Matthew 28 — Clausal Layout (English)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The empty tomb — earthquake, angel, announcement 28:1–7

v. 1 — dawn of day one: the two Marys come to see

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary cameindependent — the piled temporal frame opens the scene — the two women of 27:56, 61, witnesses of cross, burial, and now tomb

to look at the tomb.purpose — purpose infinitive — in Matthew they come only to see (the tomb is sealed and guarded, 27:66), not to anoint (contrast Mark 16:1)

vv. 2–4 — the angel's descent: the stone unsealed, the guards felled

And behold, a great earthquake occurred;independent — ἰδού + σεισμός — the apocalyptic tremor answering the crucifixion quake (27:51)

for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven and coming near, rolled away the stonecause — the γάρ explains the quake — the stone rolled back not to let Jesus out but to show he is gone

and was sitting upon it.cause — coordinate in the γάρ clause — imperfect ἐκάθητο, seated on the stone in calm triumph

And his appearance was like lightning,independent — descriptive imperfect — theophanic glory language (Dan 10:6)

and his clothing white as snow.independent — verbless — ἦν carried over; the snow-white of the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9)

And for fear of him the guards were shakenindependent — ἐσείσθησαν echoes σεισμός — the keepers themselves quake

and became like dead men.independent — the irony — living guards corpse-like at the tomb the dead man has left

vv. 5–7 — μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὑμεῖς: ἠγέρθη, and the commission to Galilee

But the angel answered and said to the women:independent — speech-frame — pleonastic ἀποκριθείς; the angel turns from the felled guards to the women

Do not be afraid, you —content — μή + present imperative; emphatic ὑμεῖς sets the women apart from the guards

for I knowcause — the reassurance grounded — their errand is already known

that you seek Jesus the crucified one.content — fronted Ἰησοῦν; perfect ἐσταυρωμένον — the crucified as his abiding title (cf. Mark 16:6)

He is not here,content — the empty tomb stated — absence as the sign

for he has been raised,cause — the kerygmatic core — a divine passive: God raised him

just as he said.comparative — Jesus' own predictions invoked (16:21; 17:23; 20:19)

Come, see the placecontent — the invitation to verify — the evidence pointed at

where the Lord lay.relative — imperfect ἔκειτο — the now-ended lying there; ὁ κύριος, the resurrection title (omitted by some witnesses)

And go quickly and tell his disciples thatcontent — the witnesses made messengers — attendant πορευθεῖσαι with the imperative; ταχύ, the resurrection urgency

he has been raised from the dead,content — the message, first clause — ἠγέρθη repeated verbatim

and behold, he goes before you into Galilee;content — futuristic present προάγει — the shepherd leading again (26:32)

there you will see him.content — fronted ἐκεῖ — Galilee the appointed place of seeing (fulfilled v. 17)

Behold, I have told you.content — performative close — the angel's message delivered with finality

Jesus meets the women 28:8–10

v. 8 — fear and great joy: the run to report

And departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy,participial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἔδραμον; the paradoxical pair, numinous awe and gospel joy (contrast Mark 16:8)

they ranindependent — the haste of the first heralds — the commanded ταχύ (v. 7) enacted

to report to his disciples.purpose — purpose infinitive — obedience already under way

vv. 9–10 — ἰδοὺ Ἰησοῦς: the risen Lord himself repeats the charge

And behold, Jesus met them,independent — the first appearance of the risen Jesus — meeting them on the errand itself

saying:participial — speech-frame participle

Greetings!content — the everyday greeting χαίρετε — yet apt on the lips of the risen one after the χαρά of v. 8

And they came and took hold of his feetindependent — the grasped feet — homage, and proof of a touchable, bodily resurrection

and worshiped him.independent — προσκυνέω — in Matthew the fitting response to Jesus (14:33; v. 17)

Then Jesus says to them:independent — historic present — the dominical ratification of the angel's word begins

Do not be afraid;content — the angel's reassurance (v. 5) now in Jesus' own voice

go, tell my brotherscontent — asyndetic double imperative — ἀδελφοί μου: the deserters of 26:56 called brothers, restoration in a word

to go to Galilee,content — content-ἵνα — the substance of the report, an instruction to travel

and there they will see me.content — crasis κἀκεῖ — the Galilean promise of v. 7 repeated and personalized: με

The guards bribed — the counter-story 28:11–15

vv. 11–12 — the parallel report: the guard to the chief priests, and the bribe

And while they were going,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; the women's errand becomes the backdrop of the counter-errand

behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.independent — the ironic parallel — ἀπήγγειλαν, the women's verb (vv. 8, 10); the enemies receive a full and true report

And assembling with the elders and taking counsel,participial — preposed participles — leaning on ἔδωκαν; συμβούλιον λαμβάνω, the plotting idiom of 27:1, 7

they gave a large sum of silver to the soldiers,independent — ἀργύρια again — silver deployed against Jesus, as with Judas (26:15), now to silence the resurrection

vv. 13–14 — the coached lie, and the promise of cover

saying:participial — speech-frame — the priests dictate the script the money buys

