Matthew 28:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Finally, after the night of the Sabbath, the morning of the Lord's Day arrives, as noted in Matthew: "on one Sabbath, at daybreak." The morning fills the accounting for the entire day—this represents the third twenty-four hours. Alternatively, we can also count the days in a different manner: the Lord surrendered His spirit on Friday, counting as one day; He remained in the tomb on Saturday, which is another day; then on the night of the Lord's Day, He resurrected, while this period also counts as a day, culminating in a total of three days. It is observed that regarding the deceased, if one dies around the tenth hour of the day and another around the first hour of the same day, they are both said to have died on that same day.

Allow me to share yet another method of counting the three days and three nights. On Thursday evening, the Lord had supper with His disciples and said to them, "Receive, eat My body." Since He possessed the authority to lay down His life at His discretion, it is evident that He also offered Himself as He instructed His disciples about His body, for no one consumes anything that hasn't first been slain. Consider this: that evening, He taught about His body, continuing until the sixth hour on Friday—that is one twenty-four-hour period. Then, from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, there was darkness, followed by light from the ninth hour until evening, equating to the second twenty-four hours. Again, there was the night following His crucifixion and the Sabbath daytime, which completes the third twenty-four-hour period. On Sabbath night, the Lord arose, marking three complete twenty-four hours.

Regarding the angel, Matthew mentions he sat on the stone, while Mark states that after rolling the stone away, he sat inside the tomb on the right side. Do these accounts contradict each other? No! It seems the angel initially appeared seated on the stone and then, when the women entered, led them and subsequently appeared within the tomb sitting on the right side. He addressed the women, saying: "Do not be afraid," indicating that the guards had reason to fear, but the Lord’s disciples need not be afraid. After dispelling their fear, he proclaimed the good news of the resurrection, for he first aimed to remove their dread before sharing the joyful message. He is unashamed to refer to the Lord as crucified, for he proudly regards the cross as a glorious trophy that has brought us all good things.

Among them, Mary Magdalene, who was deeply devoted to Christ, was the first to rise. In her eagerness to arrive at the tomb as early as possible, she may have spent the night near the city gates, which opened only at dawn. While it was still dark, she found herself in Joseph's garden, approaching the tomb only to discover that the stone had been rolled away from its entrance. However, the angel of God did not reveal himself to her, prompting her to flee and seek out Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, John. Overwhelmed, she said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him" (John 20:2).

Meanwhile, other women, including Joanna and some others, also set out early to the tomb with prepared spices. They discovered the stone had been removed, and upon entering, found the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. While they were puzzled, two men in shining garments suddenly appeared beside them. As they were filled with fear and bowed their faces to the ground, the angels asked, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen" (Luke 24:5-6). They reminded the women of Jesus' words when He was still in Galilee, about the necessity of the Son of Man being handed over to sinners, crucified, and rising again on the third day. The women recalled His words and returned from the tomb to proclaim everything to the eleven apostles and all the others. Before they reached the apostles, however, Peter and John, having received news from Mary Magdalene, hastened to the tomb. The grieving Magdalene accompanied them again. The apostles ran together, but John, being younger, arrived at the tomb first, bent down and observed the linen wrappings lying there but did not enter. Simon Peter followed and went right into the tomb, noticing the linen cloths apart and the napkin that had been on Jesus' head, folded and placed in another location. Then John entered, saw the evidence, and believed, though they had not yet comprehended from Scripture that He must rise from the dead. Consequently, the disciples returned home. Meanwhile, Mary remained at the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of the Lord Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet. They asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She replied, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognize Him. Jesus inquired, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Assuming He was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus called her name, "Mary!" She turned and exclaimed, "Rabboni!" which means "Teacher!" Jesus instructed her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went to the disciples announcing that she had seen the Lord and reported what He had said to her (John 20:13-18). At sunrise, Mary Magdalene’s companions, Mary the mother of James and Salome, went to the tomb and pondered, "Who will roll away the stone for us?" As they approached, they found that the stone had already been removed, and there sat an angel of light.

