Matthew 28
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 heaven, 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.
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.”
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.
16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped 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.
Matthew 28 Commentary
Overview
Matthew 28 announces that the crucified Jesus has risen, confronts an official attempt to suppress that truth, and ends with the risen King commissioning his disciples. The movement is from a sealed tomb to a worldwide mission. What seemed to be death’s victory in Matthew 27 becomes the setting in which God vindicates his Son and advances the kingdom.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb after the Sabbath. An angel rolls away the stone, the guards collapse, and the women hear that Jesus has risen as he said. They are told to examine the empty place and carry the news. On the way, Jesus meets them, accepts their worship, and directs the disciples to Galilee.
Matthew presents two responses to the same event. The women leave with fear, great joy, and obedience; the guards report what happened, but the chief priests purchase a false explanation. Evidence does not automatically produce faith. People interpret events through their loyalties and interests, and organized power may replace an unwelcome truth with a convenient story.
The Gospel closes on a mountain in Galilee. The eleven worship Jesus, though some hesitate, and he declares that all authority in heaven and on earth is his. He sends them to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching, then promises his presence to the end of the age. Matthew begins and ends with Jesus as “God with us.”
Key Themes
As the first day of the week dawns, an earthquake and descending angel announce that resurrection is God’s action. The stone is rolled away not because Jesus needs help escaping, but so the tomb can be seen and the announcement confirmed. The angel sits on the stone human authorities sealed, showing their inability to contain God’s purpose.
The guards “became like dead men,” while the One they guarded is alive. Armed representatives of imperial power are helpless before God’s messenger, and Jesus, whom Rome executed, is beyond their control. Resurrection is not survival after a narrow escape; it is God’s defeat of death.
The angel identifies Jesus as the One “who has been crucified.” Resurrection does not replace the cross with a more attractive story or detach the risen Christ from the suffering Jesus. The One who lives is the same One who truly died. The Christian message therefore holds crucifixion and resurrection together: the cross reveals sacrificial obedience, and the resurrection declares that death did not have the final word.
“He has risen, just like he said” recalls Jesus’ repeated predictions in Matthew 16, Matthew 17, and Matthew 20. The disciples had heard those words without grasping them, but God’s faithfulness did not depend on their understanding. The empty tomb confirms both Jesus’ identity and the reliability of his teaching.
The women are invited to “come, see” and then commanded to “go quickly and tell.” Christian witness includes both attention to what God has done and responsible communication of it. Matthew does not praise curiosity that remains at the tomb. The evidence becomes a message, and those who receive good news are entrusted with carrying it to others.
Fear and great joy coexist in the women. Their fear is not simple unbelief; it is the overwhelming response of people confronted by divine action beyond ordinary experience. Joy sends them running toward obedience. Matthew’s account leaves room for reverence, amazement, and emotional complexity while showing that faithful response moves in the direction of Christ’s command.
Jesus meets the women, and they take hold of his feet and worship him. The detail emphasizes bodily reality: they encounter neither a memory nor a purely inward spiritual experience. At the same time, their worship shows that the risen Jesus is more than a restored teacher. Matthew has gradually revealed his divine authority, and the resurrection brings that recognition into the open.
Jesus calls the failed disciples “my brothers.” They had abandoned him, and Peter had denied him, yet the risen Lord’s first message to them is restorative rather than vindictive. This does not excuse their failure, but it shows that grace creates a future after failure. The men who fled will still be gathered, taught, and commissioned.
Galilee is the appointed place of reunion. It was the setting of much of Jesus’ ministry and was associated with a mixed population at the edge of Israel’s traditional centers. The return to Galilee connects the commission with the disciples’ earlier calling in Matthew 4, while preparing for a mission that will move beyond Israel to all nations.
The guards report the events to the chief priests, but the leaders respond with money rather than repentance. They had paid Judas to assist the arrest in Matthew 26; now they pay soldiers to circulate another deception. Matthew exposes how wealth and institutional influence can be used to protect a threatened position even when the available evidence calls for a complete change of mind.
The claim that the disciples stole the body while the guards slept contains an obvious weakness: sleeping witnesses could not know who moved it. Yet weak explanations can spread when powerful people fund them. Matthew records the counter-story rather than hiding it, showing that disputes about the empty tomb arose early and that the Gospel directly answers one such claim.
The eleven disciples go to the mountain Jesus appointed. “Eleven” quietly preserves the wound left by Judas, reminding readers that the commission is entrusted to an imperfect and diminished group. The future of the mission rests not on an impressive human organization but on the authority and presence of Christ.
They worship, “but some doubted,” or hesitated. The wording may describe uncertainty among part of the eleven or hesitation within the group as they process an overwhelming encounter. Matthew does not portray the first disciples as naturally credulous heroes. Worship and unresolved struggle can appear side by side, and Jesus answers their weakness by speaking of his authority and command.
