Commentaries:
<< Matthew 27:66 Matthew 28:2 >>
Matthew 28:1
By comparing these four accounts (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), it is evident that Mary Magdalene and the other women arrived at the tomb early in the morning on Sunday morning, while it was still dark. When they arrived, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back. None of these verses specify when Christ arose from the dead, but we do know that He left the tomb before the women arrived. It is plain that the women arrived early in the morning on the first day of the week, and first saw the resurrected Christ at that time. But these accounts do not say that was when Christ arose.
Matthew 28:1 and Mark 16:1-2 also reiterate that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week.
David C. Grabbe
Related Topics: After Three Days | Christ's Resurrection not On Sunday | Jesus Christ's Resurrection | Resurrection of Christ | Sabbath | Sabbath as Seventh Day | Sunday Worship
<< Matthew 27:66 Matthew 28:2 >>
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What Does Matthew 28:1 Mean?
Comparing the four gospel accounts, Mary Magdalene and the other women arrived at the tomb early Sunday morning, while still dark, finding the stone already rolled back and the tomb empty. None of these accounts state when Christ arose; His resurrection took place the previous afternoon at the end of the Sabbath, about twelve hours earlier. This verse establishes that the first day of the week follows the Sabbath, the seventh day. The Greek phrase translated "first day of the week" is mia sabbaton, where sabbaton is plural, literally meaning "the first of the weeks." This designates Wavesheaf Day, always the day after a weekly Sabbath, beginning the count to Pentecost—the day Christ appeared and was accepted by the Father as the first of the firstfruits.