The passage
      v1. Matthew says that the women went to "look at the tomb" on the first day of the week. It is most likely that Joseph anointed Jesus on the Friday afternoon. The usual practice was to anoint the body with perfumed oils, wrap it in a linen cloth or sheet and place it on a bed of spices. The anointing takes place soon after death due to bodily decomposition. So, what were the women actually up to? Had the Sabbath barred their involvement in this act of devotion?
      v2-3. The tradition is clear, when the ladies reached the tomb they found the stone rolled aside and the grave empty.
      v4. The tradition as to how many angels appeared to the women and whether they were in, or outside the tomb, is unclear. Given the nature of the vision, there is bound to be some conflict among the eyewitnesses. Luke goes with two.
      v5. The response of the women is to bow their heads, or more properly, do obeisance - the usual response when confronted with a divine manifestation. The angels go on to underline the significance of the empty tomb - Jesus is alive.
      v6-8. While in Galilee, Jesus had prophesied his death and resurrection, Lk.9:22, 18:31-33. The angels remind the women of Jesus' words in the form of a shorthand gospel statement. God's anointed man may be "done in" by wicked men, but "you can't keep a good man down!"
      v9. The ladies return to the apostles with the news. The apostles and some other disciples (probably including Mary the mother of Jesus), are most likely in the city proper.
      v10. We are unsure how many women went to the tomb, although Luke lists three. Only Luke mentions Joanna. Interestingly, in Mark the women don't tell anyone what they saw, although Mark uses this to dramatize his ending.
      v11. As far as the disciples are concerned, the women's report seems like an "idle tale", nothing more than "nonsense".
      v12. None-the-less, Peter (with John, cf. Jn.20:3-9. Note, "companions" plural, Lk.24:24) acts to check out the tomb and finds it empty, with nothing in it but the sheets that once covered Jesus. He leaves "wondering". Going away "wondering" is at least a first step on the road to faith.

The resurrection stories
      It is very interesting to compare the stories of the death and resurrection of Jesus in the four gospels. What we note is that the story of the cross is very similar, but that the resurrection stories and all over the place.
      Many liberal scholars have jumped to the conclusion that the stories are later additions to the gospel tradition. Many like to run the idea that Jesus' spirit lives on, his life continues on in the church, but his body is now dust somewhere in a grave in Palestine.
      It is clear that the story of the cross was fixed early in the oral tradition of the Christian church, but the resurrection stories seem more fluid. Obviously, the gospel writers happily selected from the tradition to suit their own ends. The short ending of Mark's gospel is particularly notable. Luke, on the other hand, selects three resurrection stories from the oral tradition and ties them closely to Jerusalem. For Luke, the gospel moves from Jerusalem, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, namely, Rome.
      The resurrection stories were preserved because they were true, and the truth of the event proclaimed two powerful ideas:
        i] The cross of Christ is only part of the story. The focus of gospel preaching in Acts is very much on the resurrection, especially when the hearers are Gentiles. Even Paul develops a full theology of the resurrection along with the cross. Christ "was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification", Rom.4:25. In simple terms, because he lives we may live also.
        ii] We know from 1 Corinthians that some believers doubted the bodily resurrection of Christ and therefore, the bodily resurrection of believers. The Greeks saw the body as worthless matter which should be separated from pure spirit. This view infiltrated the faith and ended up as a full blown heresy known as Gnosticism. The same heresy, in the form of New Age philosophy or Eastern Mysticism, is around today. The New Testament tradition proclaims that Christ rose bodily, that the tomb was empty. As he rose, so shall we rise. Our body is not worthless, is not a hindrance to the spiritual life. Our senses, feelings and thoughts are not evil in themselves. In fact, the body, with its years of experience in this age, will pass with us into eternity and serve us there as it has here. Yes, of course, it will be transformed as Christ was transformed, yet what we are remains an integral part of what we will be.

v2
      ton liqon (oV) "the stone" - Interesting that it is not "a stone." The definite article may indicate that the stone was quite a famous stone and still well known to the gospel writers. A stone shaped like a round disk, covering a hewn out chamber, was common in Palestine for a wealthy person's grave.
      apokekulismenon (apokuliw) perf. pas. part. "rolled away" - having been rolled away. The passive implying divine action, "they found the boulder rolled back from the tomb", Williams.
      apo + gen. "from" - "From the entrance of the tomb."

v3
      eiselqousai (eisercomai) aor. part. "when they entered" - having entered. A temporal participle seems best, as NIV.
      ouc euJron (erJriskw) aor. "they did not find" - "The body of the Lord was not to be found", Phillips.

