#1328 Matthew 28 Part 1 Do Not Be Afraid

 

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Matthew 28: 1-10 ESV

Matthew 28: 1-10 Resurrection

1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.… Luke 24: 1-3

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb - In Luke we learn that they were bringing spices they had prepared, which would be to finish preparing His body for burial. The Jews didn't embalm like the Egyptians, but this would help cover some of the stench, maybe ward off animals, and allow them the opportunity to deal with their grief. It seems, though these ladies were familiar with Jesus' power to raise others, and though He had told them that He must die and rise again, yet they clearly come expecting to find His dead body. 

23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him.

30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” John 11: 23-44

For an angel of the Lord - The angel did not roll the stone away for Jesus to exit, but rather to reveal the empty tomb. Jesus needed no such help, He was already risen from the grave. Later He will come to a place that is locked up and yet enter and appear in their midst. No one opened the door for Him then either. The earth quaked at His death and again at His resurrection. 

18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her. 19 It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. 20After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.… John 20: 18-20

“The earth shook both at Christ’s passion and at his resurrection; then, to show that it could not bear his suffering; now, to show that it could not hinder his rising.” (Trapp)

And for fear of Him the guards trembled and became like dead men - When heaven contacts earth unveiled, even angels, who have stood before and witnessed the glory and holiness of God, are overwhelming to earthlings. The reflection of God's glory on the face of Moses was too much for the eyes of men, and why, because we are paralyzed by the presence of such otherliness. It becomes apparent quickly that we gaze upon that which we are not worthy to see, that we are defiled and looking upon that which isn't, God is Holy and we are not. When modern day charismatics speak of their "heavenly encounters", they lie and go on about all the things their hearts desire here, everything that feeds their egos and greed. When John receives a vision of Heaven, like other prophets, it is mortifying. These guards probably don't even have this angelology that the women and disciples would know. They would know the stories of the Greeks and Roman myths, maybe think these are gods or demigods, but whatever they see it is traumatizing to them, and to the point of paralysis.  

…7“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.” 8And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”… Revelation 22: 7-9

…16And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.” 17As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.” 18While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,… Daniel 8: 16-18

But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid - This is a common utterance of angels, and of all that which is heavenly and set apart, "don't be afraid." It's like being out on a walk in woods where lions don't live and then all the sudden you are in the midst of lions, and one of them says, "don't be afraid". 

He is not here, for He has risen, as He said - Jesus has made it as clear as possible to them that this is how it is going to play out, that He has to die, but we are so slow to believe, to comprehend, to let go of our play book. 

There are several examples in the Bible of people being resuscitated before this, such as the widow’s son in the days of Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Lazarus (John 11:38-44). Each of these was resuscitated from death, but none of them were resurrected. Each of them was raised in the same body they died in, and raised from the dead to eventually die again. Resurrection isn’t just living again; it is living again in a new body, based on our old body, perfectly suited for life in eternity. Jesus was not the first one brought back from the dead, but He was the first one resurrected. - E Word

Come see the place where He lay - This is why the angel rolled the stone away, to reveal it's emptiness.

Then go quickly and tell His disciples - It's interesting that women are the first witnesses, given that they were not considered valid witnesses in these times. God doesn't seem to care about this, and here even reverses the order of the Fall, where Eve first gave Adam to eat, now the woman goes to pronounce the way back. Christ is risen, the tomb is empty. The courts may not accept their testimony, but here God demands it by way of the angels.

In first century Judea women were not considered reliable witnesses. The Jewish historian Josephus said –

“Let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter V111 : 15)

The thinking of the time was recorded in the Talmud –

“Any evidence which a woman [gives] is not valid (to offer), also they are not valid to offer. This is equivalent to saying that one who is Rabbinically accounted a robber is qualified to give the same evidence as a woman” (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 1.8).

Go tell My brothers - Jesus was the first born.

28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.… Romans 8: 28-30