Matthew 28:1 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

In the end of the sabbath, &c.— Some writers close the last chapter thus, Sealing the stone, and setting a watch late on the sabbath; and begin the present, and when it began to dawn, &c. as the Jewish day began at sun-setting, the Jews distinguished the evening into two parts, which they called the first and second evening; the first being the evening with which the preceding day ended, and the second the evening with which the new day began. The first evening was the space from three in the afternoon to sun-setting; the second began at sun-setting, and lasted till nine, comprehending the whole first watch of the night. Those able and ingenious writers who have written upon our Lord's resurrection, are not agreed whether the word rendered the end, signifies the first evening or the second. I. They who imagine that the first evening was intended by the historian, suppose that the two Marys went to visit the sepulchre at the end of the Jewish sabbath, or about the setting of the sun; but that they were prevented by the earthquake, mentioned Matthew 28:2 which frighted them so that they turned back. To remove the objection which might be drawn from the expression, as it began to dawn, τη επιφωσκουση, they observe, that the Greek word, though it implies that idea in its primary signification, yet in Luke 23:54 signifies to be about to begin, or to draw on, and that the word should be used in the same sense in this passage; In the end of the sabbath, as it drew near to the first day of the week. II. They who imagine the historian is speaking of the second evening, appear to be supported by the account in St. Mark, as well as that in St. John; for whether we take the Greek word to signify to draw near, or to dawn, as both these interpretations may imply that it was yet dark, its beginning, or drawing near to the dawn, will be allowed to denote the same point of time; namely, the end of the night, and the beginning of the day. The only question arising from this interpretation is, how this can be reconciled with the time mentioned by St. Mark, namely, the rising of the sun? Mark 16:2. But this question may be solved upon the principle of the former hypothesis, that the women set out towards the end of the evening, or towards the dawn, but were prevented from coming to the sepulchre till the time determined by St. Mark. And indeed the order of St. Matthew's narration requires, that his words should be understood to signify the time of their setting out, otherwise all that is related of the earthquake, &c. must be thrown into a parenthesis, which would verymuch disturb the series of the history, and introduce much greater harshness into the construction, than any avoided by it: nay, it must be confessed that there can hardly be any harshness in the interpretation now contended for. The word ηλθε, in St. Matthew, might as well have been translated went as came; the verb, itself signifying both to go and to come, and consequently being capable of either sense, as the context may require. That in St. Matthew requires to take the original word in the former sense, for the sake of order, and for the following reason: the principal fact upon the account of which the whole history of the women's going to the sepulchre seems to have been related, is the resurrection of Christ: and this fact is absolutely without a date, if the words of St. Matthew are to be understood to denote the time of the women's arrival at the sepulchre. When we say without a date, we mean, that it does not appear from any thing in St. Matthew or the other evangelists, at what hour of that night this great event happened: all the information they give us is, that when the women came to the sepulchre, they were told by angels that he was risen. But on the contrary, by understandingSt. Matthew to speak of the time of Mary Magdalene's setting out to take a view of the sepulchre, we have the date of the resurrection settled, and know precisely that Christ rose from the dead between the dawning of the day and the sun-rising: and can any substantial reason be assigned, whySt. Matthew, having thought fit to enter into so circumstantial an account of the resurrection, should omit the date of so important a fact; or that, not intendingto mark it, by mentioning the time of the women's going to the sepulchre, he should place that fact before another, which in order of time is prior to it? All these considerations therefore seem to be powerful arguments for understanding this passage of St. Matthew in the sense aboveexpressed. About St. Mark's meaning there is no dispute: he certainly intended to express the time of the women's arrival at the sepulchre; his words cannot be taken in any other sense: those in St. John are limited to the same interpretation with those of St. Matthew, it having been allowed before, that they both speak of the same point of time. The reason of the two Marys setting out so early is here assigned. They went to take a view of the sepulchre; that is to say, in general to see if all things were in the same condition in which they had left them two days before; that ifin that interval any thing extraordinary had happened, they might report ittotheircompanions,and,inconjunctionwiththem,take their measures accordingly. Hence it is also evident why they were so few in number; they came to view the sepulchre, and came before the time appointed fortheir meeting. They knew that they themselves were not able to roll away the stone, which they had seen placed by Joseph of Arimathea at the mouth of the sepulchre, and which they knew could not be removed without a great number of hands. Accordingly, as they drew near, they said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone for us from the door of the sepulchre? Words which intimate that one of their chief views in coming to see the sepulchre, was to survey this stone, and to consider whether they, and the other women who had appointed to meet them there, were by themselves able to remove it, or whether they must have recourse to the assistance of others; for who shall roll away the stone for us? implies a sense of their own inability, and of the necessity of calling in others; after which the only thing to be considered was whom, and how many. This therefore was the point under deliberation when they approached the sepulchre. It is plain from thesewords, that they did not expect to find any body there, and consequently that they knew nothing of the guard which the high-priests had set to watch the sepulchre; of which had they received any intelligence, theyhardly would have ventured to come at all, or would not have deliberated about rolling away the stone, as the only or greatest difficulty. See West on the Resurrection, p. 48, 4