Matthew Henry Commentary Matthew 28

Christ rose the third day after His death; that was the time He had often spoken of. On the first day of the first week, God commanded the light to shine out of darkness. On this day did He who is the Light of the world shine out of the darkness of the grave; and this day is henceforth often mentioned in the New Testament as the day which Christians religiously observed in solemn assemblies, to the honor of Christ. Our Lord Jesus could have rolled back the stone by His own power, but He chose to have it done by an angel.

The resurrection of Christ, as it is the joy of His friends, so it is the terror and confusion of His enemies. The angel encouraged the women against their fears. Let the sinners in Zion be afraid. Fear not ye, for His resurrection will be your consolation.

Our communion with Him must be spiritual, by faith in His word. When we are ready to make this world our home, and to say, "It is good to be here," then let us remember our Lord Jesus is not here, He is risen; therefore let our hearts rise, and seek the things that are above. He is risen, as He said.

Let us never think strange what the word of Christ has told us to expect, whether the sufferings of this present time, or the glory that is to be revealed. It may have a good effect on us, by faith, to view the place where the Lord lay. Go quickly.

It was good to be there, but the servants of God have other work appointed. Public usefulness must be chosen before the pleasure of secret communion with God. Tell the disciples, that they may be comforted under their present sorrows. Christ knows where His disciples dwell, and will visit them.

Even to those at a distance from the plenty of the means of grace, He will graciously manifest Himself. The fear and the joy together quickened their pace. The disciples of Christ should be forward to make known to each other their experiences of communion with their Lord; and should tell others what God has done for their souls.

God's gracious visits usually meet us in the way of duty; and to those who use what they have for others' benefit, more shall be given. This encounter with Christ was unexpected; but Christ was near them, and still is near us in the word.

The salutation expresses Christ's goodwill toward humanity, even since he entered upon his state of exaltation. It is Christ's will that his people should be a cheerful, joyful people, and his resurrection furnishes abundant reason for joy.

Be not afraid. Christ rose from the dead to silence his people's fears, and there is enough in that to silence them.

The disciples had just before shamefully deserted him in his sufferings; but to show that he could forgive, and to teach us to do so, he calls them brethren. Despite his majesty and purity, and our lowliness and unworthiness, he still condescends to call believers his brethren.

To what wickedness will men not be brought by the love of money! Large sums of money were given to the soldiers for promoting what they knew to be a lie, yet many begrudge a little money for promoting what they know to be the truth. Let us never starve a good cause when we see bad ones so liberally supported. The priests undertook to protect them from Pilate's sword, but they could not protect these soldiers from the sword of God's justice, which hangs over the heads of those who love and make a lie.

Those men who undertake to save a man from harm in doing a willful sin promise more than they can perform.

But this falsehood disproved itself. Had all the soldiers been asleep, they could not have known what happened. If any had been awake, they would have roused the others and prevented the removal; and certainly, if they had been asleep, they never would have dared to confess it, while the Jewish rulers would have been the first to call for their punishment.

Again, if there had been any truth in the report, the rulers would have prosecuted the apostles severely for it. All of this shows that the story was entirely false. And we must not attribute such things to the weakness of the understanding, but to the wickedness of the heart. God left them to expose their own ways.

The great argument proving Christ to be the Son of God is His resurrection; and no one could have had more convincing proofs of its truth than these soldiers, yet they took bribes to hinder others from believing. The clearest evidence will not affect people without the work of the Holy Spirit.

This evangelist passes over other appearances of Christ, recorded by Luke and John, and hastens to the most solemn one—an appearance appointed before his death and after his resurrection. All who see the Lord Jesus with an eye of faith will worship him. Yet the faith of the sincere may be very weak and wavering.

But Christ gave such convincing proofs of his resurrection that made their faith triumph over doubts. He now solemnly commissioned the apostles and his ministers to go forth among all nations.

The salvation they were to preach is a common salvation: whoever will, let him come and take the benefit; all are welcome to Christ Jesus. Christianity is the religion of a sinner who applies for salvation from deserved wrath and from sin. This sinner applies to the mercy of the Father, through the atonement of the incarnate Son and by the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, and gives himself up to be the worshipper and servant of God—as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three Persons but one God—in all his ordinances and commandments.

Baptism is an outward sign of that inward washing, or sanctification of the Spirit, which seals and evidences the believer's justification. Let us examine ourselves, whether we really possess the inward and spiritual grace of a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness, by which those who were the children of wrath become the children of God. Believers will have the constant presence of their Lord always—all days, every day.

There is no day, no hour of the day, in which our Lord Jesus is not present with his churches and with his ministers; if there were, in that day, that hour, they would be undone. The God of Israel, the Saviour, is sometimes a God that hides himself, but never a God at a distance. To these precious words Amen is added.

Even so, Lord Jesus, be with us and all your people; cause your face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.