I am sure you have noticed in your study of the New Testament that nearly all the resurrection appearances of Jesus end with his telling those to whom he appeared to announce the good news. It was the case with Mary Magdalene: “Go...to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17). It was the case with the women who were returning from the tomb. The angel had told them: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead’” (Matthew 28:6-7). When Jesus appeared to the women shortly after that, he said, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (v. 10).

 

Yesterday we addressed the importance of telling others the good news of the resurrection. Yet we must not be naive about the opposition. For the women who went to the tomb were not the only ones who knew about the resurrection, according to Matthew. The soldiers also knew about it. They were present when the angels rolled away the stone and were terrified by it. They went to the religious leaders to report what had happened. “Angels came! They opened the tomb! The body is not there!”