Verse 1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Remember that the Jewish sabbath went/goes from Friday evening until Saturday evening so the first day of the week would have been Sunday in today’s calendar. After presumably going home for the sabbath, the faithful Marys returned to be close to their Master. Where are His disciples?
Application: Today’s churches celebrate Easter, a pagan holiday dedicated to a fertility goddess, attempting to turn it into a Christian holiday about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Any doubt that Easter is not in remembrance of Jesus should be dispelled by Acts 12:4 which states, “And when he (Herod) had apprehended him (Peter), he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people” Herod was persecuting the Church and therefore was not celebrating the resurrection of Jesus during the celebration of Easter. And to add to the confusion most churches celebrate this time with what is called Good Friday and then Resurrection Sunday. But Jesus said he would be in the grave for three days: three 24 hour days. So do the math. If Jesus was crucified on a Friday and then rose on an early Sunday morning, that would not be three full days. So to clarify and possibly upset some people reading this, Jesus was killed on a Wednesday, and buried just before Thursday which started at 6 PM by Jewish calculations and then rose from the grave on Saturday, the evidence not being seen and reported by the two Marys until Sunday as the Jewish sabbath started at 6 PM Friday night and extended to 5:59 Saturday evening when people were forbidden to work or travel. There were two feast days during that week also, the Jewish passover which Jesus and his disciples celebrated prior to His arrest, and another in which the governor Pontius Pilate released a prisoner of the people’s choice. Perhaps it can be seen that many doctrines and rituals in today’s churches are not Scriptual and perhaps even insulting to the LORD. He has carefully preserved His Word down through the years and His people should not be confused as to the truth and historical facts presented between the pages of the Bible.
Verses 2-4 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
This is the second earthquake to occur during this time of the crucifixion. Usually when the Scripture refers to “the” angel of the LORD, it means Jesus as opposed to “an” angel of the LORD. Notice the description of this angel. Then read the following verses that refer to the LORD Jesus Christ. “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;” Revelation 1:14 “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his rainment was white as the light.” Matthew 17:2 “And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.” Luke 9:29 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” Mark 9:3 This writer believes that this angel was really the risen Jesus and that the two women did not recognize Him due to the manifestation of His glory. What do you think? Regardless, the men stationed to guard the tomb fell before Him because of fear. Notice that the women did not react in fear and faint or run away.
Verses 5-6 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Application: True Christian believers have no fear of spiritual manifestations, either good or evil, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 These two Marys were believers and they were neither surprised or fearful of what they were seeing. They had followed and ministered to Jesus during His earthly ministry and they had seen many supernatural and miraculous events. They had a spirit of joy as the words of Jesus regarding His resurrection had come to pass.
“Seeing is believing” is not just a saying, but is the way mankind operates in the natural world. People usually need to see the proof of something before they will believe it. So the women were given a tour of the tomb so that they could see with their own eyes that the body they had witnessed being placed in this tomb was no longer there.
Why was the disappearance of Jesus body such a big deal? Well these tombs were carved into rock faces and then a stone weighing several tons was placed on an incline and held there with a type of wedge until the tomb was used. Once a body was placed in the tomb, the removal of the wedge caused the stone to roll down the incline and block the opening. It would have been impossible for these women, the disciples, or the soldiers guarding the tomb to move the stone once it was in place because it would have required many men with tools to do so. Remember this when getting to the end of this chapter. So it was a miracle that the stone had been simply rolled back and wedged again without anyone noticing.
Verses 7-8 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
Since this writer believes that the angel was Jesus manifesting in His glory, it makes sense that the angel’s concern was the informing of the disciples. Jesus loved His disciples and did not want them to be grieving any more because of His death and burial. Remember that they had difficulty understanding the teaching of Jesus that He would rise from the dead. If they had truly understood and believed that Jesus was leaving the grave after three days, would they not have assembled at the tomb and waited? Would they not have camped out there with the guards just to watch and wait? The Greek word translated as “fear” is “phobos” and in these verses it means a reverence.
Verse 9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
This time, the women recognized Jesus as His appearance was that of a man and the first thing they did was worship Him. Worship means to give your heart. It can only be imagined how these two women felt as they physically touched their LORD and tried to understand what all of this would mean. They had seen Him murdered. They had seen him buried. And now they could hold His feet in their hands and feel that He was real and not a spirit or ghost.
Verse 10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
Just in case they were too overwhelmed and not able to process their emotions and thoughts clearly, Jesus told them a second time to go to the disciples and tell them to go to Galilee and meet Him there.
Application: Why did Jesus reveal Himself first to these women instead of to His disciples? Not really sure. However, women were not held in high esteem in the Jewish world, but Jesus never treated the women as if they were nothing more than cattle with very little worth. Jesus elevated the status of women. He defended the harlots and the woman with the alabaster box of ointment and the woman at the well. He included them in His teachings and He included them in His ministry. “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said. Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Acts 10:34-35 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 Jesus trusted these faithful women who loved Him with their whole hearts to carry the good news of His resurrection to others.
