Lk. 24:1-12 - "Why look for the living among the dead?"

      As we saw earlier, the women among Jesus' followers had gone with Nicodemus and Joseph when they mournfully carried Jesus' body to Joseph's new tomb for temporary burial. It was Friday afternoon, and the Sabbath was nearing, so the ladies went home to prepare the spices for Jesus' final entombment. They had hoped to complete their sad, loving task of preparing Jesus' body, but as the Sabbath neared, they realized they could not finish. It would have to wait until Sunday morning.
     Jesus' followers kept the Sabbath as the Fourth Commandment taught. Jesus had always practiced this, and they followed His example. Jesus ignored the human, man-made traditions about the Sabbath, even flaunting them at times; but He followed God's commandments in letter and spirit. After all, He had created the Sabbath for humanity (Mk. 2:27-28; Gen. 2:1-2), and His purpose for it had not changed. In the New Covenant God's Law is not changed; it is written on the heart (Heb. 10:16), which was always His plan.
     Now it is early Sunday morning, and Luke tells us they are up early to complete their plan. "Very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb" (v.1).
     Of course they found the stone rolled away and Jesus' body gone, which greatly frightened and bewildered them. "While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them" (v. 4). Another Gospel simply said there were two men in white garments, but Luke has investigated the story carefully and interviewed the witnesses. He tells us their clothes "gleamed like lightning." They were angels!
     "In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground. . ." (v. 5) Then the angels speak to them, and the message they give is more detailed and significant than the other Gospels: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"
     These words have become the Christian proclamation exclaimed at every Easter, and they contain the validating fact of our faith. Jesus not only died, but He rose from the dead!
     It is wonderful that Jesus died for our sins, but if He had remained in the grave, it would have proved Him a liar and faker. His resurrection confirms His identity as Son of God and Savior and substantiates His predictions that He would lay down His life for us and take it up again by His own power (see Jn. 10:14-18).
     That is what Paul means when he writes, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:17-20).
     I love how the angels announce Jesus' resurrection to the women. In essence they say, "Why are you coming to a graveyard to look for someone who is living? Nobody goes to the cemetery to look for a walking, breathing human being. Jesus isn't dead; He is fully alive, filled with His energetic purpose and plans. Death didn't stop Him. The grave can't hold Him. He is alive!
     Then they begin the word of "re-membering," reminding them of Jesus’ words:
     "Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again'" (vs. 6-7). Remember? He told you so many times, but you didn't want to believe it. Your concepts of an earthly Messiah didn't let you believe it. But "remember" because what Jesus said was true. "Then," Luke says, "they remembered His words" (v. 8)
     They remembered, but in their surprise and shock, they still didn't fully get it. It would take many hours to fully grasp and believe He was truly alive, and many days to re-learn everything Jesus had tried to teach them about what the prophecies said.
     The women rushed back to tell the Eleven, but they didn't believe it either. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb" (v. 12).  I love Peter's enthusiasm; He is always first to jump--into the water, into conversation, even into trouble. I think that's partly why Jesus chose him. He saw a curiosity, an eagerness, a warm-heartedness, and an impulsiveness that would help Peter do great things for the Kingdom someday, when truly surrendered to Jesus.
     "Bending over, he (Peter) saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what happened" (v. 12). If someone stole the body, it is likely they would have taken it still wrapped in the linen wrappings. But why were they still there, Peter wonders.
     To jump ahead, John describes the arrangement of the burial cloths in more detail in his Gospel. He writes that Peter "saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen" (Jn. 20:6, 7). That explains Peter's curious puzzlement even better. What grave robber would stop to fold up the face cloth? Oh, thinks Peter, that would be so like Jesus to do! He was so neat and orderly in everything He did. Could He really be alive, he wonders?

Pastor Michael Brownfield