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” echoes the worldwide dominion of the Son of Man in Daniel 7. The One rejected by earthly rulers now declares universal kingship. His authority includes every nation and every sphere, so the mission is neither a private spiritual hobby nor an attempt to create authority the church does not possess.
The word “therefore” grounds the commission in Jesus’ authority. Disciples go because the risen King reigns, not because Christians are culturally superior or entitled to dominate others. Mission is an act of obedient service under Christ’s lordship. His authority gives confidence, while his commands define the character and limits of the work.
The central command is to “make disciples.” Jesus does not commission the eleven merely to collect professions or transfer information. A disciple learns from Jesus, belongs to him, and follows his way. Going, baptizing, and teaching describe how people are welcomed into and formed within that life.
“All nations” fulfills the widening promise already connected with Abraham in Genesis 12. Matthew has anticipated this horizon through the Magi, the centurion, the Canaanite woman, and Jesus’ teaching about a gathered people from east and west. The mission begins from Israel’s Messiah but is not restricted by ethnicity, geography, language, or social boundary.
Baptism is commanded “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The singular “name” joins the three without erasing their distinction, providing essential material for Christian teaching about the triune God. Baptism publicly marks entry into the disciple community and allegiance to God, and the wider New Testament connects it with Christ’s death and resurrection, as in Romans 6.
The disciples must teach others “to observe all things” Jesus commanded. Christian instruction aims at practiced obedience, not information alone. “All things” gathers the ethical teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, the commands about mercy and forgiveness, the demands of costly discipleship, and the mission itself. Churches are not free to preserve favorite sayings while neglecting difficult ones.
Jesus promises, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The commission is too large for the disciples’ ability, but it is accompanied by Christ’s continuing presence. The promise completes the Immanuel theme of Matthew 1 and assures later disciples that the risen Lord remains active throughout the entire period of witness.
Important Verses
Verses 5–6 contain the chapter’s central announcement: “He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said.” The empty place, the angel’s explanation, and Jesus’ prior promises belong together. Christian hope is rooted in God’s action toward the crucified Jesus, and 1 Corinthians 15 later explains that without this resurrection Christian faith would be empty.
Verses 8–10 show the women moving from the angel’s message to a direct encounter with Jesus. They worship him, and he entrusts them with a message for the disciples. Their role is not incidental: Matthew presents faithful women as the first commissioned messengers of the risen Lord, while the official guards become participants in a purchased falsehood.
Verses 12–15 explain the attempt to account for the empty tomb through bribery and a theft story. The passage warns readers that opposition to truth may be organized, financed, and socially protected. It also prevents the resurrection account from sounding unaware of alternative claims; Matthew records a competing explanation and exposes the circumstances under which it was promoted.
Verses 17–18 place human weakness beside Christ’s sufficiency. The disciples worship, some hesitate, and Jesus responds by declaring universal authority. Their confidence will not come from pretending they have no uncertainty or failure. It comes from the identity and reign of the One who sends them.
Verses 19–20 give the Great Commission: make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the triune name, teach them to obey Jesus, and depend on his abiding presence. The commission includes evangelism, incorporation into a worshiping community, sustained instruction, and practical obedience. None of those elements should be separated from the others.
Practical Applications
Live as though the resurrection is the decisive truth about Jesus. Matthew 28 does not offer it as a vague symbol that difficult seasons improve. It announces that the crucified Lord is alive and possesses all authority. Christian courage, worship, ethics, and hope should be shaped by that claim rather than by the assumption that death and earthly power are ultimate.
Carry good news with both humility and urgency. The women do not create the message, control the event, or make themselves central; they receive, verify, obey, and tell. Christian witness should follow the same pattern. Believers speak confidently about Christ while remembering that they are servants of news entrusted to them, not owners of truth who may manipulate others.
Expect truth to encounter competing stories. The leaders’ bribery shows that evidence can be resisted when repentance threatens status or security. Believers should not respond with panic, dishonesty, or contempt. They should examine claims carefully, answer objections truthfully, and refuse to imitate the methods of those who use money, fear, or influence to manufacture belief.
Make disciples rather than pursuing shallow religious results. The commission joins going, baptizing, teaching, and obedience. Churches should therefore welcome people across cultural boundaries, help them identify publicly with Christ, teach the whole counsel of Jesus, and patiently support lifelong formation. A growing audience is not automatically the same thing as a growing community of disciples.
Undertake the mission in dependence on Christ’s authority and presence. The eleven are imperfect, some hesitate, and the task reaches every nation, yet Jesus does not ask them to manufacture strength. He gives two assurances: all authority belongs to him, and he remains with his people. Faithful service begins and endures within those promises.