<p>28:5&nbsp;<i>And the angel said to the women</i>- AV &quot;Answered and said&quot;. The fear of the women was not verbalized, but the Angel responded to it, just as God often responds to our unexpressed fears.&nbsp;</p><p><i>Do not be fearful</i>- The idea is '<i>You</i>&nbsp;do not need to be fearful, unlike these soldiers who are paralyzed by their own fears'. Their weakness is still apparent in the record, because :8 says that they left the scene &quot;with fear...&quot;.&nbsp;</p><p><i>For I know you seek Jesus, who has been crucified</i>- The women had come to anoint the Lord's dead body, with apparently no expectation that He would indeed rise the third day as He had predicted. And yet the Angel generously counts this to them ('I know / perceive / accept / count it') as if they were actively looking for Jesus. Their obvious error- that they assumed Him to still be dead- is not rebuked because the good news is simply so much greater. The resurrection records are full of such imputed righteousness. Lk. 24:5 enquires why they are 'seeking the living amongst the dead'. They were not seeking the living- they had come to anoint a dead body. Yet they are graciously counted as seeking Jesus as if they were seeking for a living person. John's record has the Lord asking Mary&nbsp;<i>whom</i>&nbsp;she is 'seeking', and this is how John's Gospel opens, with the Lord enquiring of His followers&nbsp;<i>whom</i>&nbsp;they were seeking (Jn. 1:38; 20:15). This question as to the Lord's identity echoes down to us, for we too can feel a devotion and identity with the idea of 'Jesus' without perceiving that He really is alive and active. The Lord counted righteousness to them, they are commended by the Angels for &lsquo;seeking the Lord&rsquo;- even though that seeking was deep in their subconscious. Yet the record notices that even incipient faith and understanding in those women, and counts it to them. Would that we would be so generous in our perception of others. The weeping, helpless standing afar off at the cross are described as still following the Lord Jesus and ministering to Him, as they did in the happier Galilee days (Mk. 15:41). Their essential spirit was understood and credited to them, even though their actions seemed to belie this. Likewise our essential desires are read as our prayers, even if the words we use seem quite different.</p><p>Mk. 16:6 adds: &quot;Jesus of Nazareth&quot;, as if emphasizing the Lord's humanity and death as compared to the wonderful reality of His resurrection.</p>