Matthew 28:2-4 meaning

There are no apparent parallel accounts for Matthew 28:2-4 in the gospels.

The event described in Matthew 28:2-4 is the opening of Jesus’s tomb.

After Matthew reported what Mary Magdalene and the other Mary did as soon as the sun set and the Sabbath had ended, He then describes three things which happened when Jesus rose from the dead:

And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it (v 2).

Matthew used the interjection: And behold to grab his readers’ attention to these incredible signs.

The three signs which occurred when Jesus rose from the dead were:

1. A severe earthquake
2. An angel of the Lord descended from heaven
3. This angel rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

None of the Gospels directly describe Jesus’s resurrection. Instead, they all describe the empty tomb. Only Matthew’s gospel describes the moment Jesus’s tomb opened. Mark, Luke, and John all begin their resurrection accounts by describing the moment when the women first saw that Jesus’s tomb was empty (Mark 16:2-4, Luke 24:1-3, John 20:1).

The Gospel of Matthew begins its account of the resurrection by listing three supernatural signs which accompanied the resurrection. These signs would carry particular value for Matthew’s intended Jewish audience as he demonstrated that Jesus was the promised Messiah—as Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For indeed the Jews ask for signs” (1 Corinthians 1:22a).

The first sign which accompanied Jesus’s resurrection was that a severe earthquake had occurred. Just as an earthquake accompanied the Son of God’s death when He yielded His spirit (Matthew 27:51), so another earthquake accompanied the Son of Man’s coming back to life.

The second sign Matthew reported was an angel of the Lord who descended from heaven. The conjunction for indicates that the reason there was a severe earthquake was because the angel of the Lord descended from heaven. This angel was a supernatural messenger of God and was a servant to the Lord. He was a powerful and intimidating figure (see verse 3) and he made a terrifying entrance (see verse 4) that shook the earth.

The third sign Matthew described was what this angel of the Lord did after he descended from heaven—the angel came and rolled away the large stone covering and sealing Jesus’s tomb and sat upon it. This was the moment Jesus’s tomb opened.

Mark described the stone which sealed Jesus’s grave as “extremely large” (Mark 16:4). Matthew mentioned that the Roman guards assigned to watch over Jesus’s tomb had “set a seal on the stone” (Matthew 27:66). This seal possibly entailed strong ropes or cords that tightly fastened the stone to the rock surface of Jesus’s carved tomb.

The fact the angel simply rolled away this massive stone that was tied down indicates that this angel had incredible strength and power from another dimension.

After rolling away the stone, the angel sat upon it. This suggests that the angel was now in charge of what had recently been Jesus’s tomb. His relaxed posture of sitting upon the stone shows that he was unconcerned with what anyone could do to him. This included the Roman guards. The angel was so powerful he took no thought of getting into a defensive posture in case the guards mustered up the courage to do their job of defending and resealing the tomb.

Matthew described what the angel looked like.

And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow (v 3).

Lightning and snow are earthly terms to describe this angel’s supernatural nature and appearance. The term lightning could convey a blinding brilliance. It also could describe how the angel of the Lord suddenly appeared like how a flash of lightning bursts in an instant.

Matthew’s description that the angel’s clothing was as white as snow is similar to other accounts of supernatural apparel—including Jesus’s garments when He was transfigured on the mountain (Matthew 17:2). The phrase white as snow also seems to convey an exceptional quality of purity and holiness (Psalm 51:7, Isaiah 1:18). It is possible that the reason the angel’s holiness was palpable and visible was because he had just been in the presence of the Lord in heaven before he descended from heaven and then rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

Moses’s face radiated when he came down from Mount Sinai after he was in the presence of the Lord (Exodus 34:29-30). The brilliance of this angel’s appearance may have been the result of a similar effect.

Matthew next tells us how the Roman legionnaires who were securing the gravesite reacted. After experiencing the earthquake, seeing the angel descend, and watching him open Jesus’s tomb, they were afraid:

The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men (v 4).

These guards would have likely consisted of both Roman legionnaires and Jewish Temple guards.

Roman legionnaires were professional and elite soldiers under the authority of Pilate, the Roman governor. These soldiers were ordered by Pilate to guard Jesus’s tomb (Matthew 27:65). Legionnaires were known for their fearlessness and dedication to duty in the face of danger.

Jewish temple guards were under the authority of the chief priests. Their normal jurisdiction was securing the temple complex. In this case, Pilate granted the chief priests special permission to post them at Jesus’s tomb (Matthew 27:65).

But when they saw the angel of the Lord descend from heaven and toss aside the massive grave-stone, they shook for fear of him and froze like dead men.

Their strength, not to mention their nerves, was no match for this angel and his incredible power. They were greatly afraid and physically shook at sight of him. The expression saying they froze like dead men could mean that they fainted and/or passed out in fear of the angel or it could mean that they locked up and were so scared that they were paralyzed. In any event, it seems they were afraid to move or do any action that might provoke the angel to attack them. They simply let the angel roll away the stone, then looked on, frozen in place.

The legionnaires assigned to guard Jesus’s tomb would probably have faced execution for failing their duty and allowing Jesus to escape the tomb. Normally that fear would overcome any reluctance to engage in combat. But the moment that the angel of the Lord appeared, they were appropriately more terrified of him than of facing death for dereliction of duty.

Of the four Gospels, only Matthew’s reveals the guards’ initial reactions. None of them provide details about precisely when or how they departed. But it is apparent that the guards ran away soon after the angel descended because they are not mentioned in any gospel when the women arrived at the tomb as the sun was coming up (Matthew 28:5-7, Mark 16:2-4, Luke 24:1-3, John 20:1).

Matthew later reveals that some of the guards went into Jerusalem to see the chief priests and tell them what had happened (Matthew 28:11). The guards likely went to the chief priests first because if they returned to their cohorts they would have been executed for leaving their post. The guards probably hoped that the chief priests would be able to find a way to save their lives and lessen their punishment.

Others among the guards may have run away. At least some of the guards were bribed to lie about the matter and claim that the body was stolen (Matthew 28:11-15). It is plausible that some of the guards eventually believed in Jesus and later reported what they saw to the disciples, which Matthew wrote down.

The next thing Matthew reveals is the angel’s message to the women who arrived at Jesus’s empty tomb after the angel had opened it (Matthew 28:5-7).