Matthew 28:2

Lore & Background

The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort, reads: 'και ιδου σεισμος εγενετο μεγας αγγελος γαρ κυριου καταβας εξ ουρανου και προσελθων απεκυλισεν τον λιθον και εκαθητο επανω αυτου.' In the King James Version, it is translated as: 'And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.' The modern World English Bible translates it as: 'Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.'

Scholars accept that this verse is a reworking of Mark 16:5, making explicit that the 'young man' in Mark is an angel. The verse adds dramatic elements: 'behold' (Greek: ιδου), 'a great earthquake' (Greek: σεισμος εγενετο μεγας), and a dramatic descent from heaven. Francis Beare sees this as a haggadic expansion upon Mark, arguing that no source beyond Mark is needed to explain its origin. There are many parallels to earlier events in Matthew: 'Angels of the Lord' appear in the infancy narrative (Matthew 1:20, 1:24, 2:13, 2:19); 'coming down from heaven' parallels Matthew 3:16; an earthquake occurred at Jesus' death (Matthew 27:51); and Jesus predicts earthquakes as a sign of the end times (Matthew 24:7). W D Davies and Dale Allison see the earthquake as having eschatological significance. Gundry suggests it marks the exact moment of the resurrection.

Reader's Guide

Matthew 28:2 is significant as the only gospel that describes how the stone was moved from Jesus' tomb. In Mark 16:3, the women worried about moving the stone, but in Matthew this concern is absent. Why the stone is moved is not directly answered: Gundry suggests the earthquake marks the resurrection moment and the stone was moved to allow Jesus to exit, though he might have exited invisibly. Peter Chrysologus and John Chrysostom, and many modern scholars, argue that Jesus had no need for the door to be open; rather, the stone was rolled away so witnesses could see the empty tomb as evidence of the resurrection. The verse is unclear whether the women were present for these events or arrived later. Heinrich Meyer argued the event took place in their presence; Davies and Allison imply they were eyewitnesses, though other commentators disagree. The angel sits upon the stone outside the tomb, conflicting with other gospels where the angel is inside. St. Augustine proposed two sets of angels or that 'inside the tomb' refers to an outer enclosure. The earthquake is often interpreted as a theophany—a divine manifestation—bookending the passion and resurrection narrative, reinforcing cosmic significance rather than describing a strictly seismic event.

Did You Know?

• Matthew 28:2 is the only gospel that describes how the stone was moved from the tomb.
• The verse adds a 'great earthquake' not present in Mark's parallel account.
• The angel sitting on the stone outside the tomb conflicts with other gospels where the angel is inside.
• Some early manuscripts containing this verse include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus.