Matthew 28:6

Matthew 28:6, in plain English

Then came the words that changed everything: 'He is not here—He has risen, just as He said! Come and see for yourselves where He was lying.'

Why it's here

This is the heart of the Christian message. Jesus had told His followers this would happen, and now the angel was pointing to the proof.

Who's speaking

The angel delivers the greatest announcement in history to these faithful women at the empty tomb.

Where it sits in the story

He is not here. Four words that rewrote the story of humanity. The angel invited the women to look with their own eyes—the place where death had laid its claim was empty. Jesus kept His promise.

The scholarly reading

The angel declares the resurrection (ēgerthē, divine passive: 'He was raised') and invites the women to verify the empty tomb, confirming Jesus' own predictions (kathōs eipen, 'just as He said').

Language and setting

The divine passive ēgerthē attributes the resurrection to God the Father's action, while 'just as He said' validates Jesus' three passion predictions in Matthew (16:21, 17:23, 20:19).

Voice

The angel makes the central proclamation of the Christian faith, inviting empirical verification.

Significance

The angel's invitation to 'come, see the place' transformed the tomb from a symbol of death into evidence of resurrection. The empty grave cloth and vacant shelf became the first sermon illustrations of the gospel.

4The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men.

5But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.

7Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.”

8So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Read all of Matthew 28 — An earthquake. An angel. An empty tomb. And then the most important words ever spoken: He is not here. He has risen.