Reflection on Matthew 28:1-10

 

Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSVue)

1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone 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 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

 

Reflection

On that glorious morning when the angel met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the tomb, the angel declared the unbelievable news: “‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” “So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples” (Matthew 28:7-8).  Their Lord, Jesus, was alive!  He had been raised from the dead!  Jesus has overcome death!  What amazing news!  Our hearts race with excitement as the women go from that place to proclaim the good news.  Our hearts are with them so much that we may forget completely who we are leaving behind at the tomb.

We are leaving behind the guards.  You remember the guards, do you not?  They were the ones who were making sure that the tomb remained secure.  They were the ones who lost their footing in the great resurrection earthquake.  They were the ones who could not bear the presence of the glowing angel who rolled the stone away and single handedly overpowered them.  There were the ones who the Bible says, “shook and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4).  We are forgetting about them.

You might ask, “Who cares?  They weren’t the point of the story anyway.”  And you would be right, but I do care anyway.  Because I know of a lot of people who stumble and fall when their worlds shake and they are overpowered by situations that they simply cannot grasp or understand.

I have a friend who once talked about experiencing a major earthquake firsthand for his very first time.  As soon as he felt the trembling, he ran outside with great fear welling up inside his chest, running into the open, away from any buildings as he had been instructed to do before moving into earthquake country.  When he made it outside, he could not believe his eyes.  The earth was heaving up and falling again like waves in an ocean, except it was solid ground…or what was supposed to be solid ground.  Quite frankly he thought, “Who can escape this?  He thought of those biblical stories where the ground opens and swallows people whole.  “I am going to die right here!” he thought. 

Now, earthquake veterans know that as dramatic as that may look, things are going be fine for anyone who is standing outside and away from anything that can fall on them.  But for the person who experiences it for the first time, they do not know that.  Their heads get stuck in shock and fear, like those soldiers on the day of resurrection.  They, as the Bible describes, “shook and became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4).

The soldier’s reaction makes me think of a woman who just days ago sobbed uncontrollably because it was the anniversary of her child’s death.  Her child died 65 years ago.  She has been sobbing nearly every day since.  My heart aches for her.  My heart goes out to her.  My heart goes out to that woman, the soldiers, and the many, many other people whose lives have shaken to the core by earthquake sized events in and they just cannot seem to find a way forward.  So, yes, even while my heart is with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they run and celebrate with “fear and great joy,” part of my heart remains with those who cannot see any reason for celebration and who end up becoming like the dead (Matthew 28:8).

Now, just to be clear, the women experienced the earthquake as well.  The women also saw the angel “descending from heaven” (Matthew 28:2).  And though the Bible describes them in Matthew 28:8 as having “fear,” they are somehow able to see beyond their fear, and they also get to experience “great joy” (Matthew 28:8).  How did they do that?  What allowed them to move beyond the grief, the quake, and this utterly unexplainable angelic experience?

Could it be because Jesus had given them a special gift?  Could it be because Jesus handed them the gift of being prepared to see beyond the terrible and impossible?  Could it be because Jesus told them, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Jesus taught his followers that earthquakes and other terrible, fear inducing events that we encounter throughout our lives are not ever the last word in our stories.  Rather our terrible, earth shaking, soul wrenching events are the first words in a new story that Jesus writes with his very own hand. 

What if I told you that the death of your loved one, as terrible and heart wrenchingly sad as it continues to be, is not the last word in your story, or theirs?  How do I know?  Jesus said that it would not be the last word.  You do not need to stay on the ground, or even in the ground as a dead man, because Jesus did not, and neither did Jesus allow your loved one to remain there either.  Have hope.  The story is not done.

What if I told you that the health scare, as anxiety causing as it may be, is not the last word in your story?  How do I know?  Jesus said that it would not be the last word.  You do not need to stay on the ground trembling in fear, because Jesus knows that there is new life ahead of you no matter what your health outcome.

What if I told you that when you run away in great fear because your world is shaking, because sin has ensnared you, or because the darkness is great that Jesus is going ahead of you and will meet you, both at your destination, but also on your way? 

How do I know?  Because, as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary ran from the scene of the earthquake and tomb, the Bible says that “Suddenly Jesus met them” and that they were able to take “hold of his feet and [worship] him” (Matthew 28:9).  Jesus was right there with them. 

Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (Matthew 28:10).  No matter the details of the shaking of your life, no matter the impact of the shaking, there is no need to stay on the ground as if you have died, as if life cannot go on, as if that terrible thing is the end of your story.  It is not.  Jesus has already started his journey of new life, going ahead of you and meeting you along the way.  He knows the destination.  He knows that the earth shaking of your life is only the start of a new story that has just begun to give birth.  And he is at the destination of that story.  Look for him with eyes full of new life and hope.

And as you look ahead, you will no longer see a confused darkness, as if your future is nothing but a chaotic void, rather you will see the Lord guiding your way beyond sadness, beyond confusion, and beyond pain. 

You have no idea what that new story will look like, but you see that the Lord has prepared it, and knowing that allows you to take Jesus by the hand, allows you to be pulled up with to your feet with some hope, and allows you to trust that what Jesus has in store is nothing short of holy.

“Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:4).

“[Jesus] has been raised from the dead” (Matthew 28:7).

“He is going ahead of you” (Matthew 28:7).