Matthew Chapter 28 – Commentary and Bible Study Reflection
Matthew chapter 28 is short in verses, only 20, but honestly it feels like the entire weight of the Gospel hinges right here. It’s like watching the sunrise after the longest, darkest night. If chapter 27 left us with the heavy silence of the tomb, then 28 comes with movement—stone rolled away, angels appearing, women running with both fear and joy, and then Jesus Himself standing alive again. It’s almost too much to take in one reading.
Let me just breathe a moment because whenever I study this chapter, I feel a chill, not the scary kind, but like standing outside early morning when the dew is heavy and the sun just cracks the horizon. You smell the freshness, hear a bird’s first cry, and something inside whispers, This is new, this is different, this is life again.
The Dawn of Resurrection (Verses 1–4)
The chapter opens like this: “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.”
I always try to imagine them walking quietly, maybe with baskets of spices, maybe still red-eyed from crying. The Sabbath rest had been long, silent, probably unbearable. They couldn’t do much on that holy day, so grief just sat heavy in their chest. But as soon as the sun peeks, they come. Women were the first to come—while the soldiers are still there, while most disciples are hiding.
Then, boom! Earthquake again. Remember one shook the ground when Jesus died, and now another one happens at His resurrection. Angels roll the stone away, not to let Jesus out—He’s already gone—but to let people look in. I like that detail because God didn’t need to “open the door” for Jesus. Resurrection power isn’t held by human-made barriers.
The guards? Terrified. Fell like dead men. I grin a little reading that, because the living King walks free and the “living” soldiers fall down like corpses. The reversal is almost poetic.
Angel’s Message (Verses 5–7)
The angel tells the women: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”
That phrase “just as He said” cuts deep. Jesus had been telling them, but in sorrow and fear they couldn’t really believe. How often am I like that? I know promises, I’ve read Scripture, yet when life presses down, I forget. But here the angel anchors their hope not in wishful thinking but in the actual words Jesus already spoke.
The angel gives them both reassurance and a mission: come, see, then go and tell. That’s still the rhythm of Christian life: encounter the risen Lord, and then share.
Encounter with Jesus (Verses 8–10)
The women hurry away “afraid yet filled with joy.” I like how honest that is. Human emotions are messy, rarely neat. You can be terrified and thrilled in the same breath.
Then Jesus meets them. Can you picture that? They fall at His feet, clasping them. That touch is important—it shows He’s not a ghost, not imagination, but real flesh-and-blood resurrected life. Jesus repeats the angel’s command but adds His tender word: “Do not be afraid.” And He tells them to inform the brothers to go to Galilee.
I always find it moving He calls the disciples “my brothers.” Remember, these are the same men who abandoned Him. Peter denied Him. They failed. Yet the first word after resurrection is not scolding, not “cowards,” but family. Grace greater than shame.
The Guards’ Report (Verses 11–15)
This part almost feels like a side-scene in a movie. While heaven breaks into joy, the religious leaders scramble in fear. The guards run to report what happened. And rather than believe, the chief priests cook up a cover story: tell people the disciples stole the body while you were asleep. They bribe the soldiers, spreading lies.
Funny thing, if they were asleep, how would they know who stole the body? The lie doesn’t even hold. But fear of losing power makes people blind to truth. This still happens today. Some people will twist anything to avoid surrendering to Jesus.
The Great Commission (Verses 16–20)
At last, the disciples gather in Galilee, where Jesus promised. When they saw Him, they worshipped—but some doubted. Again I love the honesty. Doubt existed right in the middle of worship. Faith is not always a straight line.
Jesus then gives what we now call the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them... teaching them... And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
This is the climax not only of Matthew but of the whole Gospel story. The King who was mocked with a crown of thorns now declares His universal authority. The mission is no longer local Israel only but the world. And the promise isn’t just for then, but forever—“to the end of the age.”
Personal Reflections
When I was younger, I thought resurrection was just proof Jesus was powerful. But as I’ve lived through some personal losses—my grandfather’s passing, a friend gone too soon—I realize it’s much more. Resurrection is hope stitched into the center of despair. It’s that stubborn belief that darkness doesn’t get the last word.
Sometimes at dawn, when you hear the faint rooster crowing in the village, smell woodsmoke curling from a neighbor’s kitchen, you feel the world waking. That’s how Matthew 28 reads. The world woke up different on that Sunday morning.
And I confess, sometimes I’m like those soldiers—paralyzed, afraid, almost pretending the miracle didn’t happen. Or like the priests, inventing excuses. But then I remember those women. Simple, devoted, running with trembling hands yet carrying the greatest news. Maybe that’s all God asks: don’t have it all figured out, just go tell what you’ve seen.
Application for Today
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Fear and Joy Together – Following Jesus isn’t always neat. You can be scared and still obey.
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Truth Will Not Be Stopped – Lies were spread then, and still are, but the resurrection story keeps shining.
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Jesus Restores Failures – He calls the runaway disciples “brothers.” If He can restore them, He can restore me, or you.
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Mission is Ongoing – We are still living in that commission, still called to make disciples, still leaning on His promise of presence.
Closing Thought
Matthew doesn’t end with silence at a tomb but with a command echoing across centuries. The risen Jesus says, Go. I am with you. That’s really the heartbeat of Christian living. Whether you’re sitting in a quiet church pew or walking through crowded streets, that presence is real. And maybe that’s the greatest comfort—He is not locked in history. He is here, with us, till the very end.
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