Matthew 28:1-15 - The Resurrection of Christ
The Central Pivot of Redemptive History
Redemptive history pivots upon five monumental events in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ: His incarnation, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, ascension to the right hand of the Father, and future glorious return. While each event is indispensable to Christian orthodoxy, the resurrection stands as the central hinge upon which the truth of the gospel rests. Recorded by all four evangelists—establishing an undeniable harmony of testimony—the empty tomb serves as the ultimate vindication of Christ’s identity and the guarantee of the redemption of His people.
The resurrection is not merely a spiritual metaphor or an abstract concept; it is an anchored historical event that transpired in space and time. Early on the first day of the week, following the Jewish Sabbath, the narrative of human history was permanently altered as the grave yielded to the power of the living God.
The Dawn of the Resurrection
Matthew’s Gospel provides a vivid account of the events that transpired on that first resurrection morning. Following the hurried burial of Jesus on Friday evening by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, several faithful women—chief among them Mary Magdalene and the other Mary—returned to the tomb at dawn on Sunday to complete the customary burial anointings.
Matthew 28:1 (NASB)
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
Their arrival was met with divine disruption. A severe earthquake shook the earth as an angel of the Lord descended, rolled back the massive stone sealing the tomb, and sat upon it. The angel’s radiant, lightning-like appearance and snow-white garments reflected celestial holiness, a sight so overwhelming that the battle-hardened Roman soldiers assigned to guard the tomb were paralyzed by terror and rendered like dead men.
Matthew 28:2-4 (NASB)
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
While the sight of divine power incapacitated the secular guard, the angelic messenger spoke words of comfort to the seeking women, declaring the central truth of the Christian faith: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, just as He said.”
Matthew 28:5-7 (NASB)
The angel said to the women, ’Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. ’He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. ‘Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.’
Departing the tomb with an unprecedented mixture of reverent fear and profound joy, the women ran to notify the disciples. On their way, the risen Christ met them in bodily form. In response to His presence, the women fell at His feet in humble adoration, offering the only proper response to the resurrected King: worship.
Matthew 28:8-10 (NASB)
And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.’
The Multiplicity of Post-Resurrection Appearances
The bodily resurrection of Jesus was confirmed through numerous post-resurrection appearances over a forty-day period before His ascension. These physical encounters occurred across various settings and to diverse groups, dismantling any notion that the early church’s proclamation was born out of an isolated vision.
According to the composite testimony of the New Testament, Christ appeared first to Mary Magdalene, followed by the other women returning from the tomb. He then appeared privately to Simon Peter, offering restoration to the apostle who had recently denied Him.
Luke 24:34 (NASB)
saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’
Further manifestations included His appearance to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, to the ten disciples gathered behind locked doors in Jerusalem, and one week later to the eleven, inviting Thomas to touch His physical wounds. He appeared to the disciples while they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee, where He formally reinstated Peter. The Apostle Paul notes that Jesus also appeared to more than five hundred brethren at a single time, the majority of whom were still alive to corroborate the event when Paul penned his epistle.
1 Corinthians 15:6 (NASB)
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
Subsequent appearances occurred to James, the Lord’s skeptical half-brother who was brought to faith and became a pillar of the early church, and to the assembled apostles immediately prior to His ascension on the Mount of Olives.
Acts 1:8-9 (NASB)
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’ And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Finally, Christ revealed Himself in heavenly glory to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road, converting the church’s greatest persecutor into its foremost missionary.
The Failure of Counter-Theories
From the moment the tomb was found empty, opposing factions sought to construct naturalistic explanations to avoid the supernatural reality of the resurrection. Matthew records the very first attempt at suppression: the chief priests bribed the Roman guards to circulate the narrative that the disciples had stolen the body while the sentries slept.
Matthew 28:11-15 (NASB)
Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, ’You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ ‘And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.’ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, [and is] to this day.
This “Stolen Body Theory” collapses under logical scrutiny. The disciples were terrified, demoralized men hiding behind locked doors. It is inconceivable that these timid fishermen could stealthily breach a Roman guard, roll away a massive stone without waking professional soldiers, and leave behind the linen burial cloths neatly folded—an orderly detail entirely inconsistent with a hurried grave robbery.
