The Earthquake, the Angel, and the Empty Tomb
Daily Scripture
Matthew 28:1-7
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. 2 Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. 3 Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. 4 The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. 7 Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Matthew’s gospel reported Jesus’ resurrection more compactly than Luke or John. There may have been a practical reason: “Ancient writers liked to make optimal use of the entire length of their scroll, and sometimes simply ran out of room to include more detail.” * But the compactness also made Matthew’s scene “the most dramatic of the four: an earthquake, an angel, guards stunned into a swoon, and messages about Jesus going ahead to Galilee.” **
- The earthquake and the angel were not idle details. In the Hebrew Scriptures, they were signs that God himself was acting. As one scholar noted, “The God who seemed to remain silent on Good Friday is having the last word. He is answering the unspoken questions of Jesus’ followers, and the spoken question of Jesus himself on the cross.” *** How does knowing the resurrection was God’s doing, not human effort, give you a stronger basis for hope than any amount of mere human optimism?
- Equally key was identifying the first witnesses. All four gospels said women were the first to witness the resurrection—”a fact that no conspirator in the first century would have invented,” as Philip Yancey noted. **** Jewish courts wouldn’t accept female testimony. A deliberate cover-up would have featured Peter, John, or Nicodemus—not women. What does God’s choice of women as the first witnesses reveal about his kingdom values? What “givens” in your life do God’s values shift?
Prayer
Lord God, in Psalm 16 David declared, “You won’t abandon my life to the grave.” Because you actively fulfilled that promise for Jesus, I trust you will fulfill it for me, too. Amen.
GPS Insights
Valerie Nagel
Valerie Nagel, who serves as a Connection and Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood, wrote today's Insights. A Californian by birth, her Master of Divinity degree is from Duke Divinity School. She served in the Rio Texas Conference from 2011 in the Austin area and San Antonio. From congregational care and welcoming guests to leading in worship, Valerie loves the local church's ministry. She juggles ministry with being a mom to Caleb (born 2012) and Jacob (born 2015), friend, avid reader, lover of the outdoors, beginner in CrossFit, and foodie.
I love Easter. Easter Sunday is a joy-filled day. There are amazing volunteers who show up with staff before the sun has risen. I really love the team that makes coffee. There are kids in fancy clothes and so many beautiful flowers. I love seeing friends from Sunday School sitting together. The special music leaves me speechless. And I have to stifle my giggles as I watch parents chasing around kids who have had too much candy. It brings a huge smile to my face to be a part of it.
One of my favorite parts in the worship service is when Pastor Adam and the congregation progressively get louder and louder as he calls and we respond…
Christ is risen . . . He is risen indeed!
Christ is risen . . . He is risen indeed!!
Christ is risen . . . HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!
I love that after we walk through the heartache of Holy Week we get a party. We don’t gloss over the suffering of Good Friday. We sit with it, remembering that God knows our pain. Sin, betrayal, loneliness, grief, and death bring pain, but they don’t have the last word. In the times in our lives when we feel like we are living in the pain of Good Friday or waiting on God in the silence of Saturday, God is at work. The hope and joy of Easter have come, and the good news of God’s great love means that the worst thing is not the last thing.
One of the best things about Easter is that it isn’t just one day. It’s an entire season that lasts for 50 days. Lent lasts for 40 days and some days during Lent I wonder just how long the days will feel until we get to the party. But now that it’s here, I hope we really enjoy it. I hope we take what we experience together on Easter Sunday and find big and small ways to keep the celebration going.
One of my favorite parts of Pastor Adam’s Easter sermon this year was the reminder to go. I loved hearing examples of how people have responded to God’s love by sharing that love in unique ways. I’m excited to see the ways our Easter offering will multiply ministry through sharing love and compassion. As you begin to celebrate this season of Easter, how will you go and share God’s love and joy?
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Craig Keener comment on Matthew 28:1 in Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 8947). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** Wright, N. T., Matthew for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 16-28 (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 197). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
*** Ibid.
**** Yancey, Philip, The Jesus I Never Knew (p. 212). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
