And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
The mighty Roman guards keeping Christ's tomb shook and quaked with fear before the lightning glory of the angel and fell prostrate as helpless dead men, though not actually dead. This happened as the Sabbath ended toward dawn on the first day of the week, the third day of His burial, when a great earthquake shook the earth as the Captain of the Lord's host descended, rolled back the stone as a pebble, broke the Roman seal, and sat upon it. Before they fell they were permitted to see Jesus come forth as a triumphant conqueror over death, and recovering to find the tomb empty they truthfully reported all to the priests and rulers, who with full evidence bribed them to say the disciples stole Him while they slept. Death could not hold Him, and in rising His divinity shone forth triumphing over the grave, Satan, and the seal and guard meant to confine Him, making the resurrection more complete and its testimony stronger. Since fallen humanity cannot endure even the reflected glory of one angel, the keepers falling as dead men shows how the wicked will fall before the glory resting on the delivered righteous at Christ's coming, for which the saints must be made morally fit by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Time and Setting at Tomb
The moment came at the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, on the first day after Jesus had died and been laid in the tomb, which was the third day of His burial. Then there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. In rolling it away he broke the Roman seal, handling the great rock as easily as if it had been a pebble.
A guard had been set with seal and soldiers to keep the body from being stolen and to keep Christ confined in the tomb. Roman discipline was so severe that a sentinel found sleeping at his post could be put to death. Yet Roman soldiers and arms could not confine the Lord of Life, and their precautions did not prevent the resurrection.
The angel came commissioned from heaven, clothed with heaven's panoply and parting the darkness from his track as he descended. Other angels who had been guarding the resting place of Christ then came to the grave, and a heavenly host surrounded the scene with bright light and music. Those angels had guarded the place and witnessed the trial, and when the Son of God came forth they bowed in adoration before Him.
The one who rolled away the stone was not a mortal warrior but the Captain of the Lord's host. He was the same messenger who had announced Christ's birth on the plains of Bethlehem. He was sent to relieve the Son of God from the debt for which He had become responsible and for which He had made full atonement, and to call Him forth from His prison house as a triumphant conqueror.
Angel's Glorious Appearance
The messenger's face shone like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. His form was dazzling and glorious with burning brightness, and streams of God's glory poured out to light the place and surround the guards. The keepers trembled with fear at the sight of this heavenly messenger and fell as if dead. His was not the face of a mortal warrior but the face of the Captain of the Lord's host.
The power of God was revealed through a single angel sent from heaven, and that power made the Roman guards quake and fall to the ground as if dead. They could not endure the glory of even one angel of God. When the light of that mighty angel from the court of heaven fell upon them as he parted the darkness and descended to where the Son of God lay, they fell to the earth as lifeless because, though beholding the light of glory, they could not endure it. Fallen humanity could not have endured even that glory, and had Christ come with even the glory of angels attending Him humanity would have been extinguished.
The earth shook and trembled at his approach as the heavens filled with his brightness and the tomb was opened. The earthquake and the angel's glorious appearance in dazzling glory made the soldiers, officers, and sentinels powerless and unable to prevent Christ's rising. His arrival and the opening of the tomb accompanied Jesus' emergence in triumph over death, with the earth shaking, lightning flashing, and thunder rolling. After the angel's light and music faded, the guards recovered their strength.
Keepers Overcome With Fear
The keepers were Roman guards, soldiers, officers and sentinels keeping weary watch at the tomb. They were brave men never afraid of human power, yet they were terrified by the angel who descended from heaven and rolled away the stone. Before this face, which was not the face of a mortal warrior but of the Captain of the Lord's host, they shook and became helpless as captives taken without sword or spear. They saw him roll away the stone as a pebble and witnessed Jesus come forth from the tomb.
For fear of him they shook, trembled and quaked at the angel's appearance and heavenly glory. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow, and he came with a great earthquake to roll back the stone. The guards were overcome by the sight of this heavenly messenger and fell as if dead. Their shaking stands with the empty tomb and the angel's message as proof that Christ was risen.
