He is Risen

Today I read Matthew 28 where the Savior is resurrected. This is a very brief version and does not go into as much detail as the other versions of the story do. It is interesting to me that all the Gospels say it is one angel that talk to Mary Magdalene and Joseph Smith corrects it to read that it was two angels. I have always wondered of all the things to change in a manuscript, why change the number of angels that were present, either maliciously or otherwise. All I can think of is that it is important that it was two angels because of the law of witnesses, namely out of the mouth of two or more witnesses shall every word be established. I just find it interesting but I am not sure there is anything of significance beyond it.

The part of Matthew's account that is different than the others is that Matthew makes a point to tell us that the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin bribed the guards to report that it was Christ's disciples that came and took away the body and not that He was resurrected. That is not in any of the other accounts which makes sense considering Matthew was writing to the Jews. So it would make sense that Matthew would make mention of the fact that the leaders of the Jewish church would want to cloud what really happened. In a way you gotta wonder about the smallness and pettiness of these men. The first person in the history of humanity is resurrected, and these men refuse to believe it and pay to try and cover it up. It is really quite unbelievable.

With the resurrection, Jesus' work is complete. What began in the Garden of Gethsemane, what continued on the cross was made complete by the Savior conquering death and overcoming the grave. He is rightly called the first fruits of them that slept as He was the very first person of all those who lived and died, to be resurrected and He paved the way for all of us to be resurrected too. Everyone who was ever born on this earth and received a body, even if only for a second, will be resurrected and receive a body again. The only ones of all of our Heavenly Father's children who will not receive a body are Satan and his followers who were cast out and denied the privilege of being born into mortality.

It seems kind of strange to me that I don't have more to say on the single most important event that has ever happened. But everything I could ever write has been said and spoken a dozen times over, and Matthew's account is so brief compared to all the others, I mean he only covers the very bare minimum, pretty much that it happened and that's all. There will be other things to talk about in the other Gospels when we get there, but for now I will just bear my witness and testimony that I know He lives and was resurrected. I was not there and have not seen Him with my physical eyes, but I don't need to. The Spirit has borne His witness to me, as is His role and I know just as if I had seen and handled His wounds with my own two hands that the Savior lives. He died so that we all might live and He is still watching over us and paving the way for us so that we can all return to live with our Heavenly Father. This I know to be true and I so testify in His sacred name, even Jesus Christ, amen. Until tomorrow.