TRANSLATION MATTHEW 28:1

Now after the Day of Rest, in the dawning of the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And -see this- there was a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord God descended from heaven, drew near, rolled back the stone and sat upon it. His form was like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear and became like dead men.

Then the messenger spoke to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was killed on the stake. He is not here, he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay!

“Now go quickly and tell his pupils that ‘he has been raised from the dead, and -see this- he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there’. -See this- I have told you!”

So they went away from the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to give his pupils this news. But -see this- Jesus met up with them, saying,”Be glad!” They drew near and took hold of his feet, kneeling before him.

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

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This passage must do what its author wants, namely convince readers that Jesus is alive.

Let’s look at its setting. we already accept the tomb as sad reality. So we start this story in the public domain. But almost immediately a magical person, messenger of God enters the sad reality and changes it. Matthew knows how to do these messengers; they look like lightning and are clothed in white of purity and victory. They are points of contact between God’s realm and humanity.

So are we still in the real world? No, we are in a realm of contact between heaven and earth, which is also the Galilee of Jesus’ ministry, where magic is possible.

The messenger has a twofold message for Jesus’ pupils:

1. He has been raised, as he said

2. He is going on to Galilee where he will meet them

We are back then in the realm of humanity, in which, true to their vision, the women run to “tell the good news” to the pupils. But in their obedience they enter again the place of contact where, this time, Jesus himself meets them. The verb in Greek for “meets” is one which signals an unexpected rendezvous. And does he say, “Greetings!” or, taking the greek literally, “Be glad.”? He is not described, but he has feet which can be held. And yes, he speaks, repeating more or less the message of the messenger, but using a new word for his pupils, “my brothers.” This communicates both forgiveness and something stranger; a sense of equality. Galilee, the place of Jesus’ original ministry, is emphasised as the place where his resurrection will become real to his pupils.

One part of this story was open to refutation: the emptiness of Jesus’ tomb, which only required the authorities to exhibit his corpse, but there is no record of them doing so. The rest is the experience of believers which is not subject to refutation. Matthew follows Mark’s brief version, but adds greatly to it. The messenger rolling away the symbol of Jesus’ death and perching on it has an attractive magic. The words of the messenger are likewise unchallengeable, as is the meeting with Jesus. But unchallengeable also means unprovable, as the content of it has no obvious connection with the world of Caiaphas and Pilate; an unlikely wonder, but no more so than the rest of Jesus’ magical life which Matthew has narrated. Can we believe that he conquered the routines of power, hate, greed violence. and even death, as Matthew wants us to do? Or will we say that the magic is not real? These questions are certainly raised, but Matthew still has to finish his story.