Joseph, a secret adherent of the Lord and a council member, who had previously defended Jesus before his peers, was the only one brave enough to request Jesus' body from Pilate for burial. Joseph was accompanied by Nicodemus, who had once received enigmatic words from the Lord about His death: ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man also be lifted up.' Together, they wrapped the tortured body in linen and spices, laying it in Joseph's new tomb. There were also women who had journeyed with Jesus from Galilee. Perhaps less fearful for themselves, or more devoted in their love for the Lord, they remained at the cross and sat by the tomb until the stone sealed the entrance to the cave where Jesus' body lay. Those who buried Jesus believed firmly that the dead would not rise again. This conviction fueled Joseph and Nicodemus' carefulness, despite the pressing time constraints, to honor their final duty to the Divine Master, from whom they had each received cherished truths. The Galilean women, eager to offer their tribute of fragrances at Jesus’ tomb, felt that they could not fulfill their act of devotion until the anticipated day of resurrection. Even two days later, when the apostles had gathered their thoughts and considered the Lord's promises of His resurrection, they remained largely unconvinced, though some wrestled with the truth more than others. The struggle to accept such a reality was profound; there had been no precedent for this. Though the dead had returned to life before, it was always through the intervention of great saints. Who among them could restore life to the dead body of the most righteous man they knew? They lacked understanding of the Scriptures. Both the adversaries of Jesus and His followers were certain that His demise marked the end; the notion of resurrection seemed a mere illusion. When the third day of His death arrived, it should have been enough to reassure them—He had indeed risen. The occurrence transpired unseen, and it remains uncertain exactly when the visible transformed into the invisible, the physical into the spiritual. Messengers were needed to reveal this event. The heralds of His resurrection appeared as an angel descended to the earth and rolled back the stone at the tomb’s entrance—not for the Risen One, but for those coming to witness. A great earthquake shook Jerusalem, yet who among the populace understood that this quake symbolized the end of the dark despair that had enveloped Jesus after His death had been proclaimed by the previous quake? The guards at the tomb, who alone could verify the reason behind this frightening phenomenon, were themselves paralyzed by fear until the definitive evidence came forth. Thus, this initial news of the Resurrection, shared by all, would instill dread in both friends and foes of Jesus.

It is likely that the earthquake was felt only in the vicinity of the tomb, and the sheer size of the stone's removal made the occurrence seem significant to the guards. Ultimately, the details regarding the earthquake, the angel rolling away the stone, and the empty tomb would have been conveyed to the Evangelist Matthew either from these soldiers who were not corrupted by the chief priests or through reliable witnesses to whom the soldiers later recounted their testimony.

Suddenly, a violent earthquake jolted the earth, as though to awaken the dormant world, and radiant beings, bright as lightning and dressed in garments whiter than snow, descended from the heavens into the garden. One of these figures approached the tomb, touched the stone sealing the entrance, and at once the seal was shattered, the heavy stone rolled aside, and from within the tomb arose the Author of Life, enveloped in divine glory. The guards were paralyzed with terror. As they regained their composure, they hurried to Jerusalem to announce the extraordinary events. How fervently they would have spread the news throughout the city if it had not still been sound asleep in the early morning hours.

This divine intervention served as a striking reminder to the armed guards that they were in the presence of a superior authority, one that transcended earthly strength, rendering their weapons ineffective. An angel descended amidst the tremors, approached the tomb, rolled away the stone sealing its entrance, and took a seat upon it. This act of removing the stone, unnecessary for the Lord who had already risen, was essential for the guards, who needed to witness the resurrection of the risen Savior for themselves, as well as for the Lord's followers, particularly the holy women, that they might realize they sought in vain for the Living One among the dead. As noted by the esteemed Isidore of Pelusium, the angel was sent to assure the seekers that the Lord had indeed risen, not taken away. His appearance was dazzling, and his garments as white as snow. The sight of the illumination of the heavenly herald amidst the night's darkness terrified the guards; they quaked, losing all awareness of themselves, the location, and their duties, becoming as lifeless as the dead themselves. The earthly sentinels' watch at the Lord's tomb had concluded, giving way to the angelic guardians—bearers of the joyful tidings of resurrection.

The Jewish tradition had a precise method for determining the spring equinox and the full moon for their Paschal celebration. Similarly, the Orthodox Church calculates these springtime dates to determine the day of the Lord's Resurrection—Christ's Pascha. Our Lord voluntarily endured suffering on the cross on Friday, coinciding with the Jewish observance of Passover, and then lay dead in the tomb for three days. (Partial days are counted as full days.) On the first day of the week, typically understood as Sunday—which is the day when God created light according to Moses—the Lord arose. Thus, Christians commemorate Easter following the vernal equinox, after the full moon, on the first Sunday subsequent to the Jewish Passover. To establish the date of Orthodox Easter, we observe the equinox, recognize the 14th day of the moon, and count the three days—Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If the 14th day of the moon occurs before the equinox, we disregard it and seek the next occurrence, ensuring it falls after the spring equinox. The ancient Passover signifies liberation from temporary enslavement, while the new Passover offers freedom from everlasting destruction and death. Should we celebrate Pascha simultaneously with the Jews, the Gospel itself risks being obscured and forgotten. On the day marking the full moon, during which the ancient Passover was commemorated, our Lord was crucified. The second day was when He remained in the tomb, and the third day was Sunday. The holy myrrh-bearing women were the first to receive the joyful news of the Lord's resurrection and the first to encounter Him, having tasted, as St. Gregory the Theologian remarked, the essence of Christ that remedies earlier wrongs, since Eve, who first fell, became the first to greet Christ and share the news with the disciples. Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, while darkness had yet to yield, Mary Magdalene, aflame with profound love for her Master as noted by the holy father, approached the tomb. Noticing that the stone had been rolled away amid the twilight, she wasted no time in delivering this news to the Apostles Peter and John.