And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
This verse comes from the resurrection account in the Gospel of Matthew — the moment that sits at the very center of the Christian faith. Jesus of Nazareth had been crucified by Roman authorities just days earlier. Several women, including Mary Magdalene, went to his tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint his body — a burial custom of the time. Instead of a sealed tomb, they found it empty. An angel appeared and told them Jesus had risen from the dead, and instructed them to go tell his disciples. Matthew records their response with striking psychological honesty: they were 'afraid yet filled with joy' — and they ran.
Lord, thank you that you met those women in their fear and filled them with joy before any of it made sense. You did not ask them to have it together first. Meet me the same way — in the trembling, in the wondering, in the running. Give me courage to move before I have all the answers. Amen.
Matthew does not clean this up. He does not say the fear faded first and then the joy came, or that the women had everything sorted out before they started running. He lets both emotions stand together, unresolved, in the same breath — afraid and filled with joy, simultaneously, one not canceling the other. That is such a painfully accurate portrait of what it feels like to encounter something genuinely sacred. Real joy — not the greeting-card kind — often arrives wrapped in trembling. These women had just been told the most impossible thing imaginable. And they ran anyway, shaking and full. You might know this feeling. The moment you said yes to something you could not fully see — a commitment made at 2 AM, a confession of faith that felt more like falling than deciding, a hard conversation you knew you had to have. Afraid and alive in the same instant. That combination is not a signal that something is wrong with you. It might be the clearest sign that something is very, very right. The women did not wait until the fear resolved before they moved. They ran with the fear still in them. What have you been waiting to do until the fear goes away first?
Why do you think Matthew preserves both 'afraid' and 'filled with joy' rather than describing one emotion giving way to the other?
Can you recall a time in your own life when fear and joy showed up at the same time? What was happening, and what did that feel like?
The most world-altering news in human history was first entrusted to women, who were not considered credible legal witnesses in that culture — what does that choice tell you about how God operates?
The women ran to tell others before they fully understood what had happened. How does their example challenge or encourage the way you talk about your faith with people around you?
Is there something you already sense God has made clear to you that you have been hesitating to act on until you feel more ready? What would it look like to run anyway?
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118:24
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
John 16:22
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalms 2:11
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
John 20:20
And when he was gone forth into the way , there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Mark 10:17
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:21
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning , they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
Luke 24:1
Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
John 16:20
So the women left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell [the good news to] the disciples.
AMP
So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
ESV
And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
NASB
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
NIV
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
NKJV
The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.
NLT
The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples.
MSG