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Matthew Chapter
Twenty-eight
I. Content of the Chapter
Resurrection of the Lord:
I. The testimony of resurrection:
A. The time and witnesses of resurrection
(v.1).
B. Angels spread glad tidings of
resurrection (v.1-7).
C. The appearance of resurrection (v.8-10).
D. The lie against resurrection (v.11-15).
II. Resurrection is in power:
A. They
gathered together on the
B. The
declaration of authority that the Lord had gained (v.18).
C. The
proclamation of the mission (v.19-20a).
D. The
promise of the Lord’s presence (v.20b).
II. Verse by Verse commentary
Matt. 28:1 “Now after the Sabbath, as
the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came
to see the tomb.”
YLT: “And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn,
toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary,
to see the sepulchre,”
Literal Meaning: “after the Sabbath”
It is “after” because the Sabbath ended at sunset of Saturday.
“The first day of the week” There are
seven days in the Jewish calendar and the seventh day is the Sabbath (See Gen.
2:2-3). Therefore the Sabbath is the last day of a weak and the day following
the Sabbath is the beginning of another weak, i.e. Sunday and “the Lord’s day”
of Christians today (See Rev. 1:10). The Jews called Sunday “the first day of
the week” and Christians called Sunday “the Lord’s day” which is for the
memorial of resurrection of the Lord Jesus (See Acts. 20:7; 1Cor. 16:2).
“The other Mary” Please see the literal
meaning of Matt. 26:61.
“Came to see the tomb.” Their aim was to
anoint the body of Jesus (See Mark. 16:1).
Spiritual Meaning: “the first day of
the week” symbolizes the beginning of a new dispensation. The Lord’s death and
burial ended the old creation and the Lord’s resurrection brought in the new
creation.
“Began to dawn” symbolizes that the life
of resurrection of the Lord breaks through the power of darkness and brings in
the dayspring to those sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (See Matt.
4:16; Luke. 1:78-79).
“Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” These two “Mary”s followed the Lord until
the cross (See Matt. 27:56-57). They were the last to leave the tomb (See Matt.
27:61) and the first to come to the tomb and therefore they could represent
those who are so attracted by the Lord’s love that they love and seek the
Lord.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Lord Jesus rose on “the first day of the
week”. It symbolizes that resurrection of Christ brings in a new starting; old
things are passed away, behold, all things are become new (2Cor. 5:17).
2) “Began to dawn” Whenever believers live in the
old creation, they live in the shadow of night; whenever believers live in the
new creation, they have spiritual daybreak.
3) The Lord Jesus raised the third day of His death
(See Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19). However, in the work of re-creation in the
beginning, God brought in life the third day (See Gen. 1:11-13). Therefore that
the Lord raised the third day symbolized the manifestation of the life of God.
4) The Lord said that, “I am the resurrection, and
the life” (John. 11:25). The resurrection not only shows that He is the
originator (See Acts. 3:15) but also shows that death is swallowed up of life
(2Cor. 4:10-11; 5:4).
Matt. 28:2 “And behold, there was a
great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and
rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.”
YLT: “and lo, there came a great earthquake, for a
messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll
away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,”
Literal Meaning: “there was a great
earthquake.” According to the records elsewhere of the Bible, v.2-4 in this
chapter must state things that happened before women came to the tomb (See
Mark. 16:2-6; Luke. 24:1-7; John. 20:1). Therefore when they came to the tomb,
they saw soldiers fall on the ground and become like dead men and shining
angels sit on the rock at the same time (See v.3-4).
“An angel of the Lord descended from
heaven” The angel announced glad tidings during the birth of the Lord (See
Luke. 2:10) and the angel approved the fact when the Lord arose. Both things
shook heaven and earth and therefore angels from heaven came to preach the news
and they were saw and heard by men on earth.
“Rolled back the stone from the door” The
aim to roll the stone is to let women enter in (See v.6) instead of to let the
Lord Jesus come out (because there is no need to do so for Him).
Spiritual Meaning: “there was a great
earthquake” symbolizes that the fact of resurrection shook the earthly power
and the old creation was removed, that those things which cannot be shaken may
remain (See Heb. 12:27).
“Rolled back the stone from the door” symbolizes
that the power of resurrection has removed all the obstacles and makes life be
manifested.
Matt. 28:3 “His countenance was like
lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.”