Similarly, the “Swoon Theory” suggests that Christ did not actually die on the cross, but merely fainted from hypovolemic shock, revived in the cool tomb, escaped His burial wrappings, moved the stone, and walked miles on punctured feet. This theory ignores the thoroughness of Roman executioners, who verified Christ’s death by driving a spear into His side, producing blood and water. A battered, bleeding man near death could never have inspired the disciples with the conviction that He was the triumphant conqueror of the grave.
The “Hallucination Theory” likewise fails, as mass hallucinations across multiple locations, spanning forty days, involving hundreds of people simultaneously eating with and physically touching a person, are psychological impossibilities. Furthermore, the “Wrong Tomb Theory” assumes that the women, the disciples, the Jewish leaders, and Joseph of Arimathea all forgot the location of a private family tomb in a small, concentrated city. Had any body remained in a tomb, the Jewish authorities needed only to produce the corpse to extinguish the burgeoning Christian movement immediately. Yet the body was never produced, because the tomb was indeed vacant.
Historical Evidences and Transformed Witnesses
Several historical markers provide formidable evidence for the authenticity of the resurrection. First is the prominent role given to women as the primary eyewitnesses. In first-century Greco-Roman and Jewish societies, the legal testimony of women was rarely admissible in court. If the gospel writers had invented a resurrection myth, they would never have made female disciples the initial heralds of the event, as doing so would have weakened their credibility in the eyes of their contemporary audience. The inclusion of the women testifies to the uncompromising historical honesty of the texts.
Second, the gospel accounts openly preserve the initial hesitation and doubt among the disciples.
Matthew 28:17 (NASB)
When they saw Him, they worshiped [Him]; but some were doubtful.
A fabricated legend uniformly presents its heroes as unwavering champions of faith; the biblical narrative records the raw reality of their initial bewilderment and struggle to comprehend the miracle.
Third, the resurrection provoked a cultural and theological shift of unprecedented magnitude: the early Jewish-Christian community shifted its holy day of worship from the long-established Saturday Sabbath to the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day, solely in commemoration of Christ’s resurrection.
Finally, the radical transformation of the apostles offers undeniable historical proof. Men who had fled in cowardice at Gethsemane were suddenly transformed into bold heralds willing to endure relentless persecution, torture, and martyrdom. While many individuals will die for what they sincerely believe to be true, history demonstrates that no one willingly endures gruesome execution for a premise they consciously know to be a fabricated lie. The apostles suffered and died because they had seen, touched, and conversed with the risen Lord.
The Theological Imperative of the Risen Christ
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not merely an apologetic victory; it is the vital foundation of Christian doctrine and the Christian life. The Apostle Paul articulates the stakes plainly: if Christ is not raised, apostolic preaching is empty, Christian faith is worthless, and believers remain trapped under the condemnation of their sins.
1 Corinthians 15:14-17 (NASB)
and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found [to be] false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
Far from an isolated theological postscript, the resurrection accomplishes several critical aspects of redemption:
First, it affirms the divine sonship and deity of Christ, demonstrating with absolute power that He is the Son of God.
Romans 1:4 (NASB)
who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Second, the resurrection is the divine receipt of justification, certifying that the Father accepted the singular, once-for-all sacrifice of the Son on the cross.
Romans 4:25 (NASB)
[He] who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
Hebrews 10:11-12 (NASB)
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,
Third, the resurrection provides the spiritual power necessary for regeneration and sanctification. Believers are spiritually united to Christ in His death and raised to walk in newness of life, empowered by the very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
Romans 6:4 (NASB)
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 8:11 (NASB)
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Fourth, saving faith requires heart-level conviction of this truth, joining confession of Christ’s lordship with belief in His bodily resurrection.
Romans 10:9 (NASB)
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
The question posed by the angels at the empty tomb echoes across redemptive history: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
Luke 24:5-6 (NASB)
and as [the women] were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, [the men] said to them, ’Why do you seek the living One among the dead? ’He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
The historical fact of the empty tomb guarantees that death has been swallowed up in victory. Christ is risen, reigning, and returning, and in Him, the believer finds enduring hope, unbreakable life, and eternal salvation.