Be not affrighted— The speech of the angel to the women, in this and the next verse,informs them, in a concise and emphatical manner, of every particular that might satisfy their affectionate curiosity, and dissipate their fears; for they were afraid to ask him any questions. Mr. West has observed, that the appearance of an angel upon this occasion was highly proper, nay, we may almost say, necessary. Jesus had but two days before been put to death by the rulers of the Jews, as an impostor; one, who by the authority of Beelzebub cast out devils, and, by assuming the character of the Messiah, blasphemed God. His sepulchre also was guarded by a band of soldiers, under the pretence of preventing his disciples from carrying on the imposture begun by their master, by stealing away his body, and giving out that he was risen from the dead, in consequence of what he had said before the crucifixion. Under these circumstances, the attestation of heaven was necessary, to shew that God, though he had suffered him to expire on the cross, had not forsaken him; but, on the contrary, had co-operated with him even in his sufferings, his death, and burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, having by the secret workings of his providence, and his Almighty power, accomplished in every point the several predictions of Jesus relating to each of those events; events which, at the time of those predictions, none but God could foresee, and which nothing less than his all-controuling power could bring about. The descent therefore of the angel, and his rolling away the stone, was a visible proof that the finger of God was in the great work of the resurrection, was a proper honour done to him who claimed to be the Son of God, and unanswerably refuted theimpious calumnies of those who, upon account of that claim, stiled him an impostor and blasphemer. The next thing to be considered in this matter is, the internal evidence which the several appearances of angels to the women,&c. carry along with them of reality and truth; for by some infidels they have been treated as mere illusions, and by others as downright falsehoods. That these appearances were illusions, the effects of superstition, ignorance, and fear, has been insinuated rather than asserted; but, I apprehend, has never been attempted to be proved. Waving therefore a vain search after arguments which I presume are not easy to be found, or they would have been produced by those who have so diligently laboured to ridicule the Christian faith, I shall proceed to lay down a few observations, tending to prove the reality and truth of these appearances of the angels to the women.
The angel first seen by the women, was that described by St. Mark, in the form of a young man (sitting within the sepulchre) on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; at the sight of whom, the women (Mary and Salome) discovering great signs of fear, he saith unto them, Be not affrighted, &c. That this was a real vision, and no phantom of the imagination, is evident from these particulars. 1st, As it does not appear from this or any other account, that the women, upon coming to the sepulchre, were under any such terrors or perturbation, as are apt to fill the fancy with ideal spectres;—on the contrary, they went thither a little after day-break, prepared, and expecting to find the dead body of Jesus, there, and purposing to embalm it; about the doing of which they had been calmly conferring by the way:—Song of Song of Solomon 2 nd, by their coming with a design to embalm the body, it is plain that they had no notion either of his being already risen, or that he would rise from the dead. And therefore, 3rdly, had the angel been only the creature of a disturbed imagination, they would scarcely have put into his mouth a speech that directly contradicted all the ideas upon which they proceeded but one moment before. 4thly, It is to be observed farther, that the illusion must have been double; two senses must have been deceived, the hearing and the sight; for the angel was heard as well as seen: and though this frequently happens in dreams, and sometimes perhaps in a delirium, or a fit of madness, yet I question whether an instance exactly parallel in all its parts to the case here supposed, was ever known; for no two people dream together exactly alike, nor are affected in a delirium with exactly the same imaginations. 5thly, The words spoken by the angel refer to others spoken by Christ to his disciples before his passion, in which he told them, that after he was risen, he would go before them to Galilee. According to this promise or prediction, of which the angel here reminds them, he bids them tell the disciples from him, to go into Galilee, and promises them that Christ will meet them there. Now as not only the resurrection, but the personal appearance of Christ, is implied in these words, the reason above given in the third particular, concludes in the present case still more strongly against supposing them to have proceeded only from the imagination of the women; for the sudden change of whose opinion from a disbelief of the resurrection to a full and explicit belief of it, no adequate cause can be assigned. For if it should be allowed that they knew of this prediction of Christ's (which however does not appear), yet the business which brought them to the sepulchre makes it evident, that till that instant they either did not recollect, not understand, or not believe it. And if it be farther said, that upon their entering the sepulchre, and not finding the body of Jesus, this prediction might naturally come at once into their heads, and they might as suddenly and as reasonably believe Christ to be risen as St. John did, whosefaith was built upon no other evidence than what these women had now before them; I answer, that allowing St. John, when he is said to have first believed the resurrection, had no other evidence than those women now had, or might have had; yet it is to beobserved, that St. John was in a fitter disposition of mind to reflect and judge upon that evidence than the women. St. John ran to the sepulchre, upon the information given him, by Mary Magdalene that the body of Jesus was removed thence, and laid she knew not where, nor by whom: and as the sepulchre was at some distance from his habitation, many thoughts must naturally have arisen in his mind, tending to account for the removal of the body; and among the rest, perhaps, some confused and obscure hope that he might be risen from the dead, pursuant to many predictions to that purpose delivered by him to his disciples. But whatever his thoughts were at the time of his coming to the sepulchre, (about which, it must be owned, nothing can be offered but mere conjecture) it iscertain, that he had leisure to reflect upon the predictions of his Master, and to examine into the state of the sepulchre, which both he and Peter did (and that implies some deliberation and presence of mind); and that, after this deliberate examination, he departed quietly to his own home; whereas the women are represented as falling into the utmost terror and amazement immediately upon their entering into the sepulchre, and continuing under the same consternation till they were met flying thence by Christ himself. Under such a disorder of mind, can we suppose them capable of recollecting the predictions of Christ about his resurrection? of considering the proofs of their accomplishment arising from the state of the sepulchre; and of persuading themselves at once that he was not only risen from the dead, but would personally appear to his disciples? and then, immediately upon this conviction, of fancying that they saw an angel, and heard him assure them in a distinct manner, that Christ was risen; call them to review the place where he had been laid, and bid them tell his disciples that he would meet them in Galilee?—In a word, if this supposed illusion proceeded from a strong persuasion that Christ was risen from the dead, whence arose that belief? If it arose from cool reflection upon the predictions of our Saviour, and the state of the sepulchre (the cause of St. John's faith), whence came their terror? which, if not previous to the apparition of the angel, was at least prior to the words Be not affrighted, with which he first accosted them. If it be urged, that this terror was of the nature of those causeless and unaccountable terrors called panics, it may be answered, that this is giving a name instead of a reason; and is in effect saying nothing at all, or no more than that they were affrighted, but nobody can tell why or wherefore. 6thly, It is observable, that the speech of the angel to the women consists of ten distinct particulars: As, 1. Be not affrighted. 2. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. 3. He is risen. 4. He is not here. 5. Behold the place where they laid him. 6. But go your way, tell his disciples. 7. And Peter. 8. That he goeth before you into Galilee. 9. There shall you see him. 10. As he said unto you.—The order and connection of which several particulars are no less remarkable thantheir number; and therefore, taking both these considerations into the account, I leave any one to judge, whether it be conceivable, that women under so great a terror and distraction of mind, as to fancy that they saw and heard an angel, when there was no such thing, should be able to compose a speech for this phantom of their fear and imagination, consisting of so much matter, order, and reason,and proceeding upon the supposition that they were not then convinced that Christ was risen from the dead, though the belief of his resurrection is presumed not only to have preceded, but even to have occasioned this illusion. I have dwelt the longer upon the examination of this first appearance of the angel to the women, because the settlingof the nature of that, will save us the trouble of entering into a particular discussion of the rest, the several articles of which will fall under one or other of the foregoing observations.