YLT: “and his countenance was as lightning, and his
clothing white as snow,”
Spiritual Meaning: “His countenance was
like lightning” symbolizes that it is full of the heavenly glory in the realm of
resurrection.
“His clothing as white as snow”
symbolizes that everything is holy and bright in the realm of resurrection.
Matt. 28:4 “And the guards shook for
fear of him, and became like dead men.”
YLT: “and from the fear of him did the keepers shake,
and they became as dead men.”
Spiritual Meaning: “the guards”
symbolize officers of dark Hades.
This verse symbolizes that when the
witness of resurrection (the angel) appeared, forces of darkness lost their
power.
Matt. 28:5 “But the angel answered
and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I
know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.”
YLT: “And the messenger answering said to the women,
`Fear not ye, for I have known that Jesus, who hath been crucified, ye seek;”
Spiritual Meaning: “women” symbolize
believers who are of the Lord and love the Lord.
This verse symbolizes that the message
of resurrection brought in rejoice (See v.9) and comfort to those who are of
the Lord.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “For I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified.” If any man loves God, the same is “known” of Him (1Cor. 8:3).
2) As long as there is first a willing mind, it is
accepted to Him (2Cor. 8:12).
Matt. 28:6 “He is not here; for He is
risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
YLT: “he is not here, for he rose, as he said; come, see
the place where the Lord was lying;”
Literal Meaning: “He is risen, as He
said.” When the Lord Jesus was alive, He told again and again to His disciples
that He would be killed and raised up (See Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19). The Lord’s
words never fail and things shall be even as it was said by the Lord. Moreover,
the Old Testament (i.e. God’s words) which are said concerning the Lord Jesus
that He must be risen from the dead must be fulfilled (See Luke. 24:44-46; Ps.
16:10; Acts. 13:34-35).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “He is not here.” Though He has been in the
tomb, the tomb is not His terminal; all the same, we all shall die, however,
death is not our terminal.
2) Death could not lock Him as the tomb cannot hold
Him (See Acts. 2:24). Believers also cannot remain in the places of death. Since
we have already had this life of resurrection, we should usually have the
experience that “death is swallowed up of life”.
3) If Christ is not risen, then our faith is vain
(1Cor. 15:14) because:
a) The
Lord Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection
form the dead (Rom. 1:4).
b) God
has proved that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God to us His children, in that He
has raised up Jesus (Acts. 13:33; Ps. 2:7).
c)
Jesus was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our
justification (Rom. 4:25).
d) If
Christ is not raised, we are yet in our sins (1Cor. 15:17).
e)
Christ was risen from the dead, and became the first-fruits of the them that
slept. Even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1Cor. 15:20-23).
f) If
believers won’t be risen, in this life we only have hope in Christ and we are
of all men most miserable (1Cor. 15:19).
Matt. 28:7 “And go quickly and tell
His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you
into
YLT: “and having gone quickly, say ye to his disciples,
that he rose from the dead; and lo, he doth go before you to
Literal Meaning: “He is going before
you into
“Behold, I have told you.” It shows that
the instruction is very serious and women should do the things that were
instructed to them well.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The witness of resurrection strengthens those
who are of the Lord and makes them be firm (See 1Cor. 15:58). It also leads men
to meet the Lord Himself. Therefore we should “go quickly and tell His
disciples that He is risen from the dead”.
2) The risen Christ is the common information of
the angel and human beings. Those who are in heaven and on earth should try their
best to declare Him.
3) The message of resurrection were unexpectedly
told to the strong apostles by weak women------in the church we should learn to
be humble and modestly receive spiritual provision from any brother or sister.
4) “He is going before you into
5) “Into Galilee” When the king of heaven was on
this world, He started to work in Galilee of the Gentiles (See Matt. 4:12-17)
instead of
Matt. 28:8 “So they went out quickly
from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.”
YLT: “And having gone forth quickly from the tomb, with
fear and great joy, they ran to tell to his disciples;”
Literal Meaning: “with fear and great
joy” They were with “fear” because the countenance of the angel is to be feared
(See v.3-4); they were with “great joy” because the message from the angels is
rejoicing that the Lord whom they loved was risen!
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) It is the greatest joy for believers to know and
experience resurrection of Christ.
2) We should learn from women’s attitude of “going
out quickly”; we should be anxious to share with other believers any knowledge
or experience of the risen Christ.
