Matthew 28:2

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
behold	ἰδοὺ idou	G2400	used as imperative lo! · interjection
was	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
a	σεισμὸς seismos	G4578	a commotion · noun — nominative singular masculine
great	μέγας· megas	G3173	big (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative singular masculine
earthquake	σεισμός seismós	G4578	a commotion
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
angel	ἄγγελος angelos	G32	compare G34 (ἀγέλη)) (to bring tidings) · noun — nominative singular masculine
Lord	κυρίου kuriou	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
descended	καταβὰς katabas	G2597	to descend (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
from	ἐξ ex	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
heaven	οὐρανοῦ ouranou	G3772	the sky · noun — genitive singular masculine
came	προσελθὼν proselthōn	G4334	to approach · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
back	ἀπεκύλισεν apekulisen	G617	to roll away · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
stone	λίθον lithon	G3037	a stone (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular masculine
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
door	θύρας thuras	G2374	a portal or entrance (the opening or the closure · noun — genitive singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
sat	ἐκάθητο ekathēto	G2521	and (to sit · verb — imperfect middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
upon	ἐπάνω epanō	G1883	up above · preposition
it	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Mark 16:3-5 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Luke 24:2-5 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
John 20:12-13 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Acts 16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and…
Matthew 27:51-53 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sep…
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached…
1 Peter 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 28:2

And behold there was a great earthquake,.... Or "there had been one"; which, how far it reached, and whether further than the spot of ground in which the sepulchre was, is not certain: it was an emblem of the shaking of the earth by the preaching of the Gospel, the sound of which was now to go after Christ's resurrection to the ends of the world; and a prelude of the general resurrection, when the earth shall be shaken, and the graves opened, and the dead come forth; and was a symbol and token of the presence and majesty of Christ, at whose rising, as at his death, the earth shook and trembled. Think whether the watch could now be asleep, as they afterwards gave out, Matthew 28:13. The Persi…

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John Calvin on Matthew 28:1-7

Matthew 28:1-7 Matthew 28:1-7 Mark 16:1-7 Luke 24:1-8 1. Now in the evening of the Sabbaths, [298] which began to dawn towards the first of the Sabbaths, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulcher. 2. And lo, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and approached, and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3. And his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment was white as snow. 4. And through fear of him the guards trembled, and became as dead men. 5. But the angel answering, said to the women, Fear not; for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. 6. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 28:1-10

The discovery of the empty tomb and the various resurrection appearances are presented with different emphases in each of the four Gospels. Matthew focuses on the reunion in Galilee, the attempt on the part of the Jewish leaders to discredit the resurrection, and the significance of the resurrection for the salvation of the world. 28:1 Mary Magdalene (see 27:56): The mention of two women as witnesses lends credibility to the historicity of the account—an inventor of tales would not have used women as witnesses, since a woman’s testimony was considered less reliable than a man’s.

The Church Fathers

The rolling back of the stone signifies the opening of Christ's sacraments, which were covered by the letter of the Law. For the Law having been writen on stones, is here denoted by the stone.
— Remigius of Rheims ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The earthquake is the might of the resurrection, when the sting of death being blunted, and its darkness illuminated, there is stirred up a quaking of the powers beneath, as the Lord of the heavenly powers rises again.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

This is an instance of the mercy of God the Father, to supply the ministry of heavenly power to the Son on His resurrection from the grave; and he is therefore the proclaimer of this first resurrection, that it may be heralded by some attendant token of the Father's good pleasure.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Angel — A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam.…
Angels — By the word “angels” (i.e. “messengers” of God) we ordinarily understand a race of spiritual beings of a nature exalted far above that of man, although infinitely removed from that of God—whose…
Tombs — Of the Hebrews were generally excavated in the solid rock, or were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in Judg. 8:32; 2 Sam. 2:32; 2 Kings 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in gardens (2…
Angel (A Spirit) · . — .
Angels · Execute the purposes of God — Execute the purposes of God
Earthquakes · .At the resurrection of Jesus — .At the resurrection of Jesus
Friendship · .The Marys, and Joseph of Arimathaea, for Jesus — .The Marys, and Joseph of Arimathaea, for Jesus
Love · .Mary Magdalene and other disciples — .Mary Magdalene and other disciples

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).