Easter Day 2026 Matthew 28.1-10
The Easter stories in the gospels all have the same basic shape. Early in the morning, women go to Jesus’ tomb. The stone is rolled away from the door of the tomb. They are told (by an angel or a young man, or two angels) that Jesus’ body is no longer in the tomb and that they must go and tell his disciples (the men!) that he has been raised from Death.
The gospels have the same shape but they also differ; which is a testament to their truth. They differ as to who first made that journey to the tomb. The women? Mary Magdalene and the other Mary? Just Mary Magdalene? They are unclear as to the purpose of the visit. We might imagine they were going to anoint Jesus’ body with spices and ointments following his hurried burial but, did you notice, these aren’t mentioned in this morning’s gospel reading? Matthew’s women are simply going to ‘see’ the tomb – possibly fulfilling a Jewish tradition of visiting the grave after 3 days.
The men, the apostles, play different roles. John’s gospel has Peter and John running to the tomb. In Luke we hear of two disciples meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Peter meets with Jesus by himself. By the evening of the first Easter the other disciples will have met with him in the Upper Room. Thomas will famously meet with Jesus the following week. Since Jewish tradition regarded the testimony of women as being worthless, Matthew, (the most Jewish of writers) could have mentioned the men’s role in his gospel (may indeed have wanted to) , but he didn’t. Perhaps he didn’t know the other accounts, but (and again a sign of his veracity) he didn’t feel able to embellish his own.
The gospels all have the same shape but they highlight different aspects of the story. Did you notice the word ‘see’ in the gospel? The women go to see the tomb. The angel invites them to ‘see the place where he lay’. A few verses later they ‘see Jesus’ and He confirms the angel’s message that they are to tell the disciples that He has been raised and that they will ‘see Him’ in Galilee. They saw Him. This is important, very important.
What do you make of that progression of seeing in Matthew’s account? It seems that the women gradually being are drawn into the mystery of what has happened. They go to see a tomb, a grave. They are invited to see inside the tomb cut in the rock. The explanation that ‘he has been raised from the dead’ makes an impossible sort of sense and full of fear and joy they obey the angel’s command and run to pass on the message to the disciples.
They act on the basis of the angel’s message even if the meaning of the message was beyond their imagining. And then they ‘see Jesus’. Perhaps that progression – from acknowledging the death a respected teacher, to the challenge of the empty tomb, on to the explanation (he has been raised), is the journey of faith for every Christian. Of course, our ‘seeing Jesus’ is clearly of a different order – a ‘perception’ or the beginning of an understanding rather than a physical sight, but we all tread this road. What do we make of the story? Why would the gospels ‘make it up? What do we do with the empty tomb? And the fact that so many (more than 500 according to one of the earliest Christian documents) saw Him?
They ‘saw Him’ – again, this is important. They didn’t leave the tomb thinking that resurrection was an interesting metaphor for the coming of spring each year. They didn’t bear witness to some ‘inner spiritual or religious understanding’ that left His body on a ledge in the tomb outside Jerusalem. The stone was rolled away to let us in to see the tomb empty not to let Him out. He had been raised before the angel descended from heaven and the women saw Jesus with their own eyes – alive, ‘raised’- and they (and we) wonder ‘how is He alive, in what way does He live?
Bishop Tom Wright describes this resurrection body as being ‘trans-physical’. Archbishop Rowan Williams uses the word ‘Super-natural’ in a true understanding of that word – more than natural (but not less!). For both, Jesus’ resurrection is first and foremost an event in history: an act of God , and God brings the resurrection of His body (not just the resuscitation of His body). God shows us what is possible in His new creation.
But then Matthew’s account pushes us on to a further realisation, which is this: ‘Jesus’ is in some way Israel’s God. Were we to hold our Easter Gospel alongside the rest of Matthew’s gospel we’d remember that Matthew is convinced that Jesus is God present amongst us: He is ‘Emmanuel’: God with us. He is the child whom the wise men worship. He is worshipped by the disciples he saves from the waves. Now the women fall at his feet and they worship him. Soon, in Galilee, the men will worship . Matthew is clear that with Jesus we are in the presence of God: yet another earth shattering claim from this Jewish, monotheistic writer for us to grapple with.
As we take in the story the whole mental furniture of our minds must shift. And, once our minds and hearts have grasped enough of the Easter mystery we then have to decide what we do with it? What difference does our reading the gospel this morning really make?
In the Holy Land our brothers and sisters in Christ have seen their homes destroyed alongside those of their neighbours in Gaza. Most Christians in Israel are Palestinian. Today they celebrate Easter. And it is Easter in Russia and Ukraine where the numbers of dead continue to rise and where any constraint on the conduct of war by Russia was ignored long ago. When did you last hear any news about the violence and famine in the Sudan? It is Easter there too. In the USA, prayer meetings are held in the White House even as bombs find their targets and are dropped on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran. All that we thought we held dear is being shaken and we do not know where the pieces will land. Loud, strident voices dominate the airwaves. Violence and the threat of violence holds sway internationally, on our streets and in many of our homes. What hope Easter?
The Easter bunny and a few mini eggs cannot help us. The blossom on the trees and the spring sunshine might raise a smile and bring some joy but they cannot save. As the world turns ever faster our only true hope is in the faithfulness of God – the God, who we see on Easter Day would not let Jesus go. The God who held Him through death and raised Him to life. The resurrection is the act of a God who loves His creation so fiercely that He will suffer its worst and transform its pain. Wicked men hold sway: yes. There is much pain in our world: yes. Power corrupts and its abuse destroys so many: yes. But Easter says God is faithful and God loves, and God breathes new life even when our lives are choked for breath.
There is a wonderful prayer in the Good Friday Liturgy that encapsulates this hope for us.
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light…
carry out the work of our salvation:
and let the whole world feel and see
that things which were cast down are being raised up
and things which had grown old are being made new
and that all things are returning to perfection
through him from whom they took their origin,
even Jesus Christ our Lord.
Easter is not wishful thinking: it is God reconciling the world to Himself. Christ’s resurrection is the sign and seal of God’s faithfulness. That faithfulness brings with it the gift of hope and (as we read in the gospel) there is a message for us to pass on to those who need to hear it, just as much as the women needed to pass on their message to the disciples.
‘Do not be afraid’ said Jesus ‘Go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me’.
The promise is that he will meet us in our homes. We will find Him in the places we know best. We will find Him in the everyday. In the ups and downs of our week. In the highs and lows of family life or our careers. He is present to those who look to see. And His presence in our lives cannot but change the world around us: creating small pools of light in a darkening world. Pools of love and kindness, of gentleness and faithfulness. Deep places where honesty and integrity matter. Where silence speaks of inner joy. He has gone ahead to transform us ‘at home’. May we find His presence with us this week for:
Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia.