Good News of the Resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28:1-20)

[Stephan Choe]

April 3, 2026

Key Verses

5-6:      “But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’”

18-20: Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Quelle: https://zeltmacher.eu/die-auferstehung/

Most television news reports are not cheerful. Instead, we often hear about terror, war, and oppression. Faced with such news, we feel insecure and pessimistic.

But we have good reason to expect a bright future, because we will be resurrected and live eternally in glory.

How do we know this? We know this through the resurrection of Christ, for he is the firstfruits of the resurrection, and we will follow him, for the Apostle Paul said, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Therefore, let us now consider the account of Christ's resurrection so that we may perceive his resurrection, have a living hope of resurrection, and live joyfully and hopefully.

Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross on Friday morning around 9:00 a.m. (Mark 15:25) and died around 3:00 p.m. He was buried that afternoon. Some Roman soldiers stood guard before his tomb to prevent anyone from stealing his body and spreading false rumors of his resurrection.

On Saturday, the Sabbath, no one dared to approach his tomb, for walking more than ten paces was considered a violation of Jewish law.

The Sabbath was over, and on Sunday the sun began to rise slowly. Mary Magdalene, who had been freed from seven demons by Jesus, and another Mary, that is, the mother of James and Joseph (see Luke 23:56 and 24:1), went to Jesus' tomb. According to the Gospel of Mark, Salome, the mother of James and John, was also present (Mark 16:1). They wanted to anoint Jesus' body with oil so that his body would be preserved for a long time, and so would their memory of him.

In all the Gospel accounts, Mary Magdalene is listed first among the women considered the first eyewitnesses of the risen Christ (Mt. 28:1; Mk. 16:1; Lk. 24:10; Jn. 20:1, 11). This is not at all surprising.

We recall the story of the man from Gerasa, who was tormented by evil spirits and had to torture himself. Mary suffered greatly from these evil spirits, but Jesus freed her from them. She was very happy and grateful. Out of gratitude, she followed Jesus and, together with other women, prepared meals for Jesus and his disciples.

But to her horror, Jesus was crucified, died a painful death, and was buried. What could she do for him now? Only anoint his body with oil so that it would remain as he had been when alive for as long as possible.

Early on Easter Sunday morning, when she arrived at his tomb with other women, she experienced something unexpected: a great earthquake occurred, an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was snow-white. The guards were terrified and seemed as if dead.

And the angel spoke to Mary and the other women: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And behold, he is going ahead of you into Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you” (verses 5-7).

The guards went to the chief priests and reported what had happened. The chief priests consulted with the elders, and they gave the soldiers a large sum of money and instructed them to say that Jesus' disciples came during the night while the guards slept and stole his body (verses 11-13). The soldiers were thus to cover up the truth. The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed (verse 15).

But there is a Latin quote, "Magna est veritas et praeval‎ebit," which in English: "Great is the truth; it will prevail." The gospel of Christ's resurrection is the truth. It prevails.

But how did Jesus' disciples react?

They went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had commanded them. When they saw him, they fell down before him, even though some of the disciples doubted his resurrection.

They are like us, who from time to time doubt Jesus' resurrection.

Jesus approached these disciples and said to them,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (verses 18-20).

We can summarize the content of this chapter in two key statements: the resurrection of Christ and his Great Commission.

The first key statement is that the resurrection of Christ is the best news for us.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, that is, the mother of James and Joseph, were completely surprised and astonished by his resurrection. They could not believe in his resurrection. But the empty tomb and their encounter with the risen Jesus compelled them to believe, for the angel said to them, “He is not here; he has risen!”

The resurrection of Jesus is the most incredible of all Jesus’ miracles. Many people have difficulty believing in the resurrection. They think that the resurrection is far too good for them to believe. They are uncertain about whether or not they should believe in the resurrection.

But our entire faith depends on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is a true event. His resurrection proves that Jesus truly is the Son of God. His resurrection is also logical because the almighty, loving God could not leave his beloved Son under the power of death forever. Indeed, God redeemed Jesus from the power of death and raised him from the dead.

The Apostle Paul calls Jesus the first fruit of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20). For through his resurrection, Jesus has opened wide the door of the Kingdom of Heaven for us. If only Jesus had risen and we had not, his resurrection would be only half the good news for us. Some might then say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (1 Corinthians 15:32).

Revelation Genesis 21:2-4 describes the bliss of the resurrected: “I saw the city of God, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, adorned like a bride on her wedding day. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Here God will be with them and dwell with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be their Lord and their Lord. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more. There will be no more mourning or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”

The resurrection world is far beyond our comprehension. No one can truly describe the bliss of the resurrection world in human language. Nevertheless, I will present to you the world of the resurrected according to Sundar Singh. Sundar Singh was an Indian Christian. The song he wrote is well-known:

I have dicided to follow Jesus (3x)

No turning back, no turing back.

