What is the context?
After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. They are the women Matthew has already placed opposite Jesus' tomb in 27:61. The account of their visit follows the sealing of the tomb and posting of a guard.
An angel descends, the earth shakes, and the stone is rolled away. The guards tremble and become like dead men. The angel tells the women not to fear: Jesus, who was crucified, has risen as He said. They are invited to see where He lay and told to carry the news to His disciples, with the promise that they will see Him in Galilee.
As they hurry away in fear and joy, Jesus Himself meets them. They grasp His feet and worship Him. He repeats the reassurance and calls His disciples His brothers, sending the women to tell them to go to Galilee. The passage moves from an empty tomb and an angel's message to an encounter with Jesus Himself.
John 20:11–18 gives a more personal account of Mary Magdalene meeting Him. The Gospels select different details; Matthew does not give a minute-by-minute account of every visit or describe what happened inside the tomb as Jesus rose.
How is this passage commonly understood?
The major Christian traditions understand this as Jesus truly rising from the dead, rather than His followers merely keeping His memory alive. The Catholic Catechism, 639–646, the Reformed Westminster Confession, 8.4, and the Methodist Articles of Religion, Article III, all affirm His real resurrection; the women touching His feet belongs to that witness to the living Jesus.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
1 Corinthians 15:12–22 explains why the resurrection is central to Christian hope: if Christ has not been raised, faith is empty and sin still holds its claim. Because He has been raised, His people can look toward life beyond death. Paul connects the death that came through Adam with the resurrection that comes through Christ.
That hope concerns the whole person. 1 Corinthians 15:35–44 describes the body raised beyond its present weakness and decay. Matthew's women meet and touch Jesus; they are not told to settle for a comforting idea about Him. The risen Lord also gives them a message to carry, so the announcement of life begins moving outward.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.