3) “Ran to bring His disciples word” The risen
Christ is the center of all information; how beautiful are the feet of them
that preach the gospel of grace, and bring glad tidings of good things (Rom.
10:15).
Matt. 28:9 “And as they went to tell
His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘Rejoice!’ So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.”
YLT: “and as they were going to tell to his disciples,
then lo, Jesus met them, saying, `Hail!’ and they having come near, laid hold
of his feet, and did bow to him.”
The Background:
“they came and held Him by the feet” “holding
someone by the feet” is a ceremony for women in the
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) As long as we love the Lord like Mary Magdalene, the Lord must appear to us; loving the
Lord is the prerequisite to meet the Lord.
2) The Lord’s appearing certainly will bring in us
peace and rejoice and therefore the best way for us to receive more peace and
rejoice is to love His appearing.
3) Only those who truly meet the Lord are able to
worship Him sincerely (“they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him”)
Matt. 28:10 “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to
YLT: “Then saith Jesus to them, `Fear ye not, go away,
tell to my brethren that they may go away to
Enlightenment in the Word: the Lord here repeated the words of the angel (See
v.5, 7), telling us that:
a) The testimony which is truly of the
Lord must be in complete accord with the Lord’s own words and the Lord is
willing to restate and confirm it.
b) The disciples had denied Him, forsook
Him and fled because of weakness (See Matt. 26:56, 69-75), however, He did not
forsake them because of this and contrarily He called them “brethren” (See John.
20:17; Heb. 2:11-12), showing His relation with them in the life of
resurrection.
c) Though it is the woman that brought
death into this world (See the third chapter of Genesis), women also brought
glad tidings of resurrection to the world.
d) The Lord had told His disciples that:
“after I am risen again, I will go before you into
Matt. 28:11 “Now while they were
going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief
priests all the things that had happened.”
YLT: “And while they are going on, lo, certain of the
watch having come to the city, told to the chief priests all the things that
happened,”
Literal Meaning: “reported to the
chief priests all things that had happened” It shows that these soldiers were
assigned temporarily from Pilate to the council to guard the tomb (See Matt.
26:65-66).
Matt. 28:12 “When they had assembled
with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the
soldiers,”
YLT: “and having been gathered together with the elders,
counsel also having taken, they gave much money to the soldiers,”
Literal Meaning: “they gave a large sum of money to the
soldiers.” The soldiers had not been punished for their dereliction of duty,
showing that the chief priests and the elders trusted that the report of
soldiers were true. Unfortunately, they did not fear because of this and on the
contrary they purposely covered the fact of Christ’s resurrection.
Matt. 28:13 “saying, ‘Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night
and stole Him away while we slept.'”
YLT: “saying, `Say ye, that his disciples having come by
night, stole him we being asleep;”
Literal Meaning: “tell them” shows
that the following lie was not made up by soldiers and soldiers were instigated
to tell the lie by the priests and others.
“At night…while we slept” It was the
very serious sin for guard to neglect the duty because of “sleep” and they even
may be put to death.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If the enemy could not use power to suppress the
witness of Christ’s resurrection, it will use paradoxical deception to confuse
and deceive all the people.
2) Night is the time for the forces of darkness to
act wantonly. They are not permitted to “sleep” and they won’t “sleep”. Believers
should awake out of sleep and live in the life of resurrection (See Rom.
13:11-12; Eph. 5:14) and then we are able to bear witness of the Lord’s
resurrection and defeat the lie of the enemy.
Matt. 28:14 “And if this comes to the
governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.’”
YLT: “and if this be heard by the governor, we will
persuade him, and you keep free from anxiety.’”
Literal Meaning: this verse shows
that the depraved religious believers and earthly politicians act in collusion
and they make use of each other.
Matt. 28:15 “So they took the money
and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the
Jews until this day.”
YLT: “And they, having received the money, did as they
were taught, and this account was spread abroad among Jews till this day.”
Literal Meaning: “until this day” “this
day” indicates the time the book of Matthew was written. The words show that
until several decades later, the Jews still used the saying that “the body was
stolen” to resist the message that “Jesus was risen”.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If men deal with the Lord’s resurrection with
lie, they will also deal with the Lord’s church and believers with lie (See Acts.
24:5-9; 25:7).