They fell prostrate to the ground, fainted and became as dead men, though they were not actually dead. Surrounded by brilliant light amid trembling earth, fear and awe overcame them and they were too amazed and frightened to carry out their duty of guarding the body. The angel's heavenly authority and the sight of him rolling away the stone and announcing the resurrection left them powerless.
Their collapse exposed the powerlessness of the guard set by priests, rulers, kings and earthly pride before heaven's authority. Roman soldiers and arms could not confine the Lord of Life, and Roman discipline so severe that a sleeping sentinel could be put to death could not hold Him. The seal and guard meant to prevent the tomb from being disturbed did not prevent Christ from rising; they made its triumph more complete, more fully established its truth and made its testimony stronger.
Guards Witness and Report
When the angel's light and heavenly music faded, the keepers recovered their strength and found the tomb empty and the body gone. They had been rendered powerless as if dead by fear at the shaking of the earth and the angel's heavenly glory.
Before they fell they saw him roll away the stone, and they were permitted to see Jesus come forth as a triumphant conqueror. The burning glory of light surrounding the angel fell upon them so that they dropped to the earth, yet not before they saw the beautiful angel roll back the great rock as easily as a pebble and take his seat upon it, after which Christ came forth from the grave. They heard Him proclaim Himself the resurrection and the life over the opened sepulcher, and witnessed the multitude raised with Him and brought from their graves as captives. Other angels who had guarded the resting place bowed in adoration before the Son of God as He came forth from His prison house, while the keepers shook and became as dead men. The heavenly train then passed from sight, leaving the soldiers to recover and report what they had witnessed of Christ's resurrection and those raised with Him.
As soon as they could gather strength they hastened from the garden to the city and truthfully reported to the Roman authorities, chief priests, elders, and rulers all they had seen and heard. They bore witness as those who had seen the angel's arrival and Christ's resurrection, testifying that Jesus had risen and that an angel proclaimed Him the Son of God, the Majesty of heaven, and the King of Glory. They walked as frightened men, fled to the city, and described what they had seen, declaring they had kept sleepless vigilance and had not slept at their post.
Their experience gave the chief priests and elders full evidence that Christ was risen, so denial was not for lack of evidence nor from ignorance of the truth. The leaders instead hired the soldiers with large money to bear false witness that His disciples stole Him while they slept, because they desired to keep the people from knowing the truth lest they stand forth as murderers. Though the guards had seen the angel's glory and Jesus emerge as conqueror, leaving clear evidence of the resurrection, they were hired to give false testimony.
When the women later arrived they found the guard no longer there and the tomb empty, with the stone rolled away. The angel had rolled away the stone, and the women saw the glory surrounding him. The account of the keepers shaking with fear and becoming like dead men belongs to the resurrection in which Christ was not left in the grave but came forth as the living Saviour, and it connects with His appearance to the weeping women and His sending them as messengers.
Christ's Victory Over Death
Jesus had tasted death for every man, yet He did not long remain under the power of the enemy nor remain silent in the grave, for death could not hold Him and He walked forth from the tomb in triumph as a conqueror who broke asunder the bars of death. A mighty angel came from heaven amid earthquake to roll back the stone, and at His rising His divine nature shone forth while He brought with Him from their graves a multitude of captives. The scene belongs to the account of the stone rolled away and the tomb opened, showing that He had conquered death.
As He rose He triumphed over death and the grave in wondrous power and glory, and that triumph gave victory and life to humanity. His emergence proclaimed His victory over death and Satan, after Satan's brief triumph at the burial proved powerless to keep Him there. Through His death and resurrection He overcame Satan's claim over the world and restored the human race to favor with God. The guards saw the angel descend and roll the stone from the door as easily as a pebble, heard him call for the Son of God to come forth because His Father called Him, then saw Jesus come out and heard Him proclaim over the opened sepulcher that He is the resurrection and the life, amid shaking earth, lightning flashes, and thunder.
