Verses 1-4: The Tomb Opened and Earthly Power Shaken

¹ Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.

• God initiates the resurrection witness with sovereign power and heavenly testimony:

  The earthquake and the angel’s descent show that what follows is not a private religious idea but an act of God in history. The stone is rolled away not to let Jesus out, but to reveal what God has done, setting the stage for a public witness that originates in divine action rather than human effort.

• Earthly strength cannot stand against God’s holy presence:

  The guards represent the best of human security, yet they “shook, and became like dead men.” This displays that human authority and coercion are fragile before the holiness and initiative of God, preparing the reader to trust God’s victory even when worldly structures appear overwhelming.

Verses 5-10: Resurrection Proclaimed, Fear Relieved, Worship Received

⁵ The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. ⁷ Go 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.” ⁸ They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word. ⁹ As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”

• The resurrection fulfills Jesus’ own words and anchors Christian faith in God’s faithfulness:

  “He has risen, just like he said” ties the resurrection to Jesus’ prior teaching and promises. Theologically, this grounds Christian hope in the reliability of Christ: God’s saving acts do not surprise God’s people but confirm what God has spoken, strengthening confidence in the whole saving story.

• Revelation invites honest examination and obedient witness:

  The angel’s command—“Come, see” and then “Go quickly and tell”—models a pattern: the gospel is not blind credulity, nor is it private contemplation. God provides testimony that can be seen and then requires it to be shared, forming disciples who both receive truth and bear witness to it.

• Jesus receives worship as the risen Lord and draws near to his followers:

  The women “took hold of his feet, and worshiped him,” and Jesus accepts this worship rather than refusing it. This scene affirms Christ’s divine dignity and the fitting response of the Church: adoration and allegiance to the risen Jesus, whose bodily presence confirms a real resurrection and a living Lord.

• Grace reconstitutes the community: Jesus calls disciples “my brothers”:

  Jesus sends the message to “my brothers,” restoring and gathering his followers after the failures surrounding the crucifixion. This points to the Church as a reconciled family formed not by human merit but by the mercy and initiative of the risen Christ, who summons his people to renewed fellowship and purpose.

Verses 11-15: Organized Unbelief and the Cost of Suppressing Truth

¹¹ Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened. ¹² When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers, ¹³ saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. ¹⁴ If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.

• Sin can become systemic: truth is resisted through counsel, money, and narrative control:

  The leaders “had taken counsel” and used “a large amount of silver” to craft an alternative explanation. Theologically, Matthew shows that unbelief is not always mere ignorance; it can be a chosen posture that organizes itself socially and politically, seeking to maintain power even at the cost of falsehood.

• False explanations can spread widely, but they do not nullify God’s saving act:

  “This saying was spread abroad… and continues until today” acknowledges enduring controversy and competing claims. Yet the chapter’s structure makes clear that opposition does not erase the resurrection; instead, it highlights the moral stakes of testimony—people must decide whether to receive the witness God provides or participate in suppressing it.

Verses 16-20: The Great Commission—Authority, Sacrament, Teaching, and Presence

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

• Jesus’ lordship is universal and is the foundation of the Church’s mission:

  “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” grounds evangelization and discipleship in Christ’s reigning authority. Mission is not driven by human optimism or institutional force, but by the reality that the risen Jesus reigns, and therefore his gospel rightly addresses every people and place.

• Discipleship is for all nations and includes both proclamation and formation:

  “Go and make disciples of all nations” makes the Church’s horizon universal—no ethnicity, language, or culture lies outside Christ’s invitation and claim. “Make disciples” also implies more than initial belief: it calls the Church to nurture lifelong allegiance to Jesus through ongoing instruction and obedience.

• Baptism is Trinitarian and marks entry into the community of faith:

  To baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” places Christian initiation within the confession of the Triune God. Baptism is therefore not a mere symbol detached from the Church’s life, but a commanded act that visibly incorporates new disciples into the worship and identity of God’s people.

• Obedience is the goal of teaching, uniting faith and life:

  Jesus commands teaching “to observe all things that I commanded you,” showing that Christian instruction aims at lived fidelity. This guards against two opposite errors: reducing Christianity to information without transformation, or reducing it to experience without concrete submission to Jesus’ words.

• Christ meets real human weakness with abiding presence:

  Even as they “bowed down,” “some doubted,” yet Jesus still commissions them. This reveals that God’s work advances through imperfect people, and that assurance rests not in flawless disciples but in the faithful Lord who draws near, speaks, and sends—calling for real trust and real obedience while supplying real help.

• The mission endures because Jesus remains with his people to the end:

  “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” anchors the Church’s confidence across generations. Theologically, Christ’s presence sustains worship, mission, holiness, and perseverance: believers labor and endure not as abandoned servants, but as those accompanied by the risen Lord until history’s consummation.

Conclusion: Matthew 28 presents the resurrection as God’s decisive act, calls for worship and witness in the face of fear and opposition, and establishes the Church’s continuing mission under Jesus’ universal authority. The chapter holds together God’s initiative and human response: God raises, reveals, and sends; believers come, see, worship, obey, and teach—confident that Christ himself remains with his people “even to the end of the age.”