<p>28:3&nbsp;<i>His appearance was as lightning and his garment white as snow</i>- This is the language used elsewhere about the Lord Jesus, especially at the transfiguration and later in Revelation. The similarities were intentional. The women were being shown that the Lord's representative Angel perhaps Gabriel was visible and active, and this was to encourage them to believe that He Himself was now alive.</p><p>Of course Mary was scared. But note the contrast with the soldiers guarding the tomb. They were&nbsp;<i>so</i>&nbsp;scared by the sight of the Angel that they lost consciousness (Mt. 28:4). The women saw the same Angel, were scared, but not to the same extent. They looked at His face- for it was presumably they who told Matthew what the Angel&rsquo;s face looked like: &ldquo;As lightning, and his raiment white as snow&rdquo;. Their love for their Lord, their searching for Him, the very deep, unarticulated, vague hope they had in Him&hellip; drove away the worst part of their fear, whereas the unbelieving soldiers simply passed out from fright. Indeed, it appears that Mary was so distracted by the deep grief that only comes from love, that she perhaps didn&rsquo;t even notice the Angel&rsquo;s glory, or at least, didn&rsquo;t pay too much attention to the two Angels sitting where the head and feet of the Lord had been. They ask her why she&rsquo;s crying, and she simply turns away from them, muttering &lsquo;Because they&rsquo;ve taken away my Lord, and I don&rsquo;t know where they&rsquo;ve put Him&rsquo;. That was how deep her grief and distraction was; for that was how deeply she loved Him. Again and again one salutes the decision of the Father, in choosing Mary to be the first one of us to see His risen Son. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>