Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 28:1

"Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." — Matthew 28:1 (ASV)

It will probably help the student to consider, in their correct order, the recorded appearances of our Lord Jesus after His resurrection:

1. To Mary Magdalene, John 20:14; Mark 16:9.
2. To Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, Matthew 28:9.
3. To Peter, Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5.
4. To Cleopas and another disciple at Emmaus, Luke 24:13–35.
5. To the eleven—or more strictly, the ten—Apostles at Jerusalem, Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36; John 20:19.
6. To the eleven Apostles at Jerusalem, John 20:26.
7. To the disciples—five named, and others—by the Sea of Galilee, John 21:1–24.
8. To the Eleven on a mountain in Galilee, Matthew 28:16; Mark 16:15.
9. To the five hundred brethren, possibly identical with (8), 1 Corinthians 15:6.
10. To James, the brother of the Lord, 1 Corinthians 15:7.
11. To the Eleven at Jerusalem before the Ascension, Mark 16:19–20; Luke 24:50; Acts 1:3–12.

In the end of the sabbath — Literally, late on the Sabbath. Mark says, when the Sabbath was over; Luke says, very early in the morning. Matthew’s addition, as it began to dawn, brings his narrative into harmony with Luke’s.

The order of facts appears to have been as follows:

1. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of James the Little, watched the burial just before the Sabbath began on the evening of the day of the crucifixion.
2. They stayed at home during the twenty-four hours of the Sabbath.
3. On the evening of that day (the Sabbath rest being over), they bought spices for the embalming.
4. At the earliest dawn, around 4 a.m., they set out for the sepulchre and reached it when the sun had risen (Mark 16:2).