“(An angel told Sundar Singh about the experience of a Christian who died, rose again, and entered the Kingdom of Heaven.) The Christian saw that Heaven had opened before him and a host of angels and saints came to meet him; and at the door, the Savior waited with outstretched hands to receive him. When the Christian saw all this, he exclaimed with such joy: ‘What a joyous hour this is for me!’ All those standing at his deathbed were startled.

…

Then the Christian set out with the angels toward Heaven. They had only gone a short distance when another host of angels met them and called out, ‘Welcome!’ Many friends and relatives who had died before him also approached him; and when he saw them, his joy increased even more. When he and the host of angels reached the gates of Heaven, the angels and saints stood silently on either side. He entered, and at the entrance, Christ came to meet him.” Immediately he fell at His feet and wanted to worship Him, but the Lord lifted him up, embraced him, and said: “O pious and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.” At this, the Christian’s joy became indescribable. Tears of joy streamed from his eyes; the Lord lovingly wiped them away and said to the angels: ‘Lead him to that most glorious dwelling place, which has been prepared for him from the beginning.’

…

When the Christian finally turned his face toward his dwelling place, he was astonished: for wherever he looked, he could see the Lord. For Christ is present everywhere, and the saints and angels see Him everywhere.

The Christian was delighted that on every side, besides the Lord, he also saw His surroundings, which filled him with joy: those who are lowest in rank meet those who are higher without envy; And those who hold higher positions find great joy in serving their brothers on the lower rungs; for this is God's kingdom of love.

In every part of heaven, there are magnificent gardens; these gardens constantly produce every kind of lovely and very sweet fruit, as well as all kinds of sweetly scented flowers that never fade. There, creatures of every kind continually praise God.

Birds of wondrous colors sing their sweet songs of praise. And whoever listens to the sweet song of the angels and saints is overcome by a marvelous feeling of bliss. Wherever one looks, one sees nothing but images of boundless joy. This is the paradise that God has prepared for those who love Him; there is no shadow of death, nor error, nor sin, nor suffering, but everlasting peace and joy.”

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We should receive the news of Christ's resurrection with great joy.

Jesus' resurrection is truly good news for all of us. All of us who believe in Jesus Christ will be resurrected and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There, there is neither pain nor suffering nor death. There, we will see Jesus Christ face to face and have fellowship with him. There, we will have blessed fellowship with all our predecessors in faith, such as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, David, Luther, Bonhoeffer, Choo Ki-Cheol, Esther Choe, and so on.

The second key message of this chapter is Jesus' commission to us to share this good news with others.

We occasionally hear the news that Bayern Munich has beaten Borussia Dortmund. Then Bayern fans rejoice. In contrast, Borussia Dortmund fans are dejected. Thus, most news in the world is good news for one group of people but not good news for another.

But Jesus' resurrection is good news for all people, indeed the best news in the history of humankind. This news should be spread as quickly as possible.

Mary Magdalene and other Marys run quickly to share this good news with others (8). Suddenly, Jesus stands before them and says, "Greetings!"

The women fall down before him and grasp his feet.

Jesus says to them, "Do not be afraid! Go, tell my brothers to come to Galilee, and there they will see me" (10).

When eleven disciples arrive in Galilee at the mountain, they encounter the risen Jesus. When they see him, they fall down before him. But some still doubt whether it is really Jesus.

Then Jesus says to them,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (19-20).

The resurrection of Christ, or rather, our future resurrection—it's unbelievable, but true. It's fantastic news. Although we face various challenges, the message of the resurrection can make us forget all our worries, because a glorious future awaits us. We are to spread this message. We are to share it with as many people as possible, both in Bochum and Germany, and in faraway countries like China or India.

In doing so, we are to train disciples who will spread this good news far and wide. That is why Jesus said to us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (19-20).

Jesus commissions us not only to baptize those who come to faith in Jesus Christ but also to teach them everything Jesus said. We are not only to accumulate biblical knowledge in our heads but also to share the Gospel. If we only gather Jesus' teachings as knowledge in our heads, we will become like someone with an enormous head but very thin and short arms and legs.

We are to grow as credible disciples of Jesus. For this, we need to both know Christ's teachings well and be good witnesses to Jesus through our lives and by sharing the Gospel. In this way, we can credibly bear witness to Christ, lead others to faith, and raise them well as disciples of Jesus.

We are not only to lead our neighbors to faith but also all the nations of the world. For Jesus commanded us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations!”

Therefore, we should pray for the mission in Bochum, Germany, Africa, Asia, America, etc., and make our small contribution to world missions. May God bless our small contribution to world missions and carry out his wonderful work. Amen!