When Jesus died upon the Cross...there was an earthquake! When Jesus rose from the dead...there was another earthquake!
In Matthew 28, it begins with the dawn of the first day of the week, that being Sunday morning. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary decided to go and see the tomb Jesus had been buried.
(By the way, Mary was called Magdalene because she was from a village along the Sea of Galilee called Magdalia...which is translated "tower" from Hebrew).
An angel of the Lord arrives, there is a severe earthquake, and the angel rolls back the approximately 2 ton stone in front of the tomb, then sits on the stone itself.
The Roman guards who had been assigned to keep watch at the tomb...freaked!...I mean like paralyzed...and appeared like they were "dead"...froze right where they stood.
The angel from heaven directs his attention to the girls as they come toward the tomb...in fact he had a message for them. He basically tells them Jesus wants to meet the disciples in Galilee.
Then, while the women were taking these instructions to the disciples, Jesus appears to them....and repeats the same instructions.
And while this was all going on, the Jewish leaders were arranging to pay off the Roman guards with a bribe that the disciples had stolen Jesus body from the tomb during the night while the guards slept.
Matthew goes into much more detail as to what went on compared to how Mark described the course of events.
According to Matthew's account, the angel...from heaven...is their to assist about Christ Jesus Resurrection..and to pass on the instructions.
Another earthquake happened.
The women were frightened...but the joy was building...fast!
Oh, Jesus refers to the disciples as: "His brothers." That was a first!
Gleanings from Matthew 28:1-15
"Now after the Sabbath, in fact it was the daybreak on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at the Tomb.
As they got near the tomb, there was another violent earthquake ( the first being when Christ Jesus died while still on the Cross), and an angel of the Lord had come to the tomb. The angel had come from heaven, and rolled back the 2 ton stone in front of the tomb, and then sat on it!
This angel in appearance alone was breathtaking! Looking at him was like viewing a lightning strike, and his clothes were like fresh fallen snow. The Roman guards who had received their orders to guard the Tomb, shook so bad from fright...they were not even able to move. It was like they froze and fainted all at the same time...while they were yet standing!
In the meantime, the angel of the Lord directed his attention to the girls, and he spoke and said to them: "There is no need to fear...don't be afraid...I am not here to scare you...whatsoever! Look, I know why you came here and who you are looking for...you are here to see Him! Well, He is not here! He was raised...from the dead...just like He told you He would do! Come, enter the Tomb and see for yourselves...see..His body...it is no longer here! He is gone!"
The angel of the Lord continued:" Now, I have a message for you...both of you need to go and tell His disciples...He is Risen!...He is Risen Indeed! You need to do this right away. Jesus has already gone ahead of you...He is going to Galilee. He wants all of you to meet Him there...and you will see Him for yourselves!"
So, the girls moved quickly. Were they frightened? Well ...yea! Wouldn't you? Yet, as they began to head toward Galilee...the joy of Him was overtaking their fears! They started to run...they couldn't wait to tell the disciples!
Suddenly, Jesus met them as they were running. They saw Him...and He said to them: "Good Morning!" Immediately the girls fell to their knees, embraced Him at His feet, and simply worshipped Him!
Jesus said to them:" You are holding on to me for dear life, don't be frightened! Go and tell my brothers to meet Me...in Galilee!"
Guess who woke up while all of this was going on....the Roman guards. They took off...right into Jerusalem and got ahold of the Jewish leaders...including the high priests. They told them what they had seen. So, the high priests called for a meeting with all their leaders...like right now! Without much delay, they devised a plan to counteract what the Roman guards had just seen and been through.
Here is the "Jewish Plan": they told the Roman soldiers to tell everyone the disciples of Jesus had come to the Tomb in the middle of the night...and stole the body of Jesus...and as far as you "guys" ( the Roman guards)...both of you were sleeping when then took the body. The leaders offered the Roman guards a bribe to say this is what happened.
The Roman guards were assured by the Jewish hierarchy they would speak to the governor of Judea in regards to the guards falling asleep. Everything would be Ok...because falling asleep while on duty could result in execution! But the Jewish leaders said it would be just fine.
So, with the bribe being too good to refuse, the guards agreed to tell what the Jewish leaders had totally fabricated. And as a result...this story the Roman guards were paid-off to tell...spread like wildfire!
