¹ Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Mag'dalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre.
² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
³ His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.
⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
⁵ But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
⁶ He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you."
⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Hail!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

• The same two women witness Jesus' death (Mt 27:56), burial (Mt 27:61) and empty tomb. It was a Jewish custom to watch the tomb of a loved one for three days.
• There are a number of images of the "end-times": "Earthquake" (as in Mt 27:51-54); "the guards grew paralyzed [from the same word as earthquake] and fell down like dead men".
• The stone symbolizes death, and the angel rolling the stone away and sitting on it symbolizes the victory over death.
• The angels' garments are "dazzling as snow" echoing the transfiguration.
• In Mt 26:32 Jesus promised that "after I have been raised up I will go before you into Galilee."

Jesus is resurrected.

He is vindicated, with dignity and splendor. The resurrection itself is not described, and accessible only by faith. It points to the Kingdom of God, which is still not in its fullness on earth.

Reflections

1. There were different reactions to Jesus' resurrection: joy, fear, paralysis, running, or a combination. How do I react?
2. Image to myself Jesus appearing to me, saying "peace," and my doing Him homage.

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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community