Angels fulfilled their appointed part in the resurrection under the plan of salvation devised and accepted by the Father, in which the life of an angel could not pay the debt and only the life of Jesus could be accepted as ransom for man. Jesus had taken man's fallen nature with strength not even equal to theirs, and angels were to be with Him to strengthen Him at different times and to be witnesses of His humiliation and great sufferings. As they witnessed His sufferings and the hatred of men toward Him they were stirred with deepest emotion and through love wished to rescue Him from His murderers, but they were not to interfere to prevent anything they beheld.
Every effort to keep Christ confined failed, for Roman soldiers and arms could not confine the Lord of Life. The seal and guard were set under severe Roman discipline in which a sentinel found sleeping could be put to death, meant to prevent the tomb from being disturbed, yet these precautions did not prevent the resurrection but made its triumph more complete, more fully established its truth, and made its testimony stronger. They showed the impotence of kings and rulers who could not carry out their will upon Him who was slain for the sins of the world, and the prince of darkness with his apostate army would have kept the tomb that held the Son of God shut forever had it been possible, while a heavenly host guarded the sepulcher against them as unseen witnesses who had noted every action and recorded every taunt at the mock trial in the judgment hall.
The whole chapter holds the promised ministration of the Holy Spirit from which Christian experience is to be gained, the earnest of the spirit of life through Christ that every soul needs now, given as Christ met His disciples at the appointed time and place in Galilee after His resurrection just before His ascension. It belongs to the brighter chapter that follows His suffering, the triumph by which the Lord of glory made infinite sacrifices to open the way whereby sinners might be saved unto a life that measures with the life of God. Because Christ paid this price, no one suffers more than Christ suffered or pays a higher price for faith than Christ paid, and no one should feel the price of salvation too high, while those who receive it must be willing to make special sacrifices to save souls ready to perish in order to be counted worthy to enter the city of God.
End-Time Moral Lessons
The Roman guards at the sealed tomb fell to the ground as powerless as dead men when the heavenly light shone upon them, for they beheld the light of glory yet could not endure it. That light was only reflected from the angel, and fallen humanity cannot endure even the glory of one angel from heaven. A mighty angel sent from the heavenly courts to roll away the great stone came clothed with the panoply of heaven, with light and brightness clearing darkness from his track, and as that light fell on the guards they fell to the earth as dead men. Had Christ come with even the glory of angels attending Him, humanity would have been extinguished, which is why He laid aside His royal crown and royal robe and clothed His divinity with humanity so that humanity might touch humanity and bring man into close connection with God.
In the same way, people still stained by sin cannot endure God's glory, but must become morally fit for heaven before their probation closes. In the present state none could stand a single moment before the brightness of Christ's coming with all the holy angels with Him. The saints must therefore share largely in the glory of God through the outpouring of the Holy Ghost before the second advent to prepare them to stand before the Son of God. The keepers shook with fear and became like dead men in the presence of the angel, and that picture applies to the wicked who had sought to destroy God's people: when they see the glory resting on the delivered righteous, they cannot endure it and fall to the earth like dead men. The Roman guards at the sepulcher were overcome with fear when confronted by the angel's glory, becoming as powerless as dead men, and the same display of heavenly glory would have humbled the proud rulers and courtiers around Paul.
The glory of an angel thus revealed the weakness of earthly power and pride. The keepers shook for fear of the angel whose countenance was like lightning and raiment white as snow, and became as dead men, and their experience gave the chief priests and elders full evidence that Christ was risen. The Jewish denial of the resurrection was therefore not for lack of evidence and not from ignorance of the truth. The leaders hired the soldiers with large money to bear false witness that His disciples stole Him while they slept, because they desired to keep the people from knowing the truth lest they themselves stand forth as murderers. False teachers in like manner are afraid to trust the people with knowledge and seek to hide the facts that would show the error of their position.
The resurrection glory to which the verse belongs was preceded by a night of prayer. The verse belongs to the Matthew 28 account of a risen Saviour, joined with Matthew 17 and Matthew 26:26-75 and Matthew 27 on Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection. It displays the humility that marked Christ's path from the manger to the cross. He veiled His divinity by taking humanity so that humans by partaking of His nature might receive the impress of Jehovah and stand as witnesses before men and angels and the whole army of the powers of darkness to the power of a crucified Saviour.
