Let us now consider some of the details of Christ’s resurrection as presented in chapter twenty-eight of Matthew. Verse 1 says, “Now late on the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.” Christ was resurrected on the first day of the week. This signifies that His resurrection brought a new start with a new age for the kingdom of the heavens.
The resurrection of Christ was firstly discovered by two sisters, Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary. They discovered it by loving the Lord to the uttermost. Then they became the first two witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection.
Christ’s resurrection was pointed out by an angel (vv. 2-7). Verse 2 says, “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended out of heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.” The earthquake signifies that the earth, the base of Satan’s rebellion, has been shaken by the Lord’s resurrection. The angel came to confirm the Lord’s resurrection by rolling away the stone that was sealed and to explain the resurrection to His seekers. The coming of the angel, which terrified the guards, indicates the power of the heavens. All this implies the authority mentioned in verse 18.
According to verses 5 and 6, the angel said to the women, “Fear not, for I know that you seek Jesus, Who has been crucified. He is not here, for He was raised, as He said.” What good news this was! What glad tidings!
Verse 7 says, “And go quickly and tell His disciples that He was raised from the dead, and behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see Him. Behold, I have told you.” As the heavenly King began His ministry from Galilee of the Gentiles (4:12-17), not from Jerusalem, the holy city of the Jewish religion, so after His resurrection, He would still go to Galilee, not to Jerusalem. This strongly indicated that the resurrected King had fully abandoned Judaism and initiated a new era for God’s economy of the New Testament.
According to verses 8 through 10, the resurrected Christ met with Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary. Verse 8 says, “And going away quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to bring word to His disciples.” They went away with fear because of the great earthquake and with great joy because of the Lord’s resurrection. Verse 9 says that the Lord Jesus met them and that they “came and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him.” This transpired after the Lord’s appearing to Mary the Magdalene (John 20:14-18).
Verses 11 through 15 indicate that the Jewish leaders with the Roman soldiers spread a false rumor about Christ’s resurrection. They gave the soldiers a large sum of money to say that the Lord’s disciples came by night and stole Him away while the guards slept. This word from the mouth of the religious leaders was a bare lie, indicating the lowest standard and falsehood of their religion. In verse 14 they said to the soldiers, “And if this be heard by the governor, we will persuade him and free you from worry.” The evil religionists always persuade the evil politicians to carry out falsehood. Verse 15 indicates that this false saying “was spread abroad among the Jews until this day.” As the lie concerning the Lord’s resurrection was spread abroad, so were the rumors concerning His followers and His church after His resurrection (Acts 24:5-9; 25:7).