2) The whole world is false and it is against the
truth: religious believers (the high priests and the elders) made up the lie,
evil villains (soldiers) spread the lie, politicians (the governor) connived at
the lie and the world (the Jews) received and spread the lie.
3) If the enemy cannot hold back the Lord from
being risen, it would use lies to confuse and deceive men. From generation to
generation, if Satan could not hold back men from hearing and believing in glad
tidings with unyielding means, it would use cunning means to make men have
false understanding towards glad tidings.
4) Mammon is opposed to God (See Matt. 6:24) and it
could make Judas betray the Lord (See Matt. 26:14-16) and guard oppose the
witness of the Lord. Believers should be completely divorced from the power of
mammon and then we are able to bear witness of the Lord’s resurrection.
Matt. 28:16 “Then the eleven disciples
went away into
YLT: “And the eleven disciples went to
Literal Meaning: “the eleven
disciples went away into
“To the mountain which Jesus had
appointed for them” In the book of Matthew, on the “mountain” the Lord
proclaimed the law of the kingdom of heaven, showed the glory of the kingdom in
advance, foretold the reality of the kingdom (See Matt. 5:1, 17:1, 24:3). Today,
He also declared “the great mission” towards citizens of the kingdom of heaven
after He was risen on the “mountain”.
Spiritual Meaning: “eleven disciples”
represent all Christians; “mountain” symbolizes the excellent and heavenly
realm.
Enlightenment in the Word: If we want to see and experience the risen Christ
personally, we have to believe in His words and pay price and make great effort
to reach higher and heavenly realm (“the mountain”).
Matt. 28:17 “When they saw Him, they
worshiped Him; but some doubted.”
YLT: “and having seen him, they bowed to him, but some
did waver.”
Meaning of Words: “doubted”:
duplicate, waver, question.
Literal Meaning: though they saw
Jesus with eyes, some still doubted, showing that the body of Jesus after
resurrection is different from the flesh when He was alive. When Mary Magdalene saw Jesus face to face, she did not know
that He is Jesus (See John. 20:14).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Wherefore henceforth we should not know men
after the flesh (See 2Cor. 5:16) and we should never know Christ who has been
risen from the dead according to the flesh.
2) We should pray to the Lord for the spiritual
eyes------faith (See John. 20:29; 2Cor. 5:7; 1Pet. 1:8), that we may have the
full knowledge of Him (See Eph. 1:17-18).
Matt. 28:18 “And Jesus came and spoke
to them, saying, ‘All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
YLT: “And having come near, Jesus spake to them, saying,
`Given to me was all authority in heaven and on earth;”
Literal Meaning: the Lord Jesus, as “the
Son of God”, already has the authority over all (See Heb. 1:3), however, as “the
Son of Man”, He received “the authority in heaven and on earth” after He was
risen from the dead.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Authority that men have today is temporary and
limited and only the authority that is received in resurrection lasts forever
and it is unlimited. Moreover, the authority in resurrection overcomes all
authorities (See Num. 17:1-11; the rods of leaders of twelve tribes of
2) Authority is in the Lord; whenever men depart
from the Lord, they lose the authority.
3) If believers are dead with Him, they will not
only live with Him but also reign together in the life of resurrection (See
2Tim. 2:11-12)
4) Christ not only receives the authority “in
heaven”, but also receives the authority “on earth and under the earth”. Therefore
none of difficulties is too difficult for Him to solve.
Matt. 28:19 “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
YLT: “having gone, then, disciple all the nations,
(baptizing them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit,”
Literal Meaning: “therefore” shows that
the following instruction of the Lord Jesus is according to the authority that
He had received in v.18.
“Make disciples of all the nations” “Make
disciples” means that not only to make men receive glad tidings and believe in
Christ but also to train and teach them, that their reality (including life and
knowledge) will be worthy of their identity.
“Baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” “The Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit” are three persons, however, there is only one name. This sentence
includes the truth of Trinity.
“Baptizing them” It is to immerse them
in water in the original.
Spiritual Meaning: “baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” The meaning of the baptism
of Christians is different from “the baptism of John”. The baptism of John only
leads men to repent (See Acts. 19:3-4), however, the baptism of Christians not
only symbolizes that the original life of corruption of men is buried in water,
but also positively means to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Name represents one’s reality and the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit represents the reality of the Holy
Trinity. Therefore “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit” means to bring men into the mysteriously spiritual union of the Holy
Trinity------buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him
(Col. 2:12) and you receive Christ’s life of resurrection. This life is the
reality of the Holy Trinity and therefore believers have the mysterious union
with the Holy Trinity in the life of resurrection.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Go therefore.” The Lord instructed His
disciples to “go” by the authority that He had received (See v.18), this shows
that anyone who is instructed to go is also with His authority.
