Women Witnesses: ‘He Has Risen!’ (Matt. 28:1-10)

 

Verse 6a is the key text; it is just one word in Greek: ‘He has risen’.

  1. The women were loving but not comprehending.
    • 28:1. Matthew names Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (see 27:56); Mark adds Salome (Mark 16:1); Luke adds Joanna plus others, making at least five (Luke 24:10); John only mentions Mary Magdalene although she speaks in the plural (John 20:1-2). They were coming to anoint a dead body.
  2. The women are confronted by the facts.
    • this was prophesied – 28:6. ‘As He said’ refers to the prophecies of Jesus – Matt.16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19.
    • ‘Come, see the place where He lay’ is a call to investigate.
  3. The women experienced fear and great joy.
    • 28:7-8. Calvin: ‘From this we learn that God often works in us in such a way that we hardly know whether we are progressing or not.’ Those who say that fear and great joy cannot go together have never ridden on a roller coaster ride.
  4. The women worshipped Jesus.
    • 28:9-10. Verse 9 is very earthy. ‘Greetings!’ (ESV, NIV) The KJV has ‘All hail’; the Holman Bible has ‘Good morning’; the NKJV has ‘Rejoice’, as in Matthew 5:12. ‘Be glad’ sounds not quite right.
    • they take hold of His feet. Ghosts do not have feet.
    • they worship Him. Matthew uses ‘to worship’ with respect to Jesus ten times (2:2, 8, 11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17). The women came to weep at His death and to anoint Jesus’ corpse; they left to testify to His resurrection and to worship the ever-living One.