Fresh Look at Matthew: Matthew 28:9-10

A touching scene.  “They held Jesus by his feet.”  Why?  Well, why not? They wanted to know he was real and they weren’t seeing something hallucinatory.  They wanted him to stay.  They were frightened and perhaps thought the soldiers would be coming after them, and they wanted protection from a man.

What did he say to them?  First, rejoice.  Rejoice!  Perhaps that is what we should great each other with every time we see them. Perhaps we would then get out of ourselves and the force of gravity that this world exerts on us. 

My husband said today that he was feeling depression come on, and I tossed my hair back and said, “How can you be depressed when you are married to me?” which of course elicited a well-deserved eye roll from him. I said that depression is not really from circumstances; only a certain type that is short-lived.  I do not suffer from depression, perhaps because I am too shallow.  When I am depressed, it is due to fatigue and being over-burdened, so those are circumstances I usually have created.  I am thankful for that.  One depressed person per household is enough. 

The second thing Jesus said was “Do not be afraid.”   The old KJV is more succinct—Fear not.  We cannot hear that enough, since I think fear is our greatest enemy and main negative emotion.

The third thing Jesus said, after addressing their emotional concerns, namely fear, was to do something they had already been told to do.  “Go and tell my brothers to meet me in Galilee.”  While the angels had said, “his disciples” here he says “My brothers.”  That is significant, his identification with them as deeper than learners. 

The disciples did not get to see him unless 1.  They listened to the women who had seen Jesus first, and 2. They obeyed and went all the way to Galilee, which was quite a journey for them.  Now, let’s think about this.  They had to believe the women.  Women were the first ones given a command after the resurrection, the first ones who were to be believed about it.  Of course, Peter and John had to go see the empty tomb, but I don’t blame them, since the news was so extraordinary.  But that doesn’t change the fact that these two women, both named Miriam, were the first evangelists.  That should say something about women’s roles.