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
1
Ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων, τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ εἰς μίαν σαββάτων, ἦλθεν Μαριὰμ ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη Μαρίαindependent — the piled temporal frame opens the scene — the two women of 27:56, 61, witnesses of cross, burial, and now tomb
θεωρῆσαι τὸν τάφον.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
2
καὶ ἰδοὺ σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας·independent — ἰδού + σεισμός — the apocalyptic tremor answering the crucifixion quake (27:51)
ἄγγελος γὰρ κυρίου καταβὰς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ προσελθὼν ἀπεκύλισεν τὸν λίθονcause — the γάρ explains the quake — the stone rolled back not to let Jesus out but to show he is gone
καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ.cause — coordinate in the γάρ clause — imperfect ἐκάθητο, seated on the stone in calm triumph
3
ἦν δὲ ἡ εἰδέα αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴindependent — descriptive imperfect — theophanic glory language (Dan 10:6)
καὶ τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ὡς χιών.independent — verbless — ἦν carried over; the snow-white of the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9)
4
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ φόβου αὐτοῦ ἐσείσθησαν οἱ τηροῦντεςindependent — ἐσείσθησαν echoes σεισμός — the keepers themselves quake
καὶ ἐγενήθησαν ὡς νεκροί.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
5
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν ταῖς γυναιξίν·independent — speech-frame — pleonastic ἀποκριθείς; the angel turns from the felled guards to the women
μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὑμεῖς,content — μή + present imperative; emphatic ὑμεῖς sets the women apart from the guards
οἶδα γὰρcause — the reassurance grounded — their errand is already known
ὅτι Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον ζητεῖτε·content — fronted Ἰησοῦν; perfect ἐσταυρωμένον — the crucified as his abiding title (cf. Mark 16:6)
6
οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε,content — the empty tomb stated — absence as the sign
ἠγέρθη γὰρcause — the kerygmatic core — a divine passive: God raised him
καθὼς εἶπεν·comparative — Jesus' own predictions invoked (16:21; 17:23; 20:19)
δεῦτε ἴδετε τὸν τόπονcontent — the invitation to verify — the evidence pointed at
ὅπου ἔκειτο ὁ κύριος.relative — imperfect ἔκειτο — the now-ended lying there; ὁ κύριος, the resurrection title (omitted by some witnesses)
7
καὶ ταχὺ πορευθεῖσαι εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτιcontent — the witnesses made messengers — attendant πορευθεῖσαι with the imperative; ταχύ, the resurrection urgency
ἠγέρθη ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν,content — the message, first clause — ἠγέρθη repeated verbatim
καὶ ἰδοὺ προάγει ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν,content — futuristic present προάγει — the shepherd leading again (26:32)
ἐκεῖ αὐτὸν ὄψεσθε·content — fronted ἐκεῖ — Galilee the appointed place of seeing (fulfilled v. 17)
ἰδοὺ εἶπον ὑμῖν.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
8
καὶ ἀπελθοῦσαι ταχὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου μετὰ φόβου καὶ χαρᾶς μεγάληςparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἔδραμον; the paradoxical pair, numinous awe and gospel joy (contrast Mark 16:8)
ἔδραμονindependent — the haste of the first heralds — the commanded ταχύ (v. 7) enacted
ἀπαγγεῖλαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ.purpose — purpose infinitive — obedience already under way
vv. 9–10 — ἰδοὺ Ἰησοῦς: the risen Lord himself repeats the charge
9
καὶ ἰδοὺ Ἰησοῦς ὑπήντησεν αὐταῖςindependent — the first appearance of the risen Jesus — meeting them on the errand itself
λέγων·participial — speech-frame participle
χαίρετε.content — the everyday greeting χαίρετε — yet apt on the lips of the risen one after the χαρά of v. 8
αἱ δὲ προσελθοῦσαι ἐκράτησαν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδαςindependent — the grasped feet — homage, and proof of a touchable, bodily resurrection
καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ.independent — προσκυνέω — in Matthew the fitting response to Jesus (14:33; v. 17)
10
τότε λέγει αὐταῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the dominical ratification of the angel's word begins
μὴ φοβεῖσθε·content — the angel's reassurance (v. 5) now in Jesus' own voice