The mighty Roman guards keeping Christ's tomb shook and quaked with fear before the lightning glory of the angel and fell prostrate as helpless dead men, though not actually dead. This happened as the Sabbath ended toward dawn on the first day of the week, the third day of His burial, when a great earthquake shook the earth as the Captain of the Lord's host descended, rolled back the stone as a pebble, broke the Roman seal, and sat upon it. Before they fell they were permitted to see Jesus come forth as a triumphant conqueror over death, and recovering to find the tomb empty they truthfully reported all to the priests and rulers, who with full evidence bribed them to say the disciples stole Him while they slept. Death could not hold Him, and in rising His divinity shone forth triumphing over the grave, Satan, and the seal and guard meant to confine Him, making the resurrection more complete and its testimony stronger. Since fallen humanity cannot endure even the reflected glory of one angel, the keepers falling as dead men shows how the wicked will fall before the glory resting on the delivered righteous at Christ's coming, for which the saints must be made morally fit by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Time and Setting at Tomb
The moment came at the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, on the first day after Jesus had died and been laid in the tomb, which was the third day of His burial. Then there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. In rolling it away he broke the Roman seal, handling the great rock as easily as if it had been a pebble.
A guard had been set with seal and soldiers to keep the body from being stolen and to keep Christ confined in the tomb. Roman discipline was so severe that a sentinel found sleeping at his post could be put to death. Yet Roman soldiers and arms could not confine the Lord of Life, and their precautions did not prevent the resurrection.
The angel came commissioned from heaven, clothed with heaven's panoply and parting the darkness from his track as he descended. Other angels who had been guarding the resting place of Christ then came to the grave, and a heavenly host surrounded the scene with bright light and music. Those angels had guarded the place and witnessed the trial, and when the Son of God came forth they bowed in adoration before Him.
The one who rolled away the stone was not a mortal warrior but the Captain of the Lord's host. He was the same messenger who had announced Christ's birth on the plains of Bethlehem. He was sent to relieve the Son of God from the debt for which He had become responsible and for which He had made full atonement, and to call Him forth from His prison house as a triumphant conqueror.
Angel's Glorious Appearance
The messenger's face shone like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. His form was dazzling and glorious with burning brightness, and streams of God's glory poured out to light the place and surround the guards. The keepers trembled with fear at the sight of this heavenly messenger and fell as if dead. His was not the face of a mortal warrior but the face of the Captain of the Lord's host.
The power of God was revealed through a single angel sent from heaven, and that power made the Roman guards quake and fall to the ground as if dead. They could not endure the glory of even one angel of God. When the light of that mighty angel from the court of heaven fell upon them as he parted the darkness and descended to where the Son of God lay, they fell to the earth as lifeless because, though beholding the light of glory, they could not endure it. Fallen humanity could not have endured even that glory, and had Christ come with even the glory of angels attending Him humanity would have been extinguished.
The earth shook and trembled at his approach as the heavens filled with his brightness and the tomb was opened. The earthquake and the angel's glorious appearance in dazzling glory made the soldiers, officers, and sentinels powerless and unable to prevent Christ's rising. His arrival and the opening of the tomb accompanied Jesus' emergence in triumph over death, with the earth shaking, lightning flashing, and thunder rolling. After the angel's light and music faded, the guards recovered their strength.
Keepers Overcome With Fear
The keepers were Roman guards, soldiers, officers and sentinels keeping weary watch at the tomb. They were brave men never afraid of human power, yet they were terrified by the angel who descended from heaven and rolled away the stone. Before this face, which was not the face of a mortal warrior but of the Captain of the Lord's host, they shook and became helpless as captives taken without sword or spear. They saw him roll away the stone as a pebble and witnessed Jesus come forth from the tomb.
For fear of him they shook, trembled and quaked at the angel's appearance and heavenly glory. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow, and he came with a great earthquake to roll back the stone. The guards were overcome by the sight of this heavenly messenger and fell as if dead. Their shaking stands with the empty tomb and the angel's message as proof that Christ was risen.
