Matthew 28

After the Sabbath day was over, as the first day of the week was beginning to get light, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

NoteThe Jewish sabbath ran from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, so "the first day of the week" is what we call Sunday. The Greek phrase behind "In the end of the sabbath" is genuinely ambiguous: it can mean "late on the sabbath" or "after the sabbath," and the second half of the verse, about the dawn, is what fixes the time to early Sunday morning. The "sepulchre" is a burial chamber cut into rock, not a dug grave; Matthew has just described Joseph of Arimathea laying the body in his own new tomb and closing it with a stone.

2Suddenly there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, rolled the stone away from the entrance, and sat on it.

2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

NoteTombs of this kind were closed with a large stone slab or disc set against the entrance, heavy enough that the women had been wondering who would move it. "Behold" is the King James rendering of a Greek attention word, closer to "look" or "suddenly" than to any instruction to the reader.

3His face was as bright as lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.

3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear of him, and they became like dead men.

4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

Note"The keepers" are the guard detail Pilate had allowed the chief priests to post at the tomb, described a few verses earlier. They are soldiers on watch, not tomb attendants.

5The angel spoke to the women and said, "Don't be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was put to death on a cross.

5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Note"The angel answered" translates a Greek idiom in which "answered" can mean simply "responded" or "spoke up." No question has been asked. In "Fear not ye" the King James keeps an emphatic pronoun that is in the Greek: you, as distinct from the guards lying there like dead men.

6He is not here. He has risen from the dead, just as he said he would. Come and see the place where he was lying.

6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Note"He is risen" translates a Greek verb form that can be read either as "he has risen" or as "he was raised," and translators have gone both ways.

7Now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. Listen: he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there. Remember, I have told you."

7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

NoteGalilee is the northern region where Jesus had grown up and done most of his teaching, roughly seventy miles north of Jerusalem, several days' walk. "Goeth before you" means going on ahead, the way a shepherd or a guide goes first.

8So they hurried away from the tomb, afraid and yet full of great joy, and they ran to bring the news to his disciples.

8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9As they were on their way to tell the disciples, Jesus himself met them and said, "Greetings." They came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Note"All hail" was the ordinary Greek hello, a word meaning something like "rejoice," used the way we use "good morning." It is not a solemn formula. Taking hold of someone's feet was a recognized gesture of homage or urgent appeal. The verb behind "worshipped" means to bow low or prostrate oneself, and in Greek of this period it covers everything from deep respect shown to a superior to the worship given a god; the gesture itself does not settle which is meant.

10Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there."

10Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Note"Brethren" is simply the older plural of "brother." Here it refers to the disciples rather than to members of Jesus's family.

11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.

11Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

Note"The watch" is the guard detail again. The "chief priests" were the senior priestly officials in Jerusalem, the men who ran the temple and who, with the elders, formed the leadership that had brought Jesus before Pilate.

12The chief priests met with the older leaders and worked out a plan. They gave the soldiers a large amount of money

12And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

NoteThe "elders" were the lay heads of leading families who sat with the chief priests on the ruling council. "Large money" in 1611 English means a large amount of money, not oversized coins.

13and told them, "Say this: 'His disciples came during the night and stole his body while we were asleep.'

13Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

NoteA sleeping sentry was a serious military offense under Roman discipline, which is why the soldiers need the promise in the next verse before they will repeat this story.

14And if the governor hears about this, we will talk him around and keep you out of trouble."

14And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

Note"The governor" is Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect who had ordered the crucifixion and had authorized the guard. "We will persuade him" translates a phrase that can mean talk him round or satisfy him, and satisfying an official could include paying him off. "Secure you" means keep you safe from punishment, not lock you up; the word has shifted sense since 1611.

15So the soldiers took the money and did what they were told. And this story has been passed around among the Jews to this very day.

15So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Note"Until this day" means up to the time Matthew was writing, decades after the events. The Greek word translated "the Jews" is the same one used elsewhere for Judeans, the people of the region; Matthew is reporting a rival explanation still in circulation among his neighbors.

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

Note"The eleven" is the group of twelve disciples minus Judas, who is gone by this point in the story. "Where Jesus had appointed them" means the place he had arranged with them beforehand, not that he had appointed the men.

17When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

NoteThe Greek here is ambiguous in a way English struggles to keep. It can mean that some of the eleven doubted while others did not, or that they worshiped and yet wavered. The verb itself means to hesitate or be in two minds rather than to disbelieve outright.

18Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Note"Power" here translates a Greek word meaning authority, the right to act and to command, rather than raw strength or force.

19So go and make disciples of people in every nation. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Note"Teach all nations" renders a single Greek verb meaning to make disciples, that is, to make learners or followers; the teaching proper is named separately in the next verse. "Nations" translates a word for peoples or ethnic groups, often used for non-Jews. To baptize is to dip or wash in water; ritual washings were already familiar in Jewish practice, and John had used immersion in the Jordan. "In the name of" translates a phrase that is literally "into the name," wording used in the period for handing something over into someone's ownership or allegiance. "Holy Ghost" is the older English for Holy Spirit; "ghost" once meant spirit in general, with no suggestion of a haunting.

20Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, right up to the end of the age. Amen."

20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Note"Alway" is the older form of "always," not a shortening of "all the way." "The end of the world" translates a phrase meaning the completion of the age, that is, the close of the present era rather than the destruction of the planet; the Greek word is about time, not about the earth. "Amen" is a Hebrew word carried over untranslated, meaning roughly "so be it" or "this is sure." It is missing from the earliest manuscripts here and is generally thought to have been added by scribes copying the book for reading aloud.