2) When preaching, we should not only lead others
believe in the Lord, but also take care and feed them after they have believed
in the Lord, that they will become the Lord’s “disciples”.
3) Baptism should not be formalized and we should
bring men to Christ and make them have relationship of life with the Holy
Spirit.
Matt. 28:20 “teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age.’ Amen.”
YLT: “teaching them to observe all, whatever I did
command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days till the full end of the
age.’”
Literal Meaning: “all things that I
have commanded you” indicate all words that the Lord had taught the disciples,
especially the mission that had been instructed to them at that moment. Concerning
believers of later ages, it indicates all the words of the Holy Bible.
“Teaching them to observe all things” “All”
shows that our teachings should not be unilateral or extreme and should be
comprehensive and balanced; “observe” shows that what’s essential is not the
objective knowledge of truth but the subjective fulfillment of experience (See
Matt. 7:24-25).
“And lo, I am with you always.” “And” is
the promise with requirement, showing that the prerequisite for us to have the
Lord’s presence depends on whether we observe the previous three missions: a)
make disciples of all the nations; b) baptize them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; c) teach men to observe the words of the
words.
This sentence also implies that the Lord’s
presence is the important fact to fulfill the mission that has been instructed
to us by the Lord.
“Even to the end of the age” “the end”
in the original means “the completion” “the completion of the age”, i.e. even
to the time when the Lord comes. From this we could know that the Lord’s final
instruction to His disciples is also the final one to all believers.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The church should not only stress on the
preaching of glad tidings and the church should teach believers to observe the
Lord’s instruction.
2) The beginning of the church depends on that they
continued stedfastly in the Apostles’ teaching (Acts. 2:42); the continuation
and end of the church depends on teaching and admonishing one another (Col.
3:16).
3) The Lord is Emmanuel------God with us (See Matt.
1:23). While He was on earth, He was with His disciples in the flesh and today
He is with believers in the Holy Spirit.
4) The Lord instructed us the mission with the “authority
in heaven and on earth”; the Lord is also with us with the “authority in heaven
and on earth”. Only when the Lord is with us will we be able to receive
heavenly authority and only when the Lord is with us can we fulfill the mission
that He had instructed to us.
III. Outlines of the Spiritual
Lessons
The Nature and Power
of Resurrection
II. “Began to dawn” (v.1)------heavenly
light was brought in.
III. “There was a great earthquake”
(v.2)------the earthly power was shaken.
IV. “An angel of the Lord descended from
heaven” (v.2)------heavenly help was brought in.
V. “Rolled back the stone” (v.2)------the
things that would block the manifestation of life were removed.
VI. “The guards shook for fear of him”
(v.4)------He defeated the forces of darkness.
VII. “The angel said to the women, ‘do not
be afraid’” (v.4)------heavenly comfort was brought in.
VIII. “He is not here” (v.6)------He is the
one who cannot be held by death.
IX. “With great joy” (v.8)------ heavenly
joy was brought in.
X. “Behold, Jesus met them” (v.9)------they
received the Lord’s appearing.
XI. “Rejoicing” (v.9)------they received
Christ’s peace.
XII. “They came and held Him by the feet and
worshiped Him” (v.9)------the true worship was brought in.
The Authenticity of
Resurrection
II. Resurrection was seen by those who loved
the Lord (v.8-10).
III. Resurrection was reported by enemies
(v.11).
IV. Resurrection was experienced and
confirmed by believers (v.16-17).
The Foundation, Duty
and Promise of the Great
I. The foundation of the great mission------“the
authority in heaven and on earth” (v.18).
II. Three duties of the great mission:
A. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (v.19a)------go
to be witnesses of the Lord all over the world (See Acts. 1:8) and make men
believe on Jesus Christ.
B. “Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit” (v.19b)------make men have union of life with the Holy Trinity through
death and resurrection with the Lord (See
C. “Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”
(v.20)------make men receive edification in the words of the Lord and grow up
to be sons and daughters who are acceptable to God.
III. The promise of the great mission------“and
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (v.20b).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren