Matthew 28

Matthew closes his Gospel with the resurrection of Jesus. An angel announces the empty tomb, Jesus meets the women, and the leaders try to bury the news with a bribe. The chapter ends on a Galilean mountain, where the risen Lord claims all authority and sends His followers to all nations with the promise of His presence.

Matthew 28:1

The Sabbath is over, and at the first light of Sunday two women come to the tomb. They had watched Jesus die and be buried, and now they come out of loyalty. They expect a grave and a stone, not a living Lord.

BSA: dawn (“as it began to dawn, when the first light appears”): The new day is just breaking, a quiet picture of new creation beginning.

See also: Mark 16:1-2.

Matthew 28:2-3

God Himself acts. A great earthquake shakes the ground, and an angel comes down and rolls the stone away. The stone was not moved to let Jesus out but to let the witnesses in. The angel sits on it calmly, bright as lightning, as if death had already been dealt with.

BSA: angel (“messenger”): The word means one sent, so he is carrying God’s message as well as clearing the way.

Matthew 28:4

The trained guards, posted to keep the tomb secure, shake with terror and fall like corpses. The men set to guard a dead man become the ones who look dead. Human power cannot hold back what God is doing.

BSA: trembled (“shook, quaked”): The word shares its root with the earthquake of verse 2, so the guards shake as the ground shook.

Greek: ἐσείσθησαν (eseisthēsan, G4579) — “were shaken.” It comes from the same word as the earthquake (seismos). The guards are shaken just as the earth is.

See also: Matthew 27:65-66.

Matthew 28:5-6

The angel tells the women not to be afraid. He knows they seek the crucified Jesus, and he gives the good news: the tomb is empty because Jesus has risen, as He had promised. They are invited to look at the place where He lay. The news rests on what they can see.

BSA: risen (“come to life again, been resurrected”): This is not a spirit surviving death but the crucified body living again. said (“according to His promise”): The empty tomb fulfils what Jesus had told them beforehand.

Greek: ἠγέρθη (ēgerthē, G1453) — “He was raised.” The form is passive, ‘He has been raised’. It points to God the Father raising His Son, and it also means ‘woke up’ or ‘stood up’.

See also: Matthew 16:21; Matthew 20:18-19.

Matthew 28:7

The women are made the first messengers of the resurrection. They must go quickly to tell the disciples that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee. Just as a shepherd leads, He goes before His scattered friends. The angel ends with, ‘I have told you,’ as a settled word they can rely on.

BSA: going ahead of you (“leading the way, preceding”): Jesus is the shepherd who goes first and gathers His scattered followers.

See also: Matthew 26:32.

Matthew 28:8

Two feelings meet in the women: fear and great joy. They had come with heavy hearts and now find themselves in awe of God’s power. They do not stay put but run with the news. Real joy over the resurrection tends to become action.

BSA: joy (“deep and lasting happiness”): Their gladness goes deeper than relief; it is joy that remains.

Matthew 28:9-10

Jesus Himself meets the women on the road. He greets them and they take hold of His feet. That shows He is real and bodily, and they worship Him. He repeats the angel’s comfort and calls the disciples ‘My brothers’, even after they had abandoned Him. He forgives and restores them.

BSA: worshiped (“paid homage, showed reverence to”): They bow to Him as more than a teacher returned; they honor Him as Lord. brothers (“fellow believers, disciples”): After their failure, He still claims them as family.

Greek: Χαίρετε (Chairete, G5463) — “Rejoice! / Greetings!.” This was an ordinary greeting, yet it literally says ‘Rejoice!’ and fits the moment exactly.

See also: John 20:17.

Matthew 28:11-12

While the women carry the good news, the guards carry their report to the chief priests. The leaders had heard what Jesus said about rising, and now they face the evidence. They do not investigate. They meet, plan, and pay a large sum of money to keep the story quiet.

BSA: formed a plan (“taken counsel, made a decision”): The leaders sit down to decide what to do, but not to ask whether it is true.

Matthew 28:13-15

The bribed guards are told to say the disciples stole the body while they slept. The story is weak, since sleeping witnesses cannot know who took what. Soldiers who slept on duty could be punished, so the priests promise to protect them. Matthew says the tale was still told when he wrote.

BSA: stole (“took secretly, without permission”): The rumor depends on a secret theft that no one actually saw. satisfy (“persuade, convince”): The priests will use influence with the governor so the guards avoid punishment.

See also: Matthew 27:62-64.

Matthew 28:16-17

The eleven go to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had named, as He told them to. When they see Him they worship, yet some doubt. Matthew is honest here. Even with Jesus before them, faith was mixed with hesitation, and Jesus still comes close and commissions them.

BSA: doubted (“were in doubt, wavered”): Some were hesitating between belief and uncertainty, not outright refusing.

Greek: ἐδίστασαν (edistasan, G1365) — “they hesitated, wavered.” The word suggests being of two minds, pulled between two ways, rather than flat unbelief.

See also: Matthew 14:31.

Matthew 28:18

Jesus steps toward His unsteady followers and speaks. Authority over all heaven and earth has been given to Him. That is the basis for everything that follows. The mission does not rest on the disciples’ strength but on the risen Lord’s rule.

BSA: authority (“power, freedom to act”): Jesus has the right as well as the ability to act, and that right covers everything. given (“bestowed, granted”): The authority is received from the Father, as the Son’s reward and trust.

Greek: ἐξουσία (exousia, G1849) — “authority, right to rule.” It is more than raw power. It is rightful authority, and Jesus says it covers all of heaven and earth.

See also: Daniel 7:13-14; Philippians 2:9-11.

Matthew 28:19

Because He holds all authority, Jesus sends His followers to every nation. The main command is to make disciples, people who learn from Him and follow Him. They are baptized into the one name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Going, baptizing and teaching all serve that aim.

BSA: nations (“Gentiles, non-Jewish people, ethnic groups”): The good news now reaches beyond Israel to every people. baptizing (“immersing, submerging”): Baptism pictures a person being brought fully into new life with Christ.

Greek: μαθητεύσατε (mathēteusate, G3100) — “make disciples.” This is the single main command of the sentence. ‘Going’, ‘baptizing’ and ’teaching’ describe how it is carried out.

See also: Acts 1:8; Genesis 12:3.

Matthew 28:20

Disciples are taught not only to know what Jesus commanded but to obey it. The chapter and the Gospel then close with a promise: He is with them every day until the age ends. The risen Lord does not send His people out alone.

BSA: always (“at all times, continually”): His presence is not limited to special moments but covers every day. age (“the completion, the consummation”): Jesus’ presence lasts until history reaches its God-appointed fulfilment.

See also: Matthew 1:23; Hebrews 13:5.