Matthew 28:1-15 Step 1 Pray & Step 2 Survey
NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Welcome back, I’m glad you’re here, my friend! Before I share my work from last week, though, I want to remind you these are the results of my personal Bible study. The revelations here are based on what the Holy Spirit is working on with me in this season. If the Spirit has revealed something totally different to you, don’t worry. He’s our primary Guide and Teacher, and He helps each of us to find what we need for our specific faith journey.
I share my answers not because they’re the “right” ones, but to give you an example of what can be discovered through this process. As long as you’re working with the Holy Spirit and staying true to the whole counsel of God in His Word, you’re on the right track, even if your results don’t resemble what I write about here.
As always, I invite your comments and questions to [email protected]: feedback helps me make this process more approachable for everyone.
Last Week’s Work
MY PRAYER
The first task from last week was to develop a prayer I promised to pray every time I sit down to study this section of Scripture. Here’s mine:
Father God, thank You for Your Word and the special meaning it has for me now. Open my eyes, ears, and heart to see and hear the Holy Spirit’s prompts as I work through Matthew 28:1-15 with Him. I believe You have a special message for me in this text, and I want to hear it—even if it’s not all sunshine and roses. I am willing walk the hard road to get there, Lord, to learn hard lessons because I know You love me. You will be with me through all of this and in the end I’ll have something more precious than earthly treasure—experience and knowledge and stronger faith in You. I commit to this study and ask for Your help in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Full Disclosure: I often forget to pray before I start studying. To help me remember, I copied this prayer onto a yellow notecard I use as a bookmark. Now, every time I open my journal to my previous notes, I have a built-in reminder to pray before I dig in!
HUH? and WOW! MOMENTS
Next, I slowly read through the study text again, focusing to my reactions, and noting the parts that caught my attention. Here are my responses:
- HUH? what does Matthew mean, became like dead men (v4)? And I also noticed Matthew mentions fear and afraid several times.
- WOW! The women showed more courage than the guards—they at least remained conscious and could obey the angel’s commands (vv4-8)!
- WOW! The angel must have anticipated the women might be skeptical—he invited them to check out his story about Jesus’s absence—before telling them to share the news of Jesus’s resurrection with others (vv6-7)
- WOW! In the process of following the angel’s command, the women encounter the risen Lord Himself, who confirmed the angel’s directions (vv9-10).
Personally, I felt drawn to the women in this story. I see them—like me (and maybe you, too?)—receiving a calling to deliver a message to fellow Christians that made them both fearful and joyful. Without a doubt, I want to dig deeper into that. I hope you discovered a gem you want to investigate further, too!
Dig-In Challenges
Next week, I plan to:
- Read my prayer bookmark every time I start studying this passage!
- MINE: Identify which aspect of this study I feel the Spirit leading me to dig deepest into right now. It could be one (or more) of the Huh? and Wow! Moments I wrote about this week, or some other item the Spirit hasn’t yet called to my attention.
- MINE: Observe what the passage tells me about the setting of the scene in Matthew 28:1-15 (who’s involved, where and when did the action take place), and note anything the Spirit emphasizes.