In fact, some say this story is still heard...today."
In Matthew 28, it begins with the dawn of the first day of the week, that being Sunday morning. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary decided to go and see the tomb Jesus had been buried.
(By the way, Mary was called Magdalene because she was from a village along the Sea of Galilee called Magdalia...which is translated "tower" from Hebrew).
An angel of the Lord arrives, there is a severe earthquake, and the angel rolls back the approximately 2 ton stone in front of the tomb, then sits on the stone itself.
The Roman guards who had been assigned to keep watch at the tomb...freaked!...I mean like paralyzed...and appeared like they were "dead"...froze right where they stood.
The angel from heaven directs his attention to the girls as they come toward the tomb...in fact he had a message for them. He basically tells them Jesus wants to meet the disciples in Galilee.
Then, while the women were taking these instructions to the disciples, Jesus appears to them....and repeats the same instructions.
And while this was all going on, the Jewish leaders were arranging to pay off the Roman guards with a bribe that the disciples had stolen Jesus body from the tomb during the night while the guards slept.
Matthew goes into much more detail as to what went on compared to how Mark described the course of events.
According to Matthew's account, the angel...from heaven...is their to assist about Christ Jesus Resurrection..and to pass on the instructions.
Another earthquake happened.
The women were frightened...but the joy was building...fast!
Oh, Jesus refers to the disciples as: "His brothers." That was a first!
Gleanings from Matthew 28:1-15
"Now after the Sabbath, in fact it was the daybreak on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at the Tomb.
As they got near the tomb, there was another violent earthquake ( the first being when Christ Jesus died while still on the Cross), and an angel of the Lord had come to the tomb. The angel had come from heaven, and rolled back the 2 ton stone in front of the tomb, and then sat on it!
This angel in appearance alone was breathtaking! Looking at him was like viewing a lightning strike, and his clothes were like fresh fallen snow. The Roman guards who had received their orders to guard the Tomb, shook so bad from fright...they were not even able to move. It was like they froze and fainted all at the same time...while they were yet standing!
In the meantime, the angel of the Lord directed his attention to the girls, and he spoke and said to them: "There is no need to fear...don't be afraid...I am not here to scare you...whatsoever! Look, I know why you came here and who you are looking for...you are here to see Him! Well, He is not here! He was raised...from the dead...just like He told you He would do! Come, enter the Tomb and see for yourselves...see..His body...it is no longer here! He is gone!"
The angel of the Lord continued:" Now, I have a message for you...both of you need to go and tell His disciples...He is Risen!...He is Risen Indeed! You need to do this right away. Jesus has already gone ahead of you...He is going to Galilee. He wants all of you to meet Him there...and you will see Him for yourselves!"
So, the girls moved quickly. Were they frightened? Well ...yea! Wouldn't you? Yet, as they began to head toward Galilee...the joy of Him was overtaking their fears! They started to run...they couldn't wait to tell the disciples!
Suddenly, Jesus met them as they were running. They saw Him...and He said to them: "Good Morning!" Immediately the girls fell to their knees, embraced Him at His feet, and simply worshipped Him!
Jesus said to them:" You are holding on to me for dear life, don't be frightened! Go and tell my brothers to meet Me...in Galilee!"
Guess who woke up while all of this was going on....the Roman guards. They took off...right into Jerusalem and got ahold of the Jewish leaders...including the high priests. They told them what they had seen. So, the high priests called for a meeting with all their leaders...like right now! Without much delay, they devised a plan to counteract what the Roman guards had just seen and been through.
Here is the "Jewish Plan": they told the Roman soldiers to tell everyone the disciples of Jesus had come to the Tomb in the middle of the night...and stole the body of Jesus...and as far as you "guys" ( the Roman guards)...both of you were sleeping when then took the body. The leaders offered the Roman guards a bribe to say this is what happened.
The Roman guards were assured by the Jewish hierarchy they would speak to the governor of Judea in regards to the guards falling asleep. Everything would be Ok...because falling asleep while on duty could result in execution! But the Jewish leaders said it would be just fine.
So, with the bribe being too good to refuse, the guards agreed to tell what the Jewish leaders had totally fabricated. And as a result...this story the Roman guards were paid-off to tell...spread like wildfire!
In fact, some say this story is still heard...today."
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