Day 714: He has risen! - Luke 24 vs 1 - 12

The last two verses of Chapter 23 told how the women who'd come with Jesus from Galilee saw the tomb where Joseph of Arimathea laid His body, then returned to where they were staying and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Chapter 24 now moves on to the wonderful event that followed.

1-3 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4-7 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee  that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8-9 And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

10-11 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marvelling at what had happened. Luke 24:1-12 English Standard Version

To get a full picture of all that happened on that first day of the week nearly 2000 years ago one must read the Gospel of John as well as the other three gospels. Luke has selected what he considered necessary for his readers to know. We can easily understand how bewildered the woman must've felt to see the heavy stone moved away and the body, which they'd seen Joseph so tenderly lay there, now gone. But what was the heart of the message that the two men in dazzling apparel gave them that so excited them? (vs 4-7)

The men (certainly angels) told them that Jesus had indeed risen, just as He had on a number of occasions told His disciples He would do – but which they had been so slow to grasp. Matthew's gospel gives us one example of that. We read there: “As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to Him. 'Listen,' He said, 'we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence Him to die. Then they will hand Him over to the gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. But on the third day He will be raised from the dead.'” (Matthew 20:17-19)

At the time it obviously did not sink in to the disciples. Perhaps they thought that the 'Son of Man' must be someone else. But as the angels reminded the women, so they themselves remembered that Jesus had spoken such words. And now it was happening, it was coming true. Bewilderment was turning to hopeful excitement. But if they hoped the menfolk were going to be thrilled with the news they were disappointed. (vs 10-11) Even in those days men could be skeptical of women. But is it not lovely that it was women to whom God first gave the wonderful news of Christ's resurrection!

Is it not also interesting that Luke says it was Peter who raced off to see what had prompted the women to come with such news? Was his heart still aching from how he had let his Lord down? (We know from John's gospel that he too raced off with Peter. In fact, probably being younger, he reached the tomb first.) The empty tomb and neatly folded grave cloths were a silent witness to the truth of what the women had been told by the angels - “He is not here, but has risen.” That's the glorious climax of the gospel story. Jesus is risen. All other heroes of history are still in their graves – but don't look for the One who is living among the dead. Oh let us serve Him with joy.