ὑπάγετε ἀπαγγείλατε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μουcontent — asyndetic double imperative — ἀδελφοί μου: the deserters of 26:56 called brothers, restoration in a word
ἵνα ἀπέλθωσιν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν,content — content-ἵνα — the substance of the report, an instruction to travel
κἀκεῖ με ὄψονται.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
11
Πορευομένων δὲ αὐτῶνparticipial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; the women's errand becomes the backdrop of the counter-errand
ἰδού τινες τῆς κουστωδίας ἐλθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν ἅπαντα τὰ γενόμενα.independent — the ironic parallel — ἀπήγγειλαν, the women's verb (vv. 8, 10); the enemies receive a full and true report
12
καὶ συναχθέντες μετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων συμβούλιόν τε λαβόντεςparticipial — preposed participles — leaning on ἔδωκαν; συμβούλιον λαμβάνω, the plotting idiom of 27:1, 7
ἀργύρια ἱκανὰ ἔδωκαν τοῖς στρατιώταιςindependent — 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
13
λέγοντες·participial — speech-frame — the priests dictate the script the money buys
εἴπατε ὅτιcontent — recitative ὅτι — the lie quoted verbatim beneath the command to speak it
οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς ἐλθόντες ἔκλεψαν αὐτὸνcontent — the theft-story the priests themselves had feared (27:64), now purchased and scripted
ἡμῶν κοιμωμένων.participial — genitive absolute, following its verb — self-defeating: sleeping sentries can witness no theft
14
καὶ ἐὰν ἀκουσθῇ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος,conditional — ἐάν protasis — forward-leaning on πείσομεν; dereliction on watch was a capital matter for soldiers
ἡμεῖς πείσομεν αὐτὸνcontent — the apodosis — emphatic ἡμεῖς, the priests' guarantee, with a hint of further bribery for Pilate
καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀμερίμνους ποιήσομεν.content — coordinate apodosis — ἀμερίμνους, impunity promised; the deal complete
v. 15 — the lie that lasted: μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας
15
οἱ δὲ λαβόντες τὰ ἀργύρια ἐποίησανindependent — the bribe accepted — λαβόντες τὰ ἀργύρια, the transaction closed
ὡς ἐδιδάχθησαν.comparative — ἐδιδάχθησαν — soldiers 'taught' a lie, set against the true teaching of v. 20
καὶ διεφημίσθη ὁ λόγος οὗτος παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας.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
16
Οἱ δὲ ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν εἰς τὸ ὄροςindependent — οἱ ἕνδεκα — the Twelve minus Judas; the mountain, Matthew's site of revelation (5:1; 17:1)
οὗ ἐτάξατο αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς,relative — ἐτάξατο — the rendezvous of vv. 7, 10 kept
17
καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸνparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on προσεκύνησαν; the promised sight (vv. 7, 10) realized
προσεκύνησαν,independent — the response the women modeled (v. 9)
οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν.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
18
καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖςindependent — προσελθών — the exalted Lord himself approaches the doubting worshipers
λέγων·participial — speech-frame — the Gospel's closing words all hang here
ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.content — the divine passive ἐδόθη — Dan 7:14, the Son of Man's dominion; the first of the commission's four 'all's
19
πορευθέντες οὖνparticipial — attendant-circumstance participle — forward-leaning on μαθητεύσατε, sharing its imperatival force; οὖν grounds the mission in v. 18
μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη,content — the lone imperative — μαθητεύσατε, the commission's heart; πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, the mission unbounded (contrast 10:5–6)
βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος,participial — first means-participle — one ὄνομα over three persons, the seedbed of trinitarian confession
20
διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάνταparticipial — second means-participle — discipleship as obedience, not mere information
ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν·relative — ὅσα — the whole dominical teaching, the five great discourses; Jesus the new Moses giving commandments
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέραςcontent — emphatic ἐγώ — the Emmanuel promise (1:23) closing the Gospel in Jesus' own voice
ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος.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.