And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
All Commentaries on Matthew 28:8 Go To Matthew 28
Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
. "After the sabbath" means the same thing that Luke said, "at deep dawn," and that Mark said, "very early in the morning at the rising of the sun" (Lk. 24:1, Mk.l6:2). By "sun" we should understand here "the first dawning rays of the sun." For by the eighth hour of the night it is the beginning of the next day, and it already feels like morning. So it was then, after the sabbath, at the beginning of Sunday which the evangelist calls "the first day of the sabbath." As "sabbath" is the name they gave also to the seven days of the week when considered together, so Sunday, the Lord’s day, [in Greek, kyriake] is "the first day of the sabbath," that is, the first day of the week. Following the first day are the Second, the Third, the Fourth and the Fifth. When the Lord rose, the stone was still in place against the tomb. Therefore, after the Lord had risen, the angel came to roll away the stone and give the women entrance into the tomb. There was an earthquake so that the guards would wake up and learn of this new and wondrous occurrence. The Lord rose on the third day; but how are the three days reckoned? He was crucified at the sixth hour on Friday; from then until the ninth hour, there was darkness: to me, this means "night." Again, from the ninth hour, there was light: this means "day." Lo, one day and night. Again, the night of Friday and the day of Saturday, the second day and night. And again, the night of Saturday and the dawn of Sunday, as Matthew says, "as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week;" the dawn is figured as one whole day. Lo, the third day and night. But three days can also be reckoned in another way: on Friday He gave up His spirit; this is the first day. On Saturday He was in the tomb; this is the second day. He rose during the morning hour of Sunday; from the part, Sunday is figured as another day. Behold, three days. So it is with those who have reposed; if one should die about the tenth hour of the day [i.e. 4 p.m.] and another about the first hour of the same day [i.e. 7 a.m.], they are both said to have died on the same day. But I have yet another explanation to give you of how three days and three nights can be reckoned. Attend closely. On Thursday evening the Lord had the supper and said to His disciples, "Take, eat, this is My Body." As He had authority to dispose of His own life, it is clear that from that moment He sacrificed Himself, in that He imparted His Body to His own disciples. For no one eats any meat which has not first been slaughtered. Therefore, reckon the three days as follows: on Thursday evening He imparted to them His own Body; that night and the day of Friday until the sixth hour — lo, the first day and night. Again, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness, and from the ninth hour there was light until evening — lo, the second day and night. Again, the night following Friday, and the day of Saturday — lo, the third day and night. After the sabbath, He arose. These are three entire days and nights. Matthew says that the angel sat upon the stone, while Mark says that, having rolled away the stone, the angel sat inside the tomb, on the right side. Do they contradict each other? Not at all. It is likely that the angel first appeared seated upon the stone; then when the women entered, the angel preceded them and again appeared inside the tomb seated on the right side. The angel said to the women, "Fear not ye," that is, the guards indeed have reason to be afraid, but you, the women disciples of the Lord, need not fear. After taking away their fear, he announces to them the good tidings of the Resurrection. For it was necessary that he first cast out fear, and then bring the good tidings. He is not ashamed to call the Lord "He Who was crucified"; for the angel boasts in the cross as in a trophy of victory, the source of every good thing for us.
