The Macklin Bible -- Christ Appearing to the Marys
The Macklin Bible, 1794
My dear friends,
In Matthew 28:1-10, we are invited to behold the resurrection as both proclamation and invitation. The event is revealed in a way that speaks to the communal heart, grounded in witness and testimony, yet it also points inward, toward awakening. Here we learn that the truth of resurrection is not only something to be believed, it is something to be realized and embodied. As on the Bodhisattva path, insight must flower into compassionate action, and realization must become lived response.
as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
went to see the tomb.
- Matthew 28:1
Two women come at the dawning of a new day, standing between darkness and light. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary fulfill the ancient pattern of two witnesses, establishing truth in shared experience. Yet beyond this, they symbolize the union of wisdom and compassion. They do not arrive with certainty, only with devotion. This is the beginning of transformation, to approach the unknown with sincerity, allowing the heart to be opened before the mind fully understands.
for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.
For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.
- Matthew 28:2-4
The great earthquake and the descending angel reveal a truth that shakes the foundations of ordinary perception. What seemed fixed, the stone, death, finality, is overturned. The guards, embodiments of fear and control, become as lifeless as the tomb they were meant to secure. In this, we see that awakening disrupts the illusions we rely upon. The resurrection is not gentle to the structures of ego, yet it is profoundly compassionate, for it removes the barriers that conceal reality.
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead,
and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.'
This is my message for you."
- Matthew 28:5-7
The angel speaks words that echo through every authentic spiritual path: Do not be afraid. Fear arises when the familiar dissolves, yet the message is clear, what you seek is not lost, but transformed. The invitation to come and see is followed immediately by the command to go and tell. This is the rhythm of the path, direct insight followed by compassionate communication. One must first see clearly, then share what has been seen for the benefit of others.
and ran to tell his disciples.
- Matthew 28:8
The women depart with both fear and great joy, a union of emotions that often accompanies genuine awakening. Fear, because the old world is passing away. Joy, because a deeper truth is being revealed. They do not remain at the tomb analyzing what has happened. They run. This movement is essential. Faith becomes alive in motion. As the teaching says, "Faith without works is dead." Realization naturally expresses itself as action.
And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
- Matthew 28:9
When Jesus meets them, they fall at his feet in reverence and devotion. This gesture expresses the fullness of embodied faith. Unlike the more interior recognition described by the Resurrection story in the Gospel of John, here the contact is physical, grounded, relational. They grasp his feet, yet this is not clinging born of ignorance, it is devotion aligned with understanding. In this moment, wisdom bows and compassion embraces. The awakened heart responds with humility and love.
go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
- Matthew 28:10
Again the words are spoken, do not be afraid, and again the instruction is given, go and tell. The encounter does not end in private consolation. It becomes mission. To see the risen Christ is to be entrusted with responsibility. On the Bodhisattva path, realization deepens precisely through service. One returns to the world, not as it was before, but as a field of compassionate activity, carrying the living truth into relationship and community.
Therefore, dear friends, let this passage guide your own practice. Come with sincerity, even in uncertainty. Allow the ground of your assumptions to be shaken. Hear the call to see clearly, and then to act. Let your faith live and breathe through compassionate response. In this way, resurrection is no longer distant or abstract. It is the awakening of your own heart, growing in wisdom and blossoming in love for all beings.