They fell prostrate to the ground, fainted and became as dead men, though they were not actually dead. Surrounded by brilliant light amid trembling earth, fear and awe overcame them and they were too amazed and frightened to carry out their duty of guarding the body. The angel's heavenly authority and the sight of him rolling away the stone and announcing the resurrection left them powerless.
Their collapse exposed the powerlessness of the guard set by priests, rulers, kings and earthly pride before heaven's authority. Roman soldiers and arms could not confine the Lord of Life, and Roman discipline so severe that a sleeping sentinel could be put to death could not hold Him. The seal and guard meant to prevent the tomb from being disturbed did not prevent Christ from rising; they made its triumph more complete, more fully established its truth and made its testimony stronger.
Guards Witness and Report
When the angel's light and heavenly music faded, the keepers recovered their strength and found the tomb empty and the body gone. They had been rendered powerless as if dead by fear at the shaking of the earth and the angel's heavenly glory.
Before they fell they saw him roll away the stone, and they were permitted to see Jesus come forth as a triumphant conqueror. The burning glory of light surrounding the angel fell upon them so that they dropped to the earth, yet not before they saw the beautiful angel roll back the great rock as easily as a pebble and take his seat upon it, after which Christ came forth from the grave. They heard Him proclaim Himself the resurrection and the life over the opened sepulcher, and witnessed the multitude raised with Him and brought from their graves as captives. Other angels who had guarded the resting place bowed in adoration before the Son of God as He came forth from His prison house, while the keepers shook and became as dead men. The heavenly train then passed from sight, leaving the soldiers to recover and report what they had witnessed of Christ's resurrection and those raised with Him.
As soon as they could gather strength they hastened from the garden to the city and truthfully reported to the Roman authorities, chief priests, elders, and rulers all they had seen and heard. They bore witness as those who had seen the angel's arrival and Christ's resurrection, testifying that Jesus had risen and that an angel proclaimed Him the Son of God, the Majesty of heaven, and the King of Glory. They walked as frightened men, fled to the city, and described what they had seen, declaring they had kept sleepless vigilance and had not slept at their post.
Their experience gave the chief priests and elders full evidence that Christ was risen, so denial was not for lack of evidence nor from ignorance of the truth. The leaders instead hired the soldiers with large money to bear false witness that His disciples stole Him while they slept, because they desired to keep the people from knowing the truth lest they stand forth as murderers. Though the guards had seen the angel's glory and Jesus emerge as conqueror, leaving clear evidence of the resurrection, they were hired to give false testimony.
When the women later arrived they found the guard no longer there and the tomb empty, with the stone rolled away. The angel had rolled away the stone, and the women saw the glory surrounding him. The account of the keepers shaking with fear and becoming like dead men belongs to the resurrection in which Christ was not left in the grave but came forth as the living Saviour, and it connects with His appearance to the weeping women and His sending them as messengers.
Christ's Victory Over Death
Jesus had tasted death for every man, yet He did not long remain under the power of the enemy nor remain silent in the grave, for death could not hold Him and He walked forth from the tomb in triumph as a conqueror who broke asunder the bars of death. A mighty angel came from heaven amid earthquake to roll back the stone, and at His rising His divine nature shone forth while He brought with Him from their graves a multitude of captives. The scene belongs to the account of the stone rolled away and the tomb opened, showing that He had conquered death.
As He rose He triumphed over death and the grave in wondrous power and glory, and that triumph gave victory and life to humanity. His emergence proclaimed His victory over death and Satan, after Satan's brief triumph at the burial proved powerless to keep Him there. Through His death and resurrection He overcame Satan's claim over the world and restored the human race to favor with God. The guards saw the angel descend and roll the stone from the door as easily as a pebble, heard him call for the Son of God to come forth because His Father called Him, then saw Jesus come out and heard Him proclaim over the opened sepulcher that He is the resurrection and the life, amid shaking earth, lightning flashes, and thunder.
