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Matthew 28:1-10 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

28 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.”

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The story begins in the dark. Not just the literal early morning darkness, but the kind that settles into your bones after loss. After violence. After hope has been crucified by the powers that be.

It is important to realize that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were not going to the tomb expecting resurrection. They went to the tomb heavy with grief. They went because love shows up, even when hope is gone. They went because tending to our dead is sometimes the only faithful thing left to do.

This is where Matthew begins telling the Easter miracle. It is only in Matthew’s Gospel that we are told of an earthquake as an explanation for how the stone was rolled away. The women, along with the guards were witnesses to the quake, the arrival of an angel of the Lord, and the rolling back of the stone. The guards were paralyzed with fear. The women must have also been afraid. They all then hear the words that echo throughout our Holy Scriptures. “Do not be afraid.” Not once, but twice, the angel says it. Then Jesus says it again. Because the fear was real. And God meets us in our fear. Always. 

Have you noticed that the first people invited into the resurrection mystery are not the powerful, not the religious authorities, not the empire. They are the powerless. Women whose testimony did not count in court. Women whose voices were often dismissed. Women who had no rights apart from fathers, husbands, brothers. 

What happens next, according to Matthew’s Gospel? The angel says for the women to go and tell the disciples what they have seen and heard. And so, “They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy.” It is then that they encounter Jesus, who also instructs them to go and tell the rest of the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

Yes, it is true. The first preachers of the resurrection are women. Before any creeds are written… Before any church is built around the Risen Christ… Before any hierarchy is formed… Women are sent to proclaim: Life has overcome death. He has been raised!

The women run to tell the others. This is not a small detail. It is a theological earthquake. God entrusts the most earth-shattering news to those denied power by religious and government authorities. Which tells us something about what resurrection does. The work of resurrection is to reorder power. It is to restore silenced voices. It is to break open systems that insist that some people matter more than others. 

So what does this mean for us? Alexis Fuller-Wright was our Associate Conference Minister for a time. From her I learned not to ask, “Can I prove scripture?” or “Can I explain scripture?” but to ask, “What in my life tells me this scripture is true?”

Where is this scripture true for us? Where have we seen resurrection? Every time someone tells the truth in a world that prefers silence – that is resurrection. Every time love overcomes fear – that is resurrection. 

Where else have we seen resurrection? We have seen it in people who rebuild after loss. In communities that rise up after injustice. In Black, Brown, and Indigenous bodies that keep going when the world says they should not. We have seen it in movements for justice that refuse to die, as  when people proclaim: Black lives matter. Brown lives matter. Trans lives matter. Women’s voices matter. Indigenous voices matter. Regaining what has been lost; regaining what has been taken; are resurrections. 

Jesus’ first discourse in the Gospel of Matthew, after his resurrection, is one simple word: “Greetings.” It is so ordinary. So down to earth. Resurrection is not only universal – it is also relational. It happens in encounters. In presence. In connection. And the women respond with embodiment: They take hold of his feet and they worship him. Because resurrection is not an idea to be debated, but a reality to be experienced.

What are we celebrating this Easter morning? We are celebrating a God who refuses to let death have the last word. We are celebrating a God who meets us where we are. We are celebrating a God who entrusts power to the least of us. And we are  celebrating the continuation of the story. It includes us. We are still being sent. “Go and tell.” Tell it with your life. Tell it with your courage. Tell it with your refusal to accept a world built on unjust systems.

Easter joy is defiant joy. It is an exuberant joy. Easter joy has the audacity to say: Even now – life is rising. Even now – love is stronger. Even now – God is still creating.

So if you are carrying fear today – you are within the resurrection story. If you are grieving – you are exactly where the story begins. If you are longing for hope – these words are for you: “Do not be afraid.” Not because everything will be as you wish, but because resurrection is still in motion.

And so we go. Like Mary Magdalene. Like the other Mary. With fear. With great joy. We run to tell the world: Love is alive. He has been raised. Christ is Risen. 

Christ is Risen, Indeed!

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – April 5, 2026