Matthew 28 explained

The stone that had been sealed (27:66) was rolled away by an angel of the Lord, who sat on it (28:2), and he told the women, "He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said" (28:6). Jesus's last words in Matthew are "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (28:20).

"Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb." (28:1). "Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky and came and rolled away the stone from the door and sat on it." (28:2). Here is what almost everyone misses: this is the stone that had been sealed. At the end of the chapter before, "they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone" (27:66). Now the angel has rolled it away and sits on it. "His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men." (28:3-4). "The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said." (28:5-6) (tap afraid, risen). Matthew had told how Jesus began to show his disciples that he must suffer and be killed, "and the third day be raised up" (16:21), and Jesus said it again (17:23, 20:19). Favor's Matthew 16 draws the line from 16:21 to 28:6, and this chapter doesn't draw it again. The angel goes on: "Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you." (28:6-7) (tap goes before).

When the wise men saw the star, "they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy" (2:10). At the tomb the women "departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy" (28:8). In the WEB's Matthew, great joy is in these two verses only.

Matthew 2:10 · Matthew 28:8

Matthew 16:21→leads toMatthew 28:6

"From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up" (Matthew 16:21). At the tomb the angel answered the women, "Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said." (Matthew 28:5-6). Jesus says it again in Matthew 17:22-23 and 20:18-19.

ἐγείρωegeirosay eg-EE-ro

Strong's: "to waken (transitively or intransitively), i.e. rouse", and "from death" is among the senses it lists. The angel says, "He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said" (28:6), and sends the women to tell his disciples, "He has risen from the dead" (28:7). Favor's Matthew 16 studies the verb in "and the third day be raised up" (16:21) and counts it in Matthew. It is also the verb in the words the chief priests and the Pharisees said to Pilate: "After three days I will rise again" (27:63), and "He is risen from the dead" (27:64). In the Greek, He is risen from the dead in 27:64 and He has risen from the dead in 28:7 are the same words.

At the tomb the angel says, "Don’t be afraid" (28:5), and Jesus says it again (28:10). Where do you most need to hear those words this week?