The modern-day marathon is based on the story of a Greek messenger named Pheidippides. According to legend, in 490 BC he ran approximately twenty-five miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks’ victory over the invading Persians. Each of his steps was run for the sheer joy of delivering good news to his fellow Greeks.

Some five hundred years later, two women also ran to deliver good news. When Mary and Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb where Jesus had been placed after His crucifixion, they found it empty. An angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. The women were told to go quickly and tell His disciples.

The women experienced fear and great joy. Joy and fear often mix in the working of the gospel. Fallen humans-even when redeemed-cannot help feeling great fear in the presence of the holy God and His angelic servants. Fear simply rises in us when we are confronted with a threatening moment. The fear is physical. It takes the form of an adrenaline burst. It makes the heart race. It gives us the energy to flee for survival. Over time, the stresses of fear take their toll in many illnesses that wear down both physical strength and mental well-being.

Several times Jesus told His followers to “fear not.” On our own, this is impossible. Fear is inborn, so daily life in Christ requires replacing old fears with new ones. The Bible teaches us to fear God, which means caring more about what God thinks than what people think. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Unhealthy fear will not disappear magically. With a daily focus on God’s agenda, human fears take their rightful place. Being like Christ means living as children of our great God.

The Pharisees and chief priests asked Pilate to have the tomb guarded. Jesus’ enemies remembered that Jesus said that after three days He would rise again. They wanted the tomb secured in case the body was stolen. The tomb was made secure, the stone sealed, and a guard set. They made sure it was impossible for anyone to come and steal Jesus’ body away.

What was impossible for man was not impossible for God. Men in their unbelief tried to fight against the power of God. When the earthquake happened and an angel rolled away the stone, the guards became as dead men-afraid.

Matthew contrasts what the women were asked to do by the angel and what the soldiers who were guarding the tomb were asked to do. Both saw the same thing. Both were commanded to speak about the event. They were to report more than what was originally seen. For the women, the events at the empty tomb happened because Jesus was raised from the dead. For the guards, the events at the empty tomb happened because they fell asleep and the disciples stole the body. 

A great irony in all of this is that the guards were posted and the tomb sealed with the large stone so that there would not be a deception about a resurrection following the burial. The chief priests devised the deception.

Pilate would potentially want to punish the guards, only because he had authorized the securing of the tomb. The chief priests and elders bribed the soldiers to lie and blame Jesus’ disciples, indicating that the men at the tomb told the truth in the first place: Jesus’ body was no longer there, and no foul play was involved.

The story that the disciples stole the body defies logic. If the soldiers were asleep, how did they know it was the disciples who took the body? If the soldiers were asleep, how could the large stone guarding the entrance be rolled away without awakening the soldiers? The soldiers guarding the tomb were Romans. They were professional soldiers who were charged to guard the tomb with their lives. The punishment for falling asleep while on duty was death. For the unbelieving soldiers the earthquake was a foreshadowing of the natural disasters that signal the judgment of God and the coming of His Son to deal with evil.

The angel calmed the women’s fears and made sure they got the message right. The angel knew the importance of repeating instructions, and today we have to repeat the most important message Mary Magdalene and the other Mary received. Jesus is definitely alive.

(An audio version of this message can be found here: Matthew 28 verses 8-15 Don’t be Afraid, Christ is Risen)

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1336)
2. Kirsten Homnberg, “Running to Tell.” Retrieved from  donotreply@email.rbc.org
3. Melinda Quivik, “Commentary on Matthew 28:1-10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
4. Dave Wyrtzen, “A Cure For Quakes.” Retrieved from truthnote@gmail.com
5. Raul Ries, “The Power of the Resurrection.” Retrieved from www.SomebodyLovesYou.com
6. Dave Wyrtzen, “Tell Me Again!” Retrieved from truthnote@gmail.com
7. Don Johnson, “Healthy Fear.” Retrieved from www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/homeword/healthy-fear-homeword-october-6.html?