Matthew 28:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They are devoid of understanding: their hearts are hardened, engulfed in darkness, and subject to the shadows of sin, and as a result, they refuse to heed Christ, who instructs, ‘Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you’ (John 12:35).

It is indeed remarkable to consider the Saviour’s choice of these wise women, for it may be asked, were there not holy disciples better suited to proclaim the resurrection as heralds of divine truth? Why were they not the first witnesses to witness Jesus, who shattered the hold of death? Instead, He appeared to the women and bestowed upon them the honor of apostleship, commissioning them to inform the disciples that Christ has risen from the dead, thus being the first to witness His glory. In response, we assert that the only begotten Word of the Father became incarnate to heal the sick and deliver humanity from its ancient sins; thus, it was appropriate for women to be the inaugural proclaimers of the resurrection since the first woman, having yielded to the serpent’s words, led Adam into transgression and bore the consequence of death. How could not the source of such grievous transgressions have been reversed through their apostleship? Where sin abounds, grace much more overflows (Romans 5:20). The Gospel of salvation was entrusted to the woman whose actions initiated death. Hence, it was necessary to address them: ‘Rejoice in Him who first pronounced a curse upon them: He said to her, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow in childbirth” (Genesis 3:16). Thus, the original wrong is rectified by the second, and the affliction is healed.

Moreover, as our Head, He gathers us into one Body, creating us to be interconnected as members of one another and of Himself. After His resurrection on the third day, the Lord appeared to the women who visited the tomb and instructed them, “Go, tell My brethren, that they may go to Galilee, and there they may see Me” (Matt. 28:10). Consider how He elevates His relationship with us by calling Himself our Brother. For this reason, the Apostle states, “He received not from angels, but from the seed of Abraham: he must never be like unto the brethren in all things” (Hebrews 2:16-17).

With great compassion, the risen Lord yearned to comfort His beloved disciples swiftly, recognizing the distress they felt after experiencing such a profound loss. At the moment of His burial, none of them appeared, save for perhaps John; even the women showed greater courage than the apostles. We witness the faithful women at Golgotha and at the tomb until the very last moment, when the stone sealed the entrance and the approaching night reminded them it was time to depart from the cherished grave.

Only John remained by the cross; moved by his devotion, the Lord entrusted him with His Mother. The others, consumed by sorrow, were afraid to leave their hiding place, remaining with the doors locked. From both the angels and the Lord Himself, commands were delivered, as Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson, notes. They were to hasten to convey the message of the Resurrection to the apostles. To Christ, the exuberance of His Resurrection felt incomplete until shared with those whom He loved until the very end, thus designating them not just as disciples but as brothers.

Meanwhile, Peter and John, upon entering the tomb, surprisingly did not witness the Risen One or even see the angels. This was likely due to the fact that their hearts had not yet reached the fullness of joy, making it more beneficial for them to receive the news of the Resurrection from others rather than encountering the Risen Christ directly.

It is also significant to observe who was entrusted with disseminating the first news of the Resurrection. It was not John, Peter, or James, the prominent apostles, but rather the devoted women who carried the spices. Though their perfumes remained unused, their love endowed them with the aroma of Christ. St. Gregory the Great remarks that while woman first received deceit from the serpent, it was from the mouth of the Risen Lord that she heard the joyous truth, signifying that the hand which nullified death also offered the cup of life. The faithful women became apostles to the apostles, proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ to them.

The Holy Church affirms in her Paschal hymns that the first woman to receive the joyful news of the Lord's Resurrection from the angel, and the first to behold Him, was not Mary Magdalene but the Blessed Mother of God. Could it have been otherwise? The heart of a Christian answers this more profoundly than reason can. The Mother of God, who shared in the suffering of her beloved Son and fought for Him in spirit, was shown tender care by her suffering Son on the cross. Would He keep her in darkness regarding His glorious Resurrection any longer than the others?

This truth is reflected even today in the Church of the Resurrection in ancient Jerusalem, near the Lord's tomb, where the site of His appearance to His Immaculate Mother is noted. The Evangelists perhaps remained silent on this encounter because it pleased her to remain unnamed, and the Apostles honored her extraordinary humility, respecting her desire for silence as sacred.

In discussing the Lord's appearances to the Myrrh-bearers, St. John Chrysostom suggests, "Some of you may wish, inspired by the virtuous women, to embrace the feet of Jesus. Even now, you can not only touch His hands and feet but also His sacred head: partake with a pure heart in the profound Mysteries. Moreover, on this day, you will behold Him arriving in indescribable glory with a multitude of angels. If you remain loving towards humanity, you will hear not just the words, 'Rejoice,' but also, 'Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world' (Matthew 25:34). Let us, therefore, live godly, loving God and one another, so that we may hear these words and receive Christ Himself."

This marked the conclusion of the first morning following the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On that very morning, He revealed Himself first to Mary Magdalene, followed by the other women who had gone to His tomb. They conveyed their experiences and what they had seen to the apostles, but those accounts were deemed unconvincing, and disbelief prevailed among the apostles.

Reflecting on that day’s occurrences, one notes that the Lord did not permit Mary Magdalene to touch Him, to confirm for herself that He was not a spirit, while He did allow the other Myrrh-bearing women to grasp His feet. Why would the Lord choose to make such a distinction regarding Mary Magdalene? Only Christ Himself can truly clarify this; we can only engage in conjecture. I believe that among all the disciples, Mary Magdalene possessed an extraordinary faith in Him—a faith that did not demand physical proof. She alone accepted the word of the Lord who appeared to her, and she believed. The apostles and the other followers lacked this depth of faith; they required undeniable evidence of Christ's resurrection. Could this be the reason the Lord chose to appear to Mary Magdalene first? Did He not proclaim during Simon the Leper’s feast that wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, her story would also be told? “Do not touch Me! Have faith that it is I Myself, that I have not yet ascended to My Father. Trust My word, not what your touch might confirm!”