The Meaning of Matthew 28:8 Explained

Matthew 28:8

KJV: And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

YLT: And having gone forth quickly from the tomb, with fear and great joy, they ran to tell to his disciples;

Darby: And going out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to bring his disciples word.

ASV: And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  they departed  quickly  from  the sepulchre  with  fear  and  great  joy;  and did run  to bring  his  disciples  word. 

What does Matthew 28:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 28:1-10 - The Open And Empty Tomb
Ere the sun had risen and while the glory of the dawn was faint in the Eastern sky, the women were well on their way. But He whom they sought had gone. How often we look down into the grave of the dead past, and into the vault where we have buried twin-souls; or we peer for help into the diaries, prayers and rites of departed saints or a moribund church-but we do not find the Lord. The divine Leader of souls is not behind us, but before; not in the grave of the dead past, but in the van of the world's march. Lo, he beckons us on to follow the Ascension mountain and the opened heaven!
The Lord engaged women as messengers of His resurrection. See Psalms 68:11. How eagerly they caught His idea, and with what alacrity they endeavored to fulfill it. And as they went He, for whom they went, met them! It is ever thus. We go on His errands, but we do not leave Him as we go. On the contrary, He meets us. See Isaiah 64:5. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 28

1  Christ's resurrection is declared by an angel to the women
9  He himself appears unto them
11  The chief priests pay the soldiers to say that he was stolen out of his tomb
16  Christ appears to his disciples,
18  and sends them to baptize and teach all nations

Greek Commentary for Matthew 28:8

With fear and great joy [μετα ποβου και χαρας μεγαλης]
A touch of life was this as the excited women ran quickly They had the greatest piece of news that it was possible to have. Mark calls it fear and ecstasy. Anything seemed possible now. Mark even says that at first they told no one anything for they were afraid (Mark 16:9), the tragic close of the text of Mark in Aleph and B, our two oldest manuscripts. But these mingled emotions of ecstasy and dread need cause no surprise when all things are considered. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 28:8

Mark 16:8 Trembling and astonishment [τρομος και εκστασις]
This excitement was too great for ordinary conversation. Matthew 28:8 notes that they “ran to bring his disciples word.” Hushed to silence their feet had wings as they flew on.For they were afraid Imperfect tense. The continued fear explains their continued silence. At this point Aleph and B, the two oldest and best Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, stop with this verse. Three Armenian MSS. also end here. Some documents (cursive 274 and Old Latin k) have a shorter ending than the usual long one. The great mass of the documents have the long ending seen in the English versions. Some have both the long and the short endings, like L, Psi, 0112, 099, 579, two Bohairic MSS; the Harklean Syriac (long one in the text, short one in the Greek margin). One Armenian MS. (at Edschmiadzin) gives the long ending and attributes it to Ariston (possibly the Aristion of Papias). W (the Washington Codex) has an additional verse in the long ending. So the facts are very complicated, but argue strongly against the genuineness of Mark 16:9-20 of Mark 16. There is little in these verses not in Matthew 28. It is difficult to believe that Mark ended his Gospel with Mark 16:8 unless he was interrupted. A leaf or column may have been torn off at the end of the papyrus roll. The loss of the ending was treated in various ways. Some documents left it alone. Some added one ending, some another, some added both. A full discussion of the facts is found in the last chapter of my Studies in Mark‘s Gospel and also in my Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, pp. 214-16. [source]
Mark 16:8 They said nothing to any one [ουδενι ουδεν ειπαν]
This excitement was too great for ordinary conversation. Matthew 28:8 notes that they “ran to bring his disciples word.” Hushed to silence their feet had wings as they flew on. [source]
1 John 3:14 Unto life [εἰς τὴν ζωήν]
Rev., better, into. Compare enter into the life, Matthew 28:8; Matthew 19:17. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 28:8 mean?

And having gone out quickly from the tomb with fear joy great they ran to tell the disciples of Him
Καὶ ἀπελθοῦσαι ταχὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου μετὰ φόβου χαρᾶς μεγάλης ἔδραμον ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ

ἀπελθοῦσαι  having  gone  out 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Feminine Plural
Root: ἀπέρχομαι  
Sense: to go away, depart.
ταχὺ  quickly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ταχύς  
Sense: quickly, speedily (without delay).
μνημείου  tomb 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: μνημεῖον  
Sense: any visible object for preserving or recalling the memory of any person or thing.
φόβου  fear 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: φόβος  
Sense: fear, dread, terror.
χαρᾶς  joy 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: χαρά  
Sense: joy, gladness.
μεγάλης  great 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: μέγας  
Sense: great.
ἔδραμον  they  ran 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: τρέχω  
Sense: to run.
ἀπαγγεῖλαι  to  tell 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἀγγέλλω 
Sense: to bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report.
μαθηταῖς  disciples 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: μαθητής  
Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.