Matthew 28:9
Encyclopedia
Matthew 28:9 is the ninth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. This verse is part of the resurrection
narrative. Mary Magdalene
and "the other Mary" are leaving the empty tomb
of Jesus after encountering an angel, and in this verse they encounter the risen Jesus.
The original Koine Greek
, according to Westcott and Hort
, reads:
In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:
The modern World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 28:9
At this verse Matthew diverges from Mark, and many scholars believe that the author of Matthew was not working from the ending of Mark 16
that exists in the current Bible. Mark and John do both have versions of this meeting between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Nolland believes that in this case Mark may be derived from Matthew, while John is independent. Hill notes that the three verse section that begins here is a partial doublet for the conversation with the angel at Matthew 28:5-7
. This appearance is excluded from Luke's account and also from Paul's list of appearances in 1 Corinthians. France argues that the invalidity of female witnesses in this period could be the reason Luke and Paul left out this event.
This is the only verse in the entire New Testament where Jesus meets someone, in other passages it's always someone else meeting Jesus. Nolland sees this as a distinct privileged for the women. The women then come to Jesus, as is the standard in the gospels, though later at Matthew 28:16
that pattern will also be broken when Jesus comes to the disciples.
The word Jesus uses to greet the women translates as either "good morning" or "rejoice." It was the standard Greek greeting used at this time, and is thus comparable to the modern hello. France notes the contrast between this humble greeting of Jesus' with the elevated language of the angel at Matthew 28:5-6. Jesus has previously used this same greeting in Matthew for Judas
at 26:49 and for the Roman soldiers, and Nolland writes that its return here redeems the expression after its previous occurrences. In John's version of this scene at John 20
:19-26, Jesus uses the word "peace" as a greeting. This is a translation of the standard Hebrew/Aramaic greeting.
The women have no problem recognizing Jesus after the resurrection as at Luke 24:16 and John 20:14
. There is also no sign of any doubt on the women's part as found at Matthew 28:17, and in the other gospels.
The women fall at Jesus' feet. This is a sign of worship and supplication both in contemporary non-Christian literature and also elsewhere in the New Testament where Jesus' feet are anointed at Luke 7:38, John 11:2, and John 12:3. To Nolland this behaviour serves to show that the women have a new understanding of Jesus' divinity after the encounter with the angel and his appearance. Touching his feet also serves as tangible evidence of Jesus' physicality, and a rejection of docetism
. Docetism is not believed to have been a current debate at the time Matthew was written, and France believes that this verse is not written in a manner to counter that belief. Its evidence for Jesus' physicality is incidental rather than deliberate. Davies and Allison note that in folklore of the period ghost
s were described as not having feet, so this reference to Jesus' feet might be to counter the belief that Jesus is a ghost rather than fully resurrected. If John and Matthew are both working from a shared, but now lost source, this incident could explain Jesus' enigmatic instructions not to touch him at John 20:17
.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. This verse is part of the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
narrative. Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
and "the other Mary" are leaving the empty tomb
Empty tomb
Empty tomb most often refers to the tomb of Jesus which was found to be empty by the women who were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. They had come to his tomb to anoint his body with spices...
of Jesus after encountering an angel, and in this verse they encounter the risen Jesus.
The original Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, according to Westcott and Hort
The New Testament in the Original Greek
The New Testament in the Original Greek is the name of a Greek language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort...
, reads:
- και ιδου ιησους υπηντησεν αυταις λεγων χαιρετε αι δε προσελθουσαι
- εκρατησαν αυτου τους ποδας και προσεκυνησαν αυτω
In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:
- And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying,
- All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
The modern World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying,
- “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 28:9
At this verse Matthew diverges from Mark, and many scholars believe that the author of Matthew was not working from the ending of Mark 16
Mark 16
Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It begins with the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome — there they encounter a man dressed in white who announces the Resurrection of Jesus.Verse 8 ends...
that exists in the current Bible. Mark and John do both have versions of this meeting between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Nolland believes that in this case Mark may be derived from Matthew, while John is independent. Hill notes that the three verse section that begins here is a partial doublet for the conversation with the angel at Matthew 28:5-7
Matthew 28:7
Matthew 28:7 is the seventh verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the resurrection narrative...
. This appearance is excluded from Luke's account and also from Paul's list of appearances in 1 Corinthians. France argues that the invalidity of female witnesses in this period could be the reason Luke and Paul left out this event.
This is the only verse in the entire New Testament where Jesus meets someone, in other passages it's always someone else meeting Jesus. Nolland sees this as a distinct privileged for the women. The women then come to Jesus, as is the standard in the gospels, though later at Matthew 28:16
Matthew 28:16
Matthew 28:16 is the sixteenth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse opens the final scene of the gospel, Jesus' resurrection appearance before his disciples in Galilee....
that pattern will also be broken when Jesus comes to the disciples.
The word Jesus uses to greet the women translates as either "good morning" or "rejoice." It was the standard Greek greeting used at this time, and is thus comparable to the modern hello. France notes the contrast between this humble greeting of Jesus' with the elevated language of the angel at Matthew 28:5-6. Jesus has previously used this same greeting in Matthew for Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
at 26:49 and for the Roman soldiers, and Nolland writes that its return here redeems the expression after its previous occurrences. In John's version of this scene at John 20
John 20
John 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible. It relates the story of Jesus' resurrection. It relates how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. Jesus appears to her and speaks of his resurrection and dispatches Mary to tell the news to the disciples. ...
:19-26, Jesus uses the word "peace" as a greeting. This is a translation of the standard Hebrew/Aramaic greeting.
The women have no problem recognizing Jesus after the resurrection as at Luke 24:16 and John 20:14
John 20:14
John 20:14 is the fourteenth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible. In this verse, Mary Magdalene has just finished speaking to the angels she found in Jesus's empty tomb. She then turns and sees the resurrected Jesus, but fails to recognize him...
. There is also no sign of any doubt on the women's part as found at Matthew 28:17, and in the other gospels.
The women fall at Jesus' feet. This is a sign of worship and supplication both in contemporary non-Christian literature and also elsewhere in the New Testament where Jesus' feet are anointed at Luke 7:38, John 11:2, and John 12:3. To Nolland this behaviour serves to show that the women have a new understanding of Jesus' divinity after the encounter with the angel and his appearance. Touching his feet also serves as tangible evidence of Jesus' physicality, and a rejection of docetism
Docetism
In Christianity, docetism is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die...
. Docetism is not believed to have been a current debate at the time Matthew was written, and France believes that this verse is not written in a manner to counter that belief. Its evidence for Jesus' physicality is incidental rather than deliberate. Davies and Allison note that in folklore of the period ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s were described as not having feet, so this reference to Jesus' feet might be to counter the belief that Jesus is a ghost rather than fully resurrected. If John and Matthew are both working from a shared, but now lost source, this incident could explain Jesus' enigmatic instructions not to touch him at John 20:17
John 20:17
John 20:17 is a verse in the Gospel of John in the New Testament. The verse takes place in Jesus's tomb just after Mary Magdalene has realized that he has returned from the dead....
.