Bible Miracle · Matthew 28:1–10
The Resurrection of Jesus
The Miracle
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow; the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid. I know you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.' Then the angel sent them: 'Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.' Filled with fear and great joy, the women ran from the tomb to bring word. And suddenly Jesus himself met them. 'Greetings!' he said. They came, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him — touching the living, risen body of their Lord. 'Do not be afraid,' Jesus told them. 'Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.'
Context
Jesus had been crucified under Pilate, declared dead by Roman soldiers, and buried in a borrowed tomb sealed with a heavy stone. Fearing the disciples might steal the body, the chief priests had secured a Roman guard and an official seal — making any tampering a capital offense. The women came at first light not expecting a miracle but to mourn, bearing spices to honor a corpse, wondering aloud who would roll away the stone. In a culture where a woman's testimony was given little legal weight, the risen Christ entrusted the first announcement of the greatest news in history to women — a detail no inventor of a legend would have chosen, and a powerful mark of the account's truthfulness.
Significance
The Resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith; if Christ is not raised, the whole structure collapses and faith is in vain. But he is risen. This sign declares that death — humanity's last, undefeated enemy — has been conquered, and that the Father has publicly vindicated his Son, accepting his sacrifice in full. The empty tomb proves that the cross was not defeat but victory, that sin's penalty has been paid and accepted. It reveals a God whose power is not merely to heal the living but to raise the dead, to reverse the irreversible. The earthquake and the angel announce that a new creation has begun: the firstfruits of resurrection life have appeared, and the grave's dominion is broken forever.
Points to Christ
This miracle is not merely one sign among many; it is Christ himself, the central act of the gospel. By dying he bore the curse of sin; by rising he broke its power and opened the way to eternal life. The risen Jesus is the firstfruits of all who belong to him — because he lives, they too will live. His resurrection guarantees that every promise he made is true, that his blood has truly cleansed, and that his people are justified before God. Death could not hold the Author of life. The tomb stands empty as God's everlasting receipt: the debt is paid, the victory won. To follow the risen Christ is to share already in his deathless life and to await the day when our own graves will likewise be emptied.
Application
The angel's words to grieving women are spoken to you in every fear and sorrow: 'Do not be afraid... he has risen.' Because Christ is alive, no grave you face — your own mortality, the loss of those you love, the death of your hopes — has the final word. The same Lord who met the women on the road meets you, alive, inviting your worship and your trust. You do not serve a dead teacher but a living Savior who goes ahead of you. So bring your spices of mourning and find the tomb empty; let great joy outrun your fear. And like those first witnesses, do not keep this news to yourself — go quickly and tell others that he is risen.
Did You Know
All four Gospels name women — chiefly Mary Magdalene — as the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the risen Christ. In first-century Jewish and Roman courts a woman's testimony carried little or no legal weight, so a fabricated story would surely have named men. This 'embarrassing' detail is widely regarded by historians as strong evidence the accounts were not invented.