Say:content — recitative ὅτι — the lie quoted verbatim beneath the command to speak it

His disciples came by night and stole himcontent — the theft-story the priests themselves had feared (27:64), now purchased and scripted

while we were sleeping.participial — genitive absolute, following its verb — self-defeating: sleeping sentries can witness no theft

And if this is heard before the governor,conditional — ἐάν protasis — forward-leaning on πείσομεν; dereliction on watch was a capital matter for soldiers

we will persuade himcontent — the apodosis — emphatic ἡμεῖς, the priests' guarantee, with a hint of further bribery for Pilate

and we will make you free from worry.content — coordinate apodosis — ἀμερίμνους, impunity promised; the deal complete

v. 15 — the lie that lasted: μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας

So they took the silver and didindependent — the bribe accepted — λαβόντες τὰ ἀργύρια, the transaction closed

as they were instructed.comparative — ἐδιδάχθησαν — soldiers 'taught' a lie, set against the true teaching of v. 20

And this story has been spread among the Jews to this very day.independent — etiological aside — the standing counter-story of Matthew's own day, itself witnessing to the empty tomb it was coined to explain

The Great Commission in Galilee 28:16–20

vv. 16–17 — the appointed mountain: worship, and doubt

But the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountainindependent — οἱ ἕνδεκα — the Twelve minus Judas; the mountain, Matthew's site of revelation (5:1; 17:1)

which Jesus had appointed for them,relative — ἐτάξατο — the rendezvous of vv. 7, 10 kept

And seeing him,participial — preposed circumstantial — leans on προσεκύνησαν; the promised sight (vv. 7, 10) realized

they worshiped,independent — the response the women modeled (v. 9)

but some doubted.independent — διστάζω (elsewhere only 14:31, of Peter) — hesitant wavering, not flat unbelief; candor at the climax

vv. 18–20 — πᾶσα ἐξουσία: the commission and the abiding presence

And Jesus came near and spoke to them,independent — προσελθών — the exalted Lord himself approaches the doubting worshipers

saying:participial — speech-frame — the Gospel's closing words all hang here

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.content — the divine passive ἐδόθη — Dan 7:14, the Son of Man's dominion; the first of the commission's four 'all's

Going therefore,participial — attendant-circumstance participle — forward-leaning on μαθητεύσατε, sharing its imperatival force; οὖν grounds the mission in v. 18

make disciples of all the nations,content — the lone imperative — μαθητεύσατε, the commission's heart; πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, the mission unbounded (contrast 10:5–6)

baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,participial — first means-participle — one ὄνομα over three persons, the seedbed of trinitarian confession

teaching them to keep allparticipial — second means-participle — discipleship as obedience, not mere information

that I commanded you.relative — ὅσα — the whole dominical teaching, the five great discourses; Jesus the new Moses giving commandments

And behold, I am with you all the days,content — emphatic ἐγώ — the Emmanuel promise (1:23) closing the Gospel in Jesus' own voice

until the consummation of the age.phrase modifier — the temporal sweep — presence unbroken to the eschaton (13:39–40; 24:3); the Gospel's last word

Analysis. Matthew's resurrection chapter is built on two pairs of reports — true and false — and the layout shows both machines running. In vv. 1–10 the narrative mainline runs flush left in Matthew's manner (δέ-hinged scene-openings rather than Mark's καί-chain, with the historic present λέγει flagged at v. 10), and all speech hangs blue beneath its verb of saying: the angel's whole announcement under εἶπεν — the reassurance μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὑμεῖς grounded by the οἶδα γάρ aside, the kerygmatic core οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε / ἠγέρθη γάρ with καθὼς εἶπεν a level deeper, the invitation to inspect the place, and the εἴπατε-commission whose message (raised, going before you, there you will see) stacks one deeper under the imperative — then Jesus' own meeting in vv. 9–10, where he ratifies the angel's word clause for clause and calls the deserters ἀδελφοί μου. Verses 11–15 are the counter-machine: the guards' true report to the chief priests sits on the same mainline, and the purchased lie nests exactly like true speech — the coached sentence Εἴπατε ὅτι… hanging under λέγοντες, the theft-story under εἴπατε with its self-defeating genitive absolute ἡμῶν κοιμωμένων beneath the very verb ἔκλεψαν, and the ἐὰν ἀκουσθῇ protasis leaning forward one deeper on the promised cover-up — closing with the etiological μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας. Verses 16–20 give the Great Commission its true shape: after worship and the candid οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν, everything Jesus says hangs under a single λέγων — the Dan 7:14 declaration ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία; then one lone imperative, μαθητεύσατε, with πορευθέντες οὖν leaning forward on it (attendant circumstance sharing its imperatival force, not a separate command) and the two means-participles βαπτίζοντες and διδάσκοντες anchored beneath it as the mode of disciple-making — the layout takes the participles as means, not additional commands; and finally the Emmanuel promise καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι, with the ἕως τῆς συντελείας sweep as its own line, so the Gospel that began with 'God with us' (1:23) visibly ends on the same word.