing more than one language. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines the evidence for the resurrection, the significance of women as first witnesses, the bribery of the guards, and the structure and meaning of the Great Commission.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Matthew -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- A Fact That Changes Everything (v.6) — The angel's announcement that Jesus is risen is not a comforting idea but a historical claim that guarantees every promise He made. Do you actually live as though the resurrection is true?
- Commissioned Despite Doubt (v.17) — Even some who see the risen Christ still doubt, yet Jesus gives them the Great Commission anyway. How does His willingness to use imperfect, doubting people encourage you in your own uncertainty?
- Sent Under Complete Authority (v.18) — Jesus grounds the commission in His own total authority in heaven and on earth. How does knowing you go under His authority, not your own strength, change how you approach what He's asked of you?
- A Command, Not a Suggestion (v.19) — "Go and make disciples" is not offered as optional to a few but given as a command to every believer. What does "going" actually look like in your workplace, neighborhood, or relationships right now?
- The Promise of Constant Presence (v.20) — Matthew's Gospel closes with the assurance that Jesus is with His people always, to the very end. In your hardest or loneliest seasons, do you actually believe that promise?