Verses 11-15 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Where did the tomb guarding soldiers go after they recovered from their shock? To the corrupt religious leaders. And so another conspiracy was born. The soldiers were paid off to spread the lie that the body of Jesus was stolen away by His disciples in the night while they slept. And they were given assurance that they would not be in trouble with the Roman authorities if they went along in this conspiracy to hide the truth from the people. Sounds like the fake news media and bad actors of today don’t you think? Again, King Solomon had it right when he wrote that nothing was new under the sun. Events just repeat themselves and evil just repeats itself at the hands of evil people. There are many problems with this story in that, as stated above, the disciples could not have moved the stone that was covering and sealing the tomb by themselves. Furthermore, they could not have done this in the dark of night and without a lot of noise that would have awakened the guards. And the guards under Roman law faced a death penalty if they fell asleep on the job, so to admit they were asleep was a risky and stupid thing to do if it had really happened. And how does a guard explain away an encounter with the angel? There were the two Mary’s who witnessed all of this and who could prove their fabricated story to be a lie. And where did the body go and why was it not searched for and found? But true to the statement of the last verse, even today, the Jews teach that Jesus’s body was stolen by his disciples, and unfortunately many unbelievers have believed this lie.
Verses 16-17 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
The disciples were obedient and went to Galilee even though some had doubts. The Greek word translated as “doubted” is “distazo” and it means to doubt or waiver.
Application: Before passing judgement on the doubters, all Christian believers suffer from doubts during their walk with the LORD. This is normal if not desirable. But faith is a gift from God and He gives an extra dose of that faith when times of doubting come. Believers have three enemies: the flesh, the devil and the world. All three of these enemies keep throwing things at believers that can cause doubts to ocurr. But staying in the Word, in prayer and in fellowship with other believers all helps to overcome times of doubting. So take heart!
Verses 18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28)
All power in verse 18 above means all power. Scripture teaches that the earth is Satan’s domain. It was given to man originally, but man sinned and forfeited dominion to Satan. But no matter how crazy and wicked this world becomes under Satan’s leadership, Jesus is still in control and has All power. This should be a very comforting verse to all believers.
The commandment to teach all nations still stands today. The Church has an obligation to preach and teach the Gospel to everyone everywhere.
Jesus promised to be with His disciples always and that promise applies to all Christian believers. The indwelling of His Holy Ghost/Spirit guarantees this. But notice that Jesus mentioned that there would be an end of the world. Scripture teaches that this world will be destroyed by fire. The prophet Isaiah wrote back in Old Testament days, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isaiah 65″17 “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13 The Apostle John saw this in a vision. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1 This promise to be with His people who are living on the Earth extends to life after death when all believers are in Heaven in the presence of the LORD Jesus Christ forever.
Application: Baptism is one of those doctrines or topics that can upset people. However, there is a lot of misinformation in the churches and in Catholicism. So what does the Bible teach? First of all, Jesus was not giving a verbal instruction in the verses above of the words to say when baptizing people. He was saying to baptize in “the name”. Many if not most churches baptize by saying something like, ” I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The question is, where is the name? Father, Son and Spirit are not names, but titles that describe positions or jobs. A biological father has a name which all his children learn and use: Sam, Thomas, or Mr. Smith, etc. The title lets people know the man has children. Unless a man has children, he cannot be a father. Likewise, Father God has spiritual children which are all those who believe in Him and who keep His commandments. So what is His name? What is the name of His only begotten Son? What is the name of the comforter or Holy Ghost/Spirit? Since there is only One God, there can only be one name. Who manifests in three forms? God of course. What is the name that can be used to describe God when manifesting in all three forms? Jesus is the name. Now there are those who will insist on using the Old Testament Hebrew title of Yahovah or Jehovah, but it means Lord. Lord is a title – someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler – and is not a name – a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to. So Jehovah is not God’s name. So to properly baptize, people need to be baptized in Jesus’ name or they are just basically getting wet. The disciples understood this as evidenced by the book of Acts. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38 “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:12 “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.“ Acts 19:5 Where is the power? In the name of Jesus. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6 “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.” Acts 4:10 “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” Acts 4:18 Why did the religious leaders forbid the disciples to use the name of Jesus? Because that is where the power is and the name of Jesus is what heals, raises the dead, casts out devils, and properly baptizes people. And sprinkling water on someone is not baptism. Baptism means to immerse or submerge. And nowhere in Scripture is baptizing children or babies encouraged or commanded or condoned. Little children or babies cannot repent as they do not understand sin or the need to repent and repentance has to precede baptism. So the baptizing of infants by the Catholic church is wrong, plain and simple.