Then said Jesus unto them,
Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Cons. Ev., iii, 23: “They departed forth of the tomb,” that is, from that spot of the garden which was before the tomb hewn in the rock.
We conclude that they had speech of Angels twice at the sepulchre; when they saw one Angel, of whom Matthew and Mark speak; and again when they saw two Angels, as Luke and John relate. And twice in like manner of the Lord; once at that time when Mary supposed Him to be “the gardener,” and now again when He met them in the way to confirm them by repetition, and to restore them from their faintness.
de Cons. Ev., iii, ult: That the Lord, both by His own mouth, and by the Angel, directs them to seek for Him, not in that place in which He was to show Himself first, but in Galilee, makes every believer anxious to understand in what mystery it is spoken. Galilee is interpreted ‘transmigration,’ or ‘revelation.’
There they shall see me. Our Saviour, on the day of his resurrection, showed himself alive five different times: 1. to Mary Magdalene; 2. to the women leaving the sepulchre; 3. to St. Peter; 4. to the two disciples going to Emmaus; 5. to the disciples assembled together, when the two returned from Emmaus. And after the day of his resurrection, before he ascended into heaven, he appeared other five times: 1. after eight days, when Thomas was present; 2. when the seven disciples were fishing on the sea of Tiberias; (St. John chap. xxi.) 3. to the eleven on Mount Thabor; 4. in Jerusalem, on the day of his ascension; and 5. on the same day on Mount Olivet, when he was taken from them. (Denis the Carthusian)
The seventh apparition of Jesus, which was by the sea or lake of Tiberias, St. John calls the third, which may mean in any numerous assembly of his disciples; the first being on the day of his resurrection, and the second the Sunday following. This may also be referred to the number of...
The women having been comforted by the Angel, are straightway met by the Lord, that when they should proclaim His resurrection to the disciples, they should speak rather from Christ’s own mouth than from an Angel’s.
The same order as of old now followed in the reversal of our woe, that whereas death began from the female sex, the same should now first see the glory of the Resurrection, and be made the messenger thereof. Whence the Lord adds, “Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there shall they see me.”
The women ought first to hear this “Hail,” that the curse of the woman “Eve "may be removed in these women.
This may be always observed, both in the Old and New Testament, that when there is an appearance of any majestic person, the first thing done is to banish fear, that the mind being tranquillized may receive the things that are said.
What then says He? Be not afraid. Again, He Himself casts out their fear, making way for faith, But go, tell my brethren, that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Mark how He Himself sends good tidings to His disciples by these women, bringing to honor, as I have often said, that sex, which was most dishonored, and to good hopes; and healing that which was diseased.
Perchance some one of you would wish to be like them, to hold the feet of Jesus; ye can even now, and not His feet and His hands only, but even lay hold on that sacred head, receiving the awful mysteries with a pure conscience. But not here only, but also in that day you shall see Him, coming with that unspeakable glory, and the multitude of the angels, if you are disposed to be humane; and you shall hear not these words only, All hail! but also those others, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34
Be therefore humane, that you...
Serm. 76: That in these women is contained a full figure of the Church is shewnhereby, that Christ convinces His disciples when in doubt concerning the Resurrection, and confirms them when in fear; and when He meets them He does not terrify them by His power, but prevents them with the ardour of love. And Christ in His Church salutes Himself, for He has taken it into His own Body.
Then Mary was not suffered to touch Him; now she has permission not only to touch, but to hold Him altogether; “they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”.
Serm. 80: They held His feet to show that the head of Christ is the man, but that the woman is in Christ’s feet, and that it was given to them through Christ, not to go before, but to follow the man. Christ also repeats what the Angel had said, that what an Angel had made sure, Christ might make yet moresure.It follows, “Then saith Jesus unto them, Fear not.”.
He calls them “brethren” whom He has made akin to His own body; “brethren” whom the...
Hereby He showed that He will meet with His help all those who begin the ways of virtue, and enable them to attain to everlasting salvation.
It was told above how He rose when the sepulchre was closed, to show that that body which had been shut up therein dead, was now become immortal. He now offers His feet to be held by the women, to show that He had real flesh, which can be touched by mortal creatures. For that is of mystery, this of her sex;that is of divine grace, this of human nature. And so also we, when we have knowledge of divine things, live unto God; when we are wise in human things, weare blinded by our own selves.
. Jesus says to the women, "Rejoice!" As womankind had been sentenced to sorrow, so the Lord procured joy for womankind by His Resurrection, and blessed them. With extreme reverence and honor for Him they grasped His feet, in their piety not daring to touch any other part of His Body. Some say that they grasped His feet purposely to ascertain if He had truly risen, and was not only an apparition or a spirit. For they suspected that He was a spirit. These two Mary’s, therefore, touched His feet; but according to John, Mary Magdalene attempted to touch Him but was not permitted to do so, because she wanted to continue to be with Him as she had before (Jn. 20:17). Or perhaps she was not permitted to touch Jesus, in John’s account, because she was being too curious. For since she had already touched His feet, as Matthew says, what need was there for her to touch Him again? So He kept her at arm’s length.