v4
      kai egeneto (ginomai) aor. "-" - "And it happened that ......"
      en tw/ aporeisqai (aporew) inf. "while they were wondering" - while they were uncertain, at a loss, perplexed. The preposition en with the articular infinitive, forming a temporal clause, "while ...."
      andreV duo "two men" - Later Luke tells us they were angels. The gospel tradition is varied as to the number and where they actually appeared. Such a vision is naturally going to promote different accounts.
      astraptoush/ (astraptw) pres. part. "[in clothes] that gleamed like lightning" - dazzling, flashing [clothing]. "Dressed in dazzling light", Phillips.
      epesthsan (efisthmi) aor. "stood beside" - suddenly stood beside, came upon unexpectedly, appeared. "Two men flashed on them in dazzling raiment", Moffatt.

v5
      genomenwn (ginomai) aor. part. "in [their fright] - having become [afraid]. The aorist is ingressive where a slight emphasis is placed on the beginning of the action. "At this they were greatly perplexed", Weymouth.
      klinouswn (klinw) pres. part. "bowed down" - bowing, bending over, laying. Their attitude implies a recognition of the divine presence. The present tense indicating their continued attitude while the angels spoke. "They were so terrified they could not even look up", Barclay.
      ti zhteite (zhtew) "why do you look for" - why are you seeking, inquiring after.
      ton zwnta (zaw) pres. part. "the living" - the one living. The presence of the articles "the living" and "the dead" may imply proverbial use, but most likely not, so "why are you searching among the dead for him who is alive", Barclay.

v6
      hgerqh (egeirw) aor. pas. "he has risen" - he was raised. The passive (theological passive) may imply divine action; "he has been raised", NAB. Possibly, "he has come back to life", Weymouth.
      wJV "how [he told you] - as, like. The content of what was said is the issue, not the way it was said; "remember what he told you."
      eti wn pres. part. "while he was still [in]" - yet/still being [in]. Participle of the verb "to be" forming a temporal clause. The mention of Galilee has prompted numerous theories, but it may be nothing more than a factual statement.

v7
      legwn ...... oJti "-" - saying that [it is necessary of the son of man]. The hoti, "that", serving to underline the clause.
      ton uiJon tou anqrwpou "the Son of Man" - Clearly used here of Daniel's divine, glorious, reigning, but mysterious, messiah.
      dei "must" - it is necessary. A divine necessity. "The Son of Man had to be delivered into the power of sinful men", Barclay.
      paradoqhnai (paradidwmi) aor. pas. inf. "be delivered" - to be delivered over, betrayed, given over. The divine will allows the evil crowd to have their way.
      aJmartwlwn adj. "sinful [men] - "Wicked / evil men."
      anasthrai (anisthmi) aor. act. inf. "be raised again" - to rise again. Interestingly, "crucified" is passive, seeing the action is upon Christ, but "raised" is active, allowing the possibility that Christ performs the action; "be crucified and rise on the third day", Moffatt.
      th/ trith/ hJmera/ "on the third day" - Dative of time. The third day is a day of salvation, Gen.22:4.... The angel's reminder of Jesus' promises serves as a summary of the gospel.

v8
      autou "his [words]" - [the words] of him. "Then they remembered what Jesus had said", CEV.

v9
      uJpostrefasai (uJpostrefw) aor. part. "when they came back" - having returned. The participle probably forms a temporal clause, as NIV; "after they returned from the tomb", TH.
      aphggeilan (apaggellw) aor. "they told" - they reported, proclaimed, told. A word often used of proclaiming the gospel.
      tauta panta "all these things" - these things all. "They told the eleven apostles and the others what had happened", CEV.

v10
      hsan de "it was" - there were now. Imperfect of the verb "to be." Missing in some manuscripts, probably dropped in order to sort out the grammar.
      Maria hJ Iakwbou "Mary the mother of James" - Mary the one of James. The sense may be "mother of", but it could be "sister of", "wife of." cf. Mark 15:40 for "mother of."
      ai loipai sun autaiV "the others with them" - It is unclear whether Luke intends us to read these others as others with the apostles, cf. v9, or other women with the three listed women who have returned from the tomb to report. The grammar doesn't help given that the two third person plural verbs, "it was" and "told", do not clearly identify whether or not "the others" are with the object, "the apostles", or the subject, the three women; is it "told the apostles" or "told the apostles and others"? cf. Bock 1897 and Nolland 1191. "Told the eleven and all the rest", Ellis.

v11
      hpistoun (apistew) imperf. "they did not believe [the women] - they were disbelieving. Imperfect expressing continued action. Not in a religious sense, but in the sense that the women's account was not to be trusted.
      lhpoV (oV) "nonsense" - empty talk, idle talk, babbling. A hapax legomenon, once only use in the New Testament. "It struck them as sheer imagination", Phillips.