Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

How scary does something have to be for multiple armed guards to fall down and play dead at the sight of it?

Apparently, that is what an angel of the Lord looked like in the first few verses of our reading today. He showed up at the tomb of Jesus, and there were two sets of people there. There were the guards who were so struck with fear that they played dead, and then there were Mary and Mary Magdalene. To reaffirm the fear-striking appearance that the angel had, he began talking with Mary and Mary Magdalene by saying, “do not be afraid.” I can’t even begin to imagine the grandeur appearance of the angel to elicit such reactions.

Putting myself in either of their shoes, this is a life-altering moment, and one of the greatest moments in our faith where we first see that Jesus defeated death. I would likely be so overcome with confusion and emotions, I would need to talk to anyone who would listen to process what I had just witnessed. Putting myself in the guards’ shoes, a man who I had just watched die a few days ago is now gone from the grave that I had been standing in front of, and an angel appears out of nowhere – so frightening that I am now playing dead at the sight of it. It’s something I’ve pondered quite a bit reading this chapter.

But, I found it so interesting that there were two very distinct reactions in the time following this encounter. See, Mary and Mary Magdalene ran to tell the other disciples, and on the way, found Jesus and fell at His feet in worship. The guards, on the other hand, also ran to tell someone about this encounter. They ran to tell the chief priest, and the priest bribed them to lie about their encounter, which they obliged. Wait, what? They were bribed from telling about their encounter which was so mighty, they played dead in the midst of it.

See, many times throughout our life, we encounter God. We see His magnificence in a situation or in His Creation surrounding us. We hear His words as we read scripture and pray to Him. We see prayers answered, and even prayers answered differently than we wanted, but they’re still answered and we get to see God’s goodness and might in those situations. We experience God, and just like the guards and Mary and Mary Magdalene, we are faced with decisions because of those experiences. We can allow money and otherworldly things to cloud our judgment and belittle the experiences we had, or we can fall at Jesus’s feet, worshiping Him and telling everyone of all He’s done and all that we have experienced.

Reflections:

• How have you experienced God recently?
• Have you fallen at Jesus’s feet worshiping Him for that experience?
• Have you told anyone about it? There’s power in the story.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Family Application: Matthew 28

Author: Anna Overstreet

I don’t know about you, but there is nothing I love more than hearing some good news! It excites me to no end to have someone I love send me a message asking if I want to hear some “good news.” In fact, some of the best memories from my life involved elaborate presentations of good news! Sharing good news is fun and such a special way to bond with those we love.

Matthew 28 FINALLY leads us into some scriptures that are full of joy and good news! Jesus did what He always does and showed up just in time with the good news that He did indeed rise from the grave, no longer suffering or in pain! I can just imagine the joy everyone felt with the news of His resurrection. This was the ultimate “Good News” to Jesus’s weary and hopeless family and friends. Use Bible Study Tip #3 and have fun studying today’s passage!

Bible Study Tip #3

• Play “telephone” by repeating one line of scripture from Matthew 28 that contains the “Good News” of Jesus being alive. Have the first person whisper the scripture into the next player’s ear until the “good news” has traveled to the last person. See if the scripture stays the same and have a good laugh if it changes along the way.
• Talk about what it means to you knowing death was not the end for Jesus and it’s not the end for you if you just believe!
• Prayer: Jesus, thank You for rising from the grave and carrying this good news to Your loved ones. I like reading about their reactions and joy once they realize You are alive. Help me to keep that same excitement about You today and be eager to share this “Good News” with others. Amen.