Matthew 28:9

Matthew 28:9, in plain English

Suddenly, Jesus Himself appeared and greeted them! The women fell at His feet, held on to Him, and worshiped Him.

Why it's here

This wasn't a vision or a dream—they touched Him. Jesus was really, physically alive, standing right in front of them.

Who's speaking

The risen Jesus meets the women on their way and speaks His first word after the resurrection: a joyful greeting.

Where it sits in the story

Imagine running with the most incredible news of your life, and then the One you're running to tell everyone about just appears in front of you. They grabbed His feet—they needed to know He was real. And He was.

The scholarly reading

Jesus Himself met (hypēntēsen) the women with the greeting 'Chairete' (Rejoice!), and they responded by grasping His feet and worshiping (prosekynēsan) Him—confirming His bodily resurrection.

Language and setting

The physical act of grasping Jesus' feet demonstrates the corporeal reality of the resurrection body, countering later docetic heresies that denied Christ's true physicality.

Voice

The risen Jesus speaks His first recorded post-resurrection word in Matthew: 'Chairete'—a common greeting that here carries its full literal meaning of 'Rejoice!'

Significance

The women's worship (proskuneō) represents the appropriate human response to the risen Lord. By grasping His feet, they confirmed He was no ghost or vision but truly, physically alive.

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.

9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him.

10“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”

11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.

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.