Angels fulfilled their appointed part in the resurrection under the plan of salvation devised and accepted by the Father, in which the life of an angel could not pay the debt and only the life of Jesus could be accepted as ransom for man. Jesus had taken man's fallen nature with strength not even equal to theirs, and angels were to be with Him to strengthen Him at different times and to be witnesses of His humiliation and great sufferings. As they witnessed His sufferings and the hatred of men toward Him they were stirred with deepest emotion and through love wished to rescue Him from His murderers, but they were not to interfere to prevent anything they beheld.
Every effort to keep Christ confined failed, for Roman soldiers and arms could not confine the Lord of Life. The seal and guard were set under severe Roman discipline in which a sentinel found sleeping could be put to death, meant to prevent the tomb from being disturbed, yet these precautions did not prevent the resurrection but made its triumph more complete, more fully established its truth, and made its testimony stronger. They showed the impotence of kings and rulers who could not carry out their will upon Him who was slain for the sins of the world, and the prince of darkness with his apostate army would have kept the tomb that held the Son of God shut forever had it been possible, while a heavenly host guarded the sepulcher against them as unseen witnesses who had noted every action and recorded every taunt at the mock trial in the judgment hall.
The whole chapter holds the promised ministration of the Holy Spirit from which Christian experience is to be gained, the earnest of the spirit of life through Christ that every soul needs now, given as Christ met His disciples at the appointed time and place in Galilee after His resurrection just before His ascension. It belongs to the brighter chapter that follows His suffering, the triumph by which the Lord of glory made infinite sacrifices to open the way whereby sinners might be saved unto a life that measures with the life of God. Because Christ paid this price, no one suffers more than Christ suffered or pays a higher price for faith than Christ paid, and no one should feel the price of salvation too high, while those who receive it must be willing to make special sacrifices to save souls ready to perish in order to be counted worthy to enter the city of God.
End-Time Moral Lessons
The Roman guards at the sealed tomb fell to the ground as powerless as dead men when the heavenly light shone upon them, for they beheld the light of glory yet could not endure it. That light was only reflected from the angel, and fallen humanity cannot endure even the glory of one angel from heaven. A mighty angel sent from the heavenly courts to roll away the great stone came clothed with the panoply of heaven, with light and brightness clearing darkness from his track, and as that light fell on the guards they fell to the earth as dead men. Had Christ come with even the glory of angels attending Him, humanity would have been extinguished, which is why He laid aside His royal crown and royal robe and clothed His divinity with humanity so that humanity might touch humanity and bring man into close connection with God.
In the same way, people still stained by sin cannot endure God's glory, but must become morally fit for heaven before their probation closes. In the present state none could stand a single moment before the brightness of Christ's coming with all the holy angels with Him. The saints must therefore share largely in the glory of God through the outpouring of the Holy Ghost before the second advent to prepare them to stand before the Son of God. The keepers shook with fear and became like dead men in the presence of the angel, and that picture applies to the wicked who had sought to destroy God's people: when they see the glory resting on the delivered righteous, they cannot endure it and fall to the earth like dead men. The Roman guards at the sepulcher were overcome with fear when confronted by the angel's glory, becoming as powerless as dead men, and the same display of heavenly glory would have humbled the proud rulers and courtiers around Paul.
The glory of an angel thus revealed the weakness of earthly power and pride. The keepers shook for fear of the angel whose countenance was like lightning and raiment white as snow, and became as dead men, and their experience gave the chief priests and elders full evidence that Christ was risen. The Jewish denial of the resurrection was therefore not for lack of evidence and not from ignorance of the truth. The leaders hired the soldiers with large money to bear false witness that His disciples stole Him while they slept, because they desired to keep the people from knowing the truth lest they themselves stand forth as murderers. False teachers in like manner are afraid to trust the people with knowledge and seek to hide the facts that would show the error of their position.
The resurrection glory to which the verse belongs was preceded by a night of prayer. The verse belongs to the Matthew 28 account of a risen Saviour, joined with Matthew 17 and Matthew 26:26-75 and Matthew 27 on Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection. It displays the humility that marked Christ's path from the manger to the cross. He veiled His divinity by taking humanity so that humans by partaking of His nature might receive the impress of Jehovah and stand as witnesses before men and angels and the whole army of the powers of darkness to the power of a crucified Saviour.