Matthew 28:1-8 Mark 16:1-8 Luke 24:1-8 John 20:1

Matthew 28:1-8 1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.

Mark 16:1-8 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” 8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Luke 24:1-8 1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which theyhad prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words,

John 20:1 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

The resurrection of Jesus is the most important event in the history of the world.  Perhaps the return of Jesus will be more spectacular, but the only reason the return of Jesus will be spectacular is because of the resurrection.  Without the resurrection, there could be not return.  Without the resurrection, there would be no hope.  That makes this passage one of the most important in all of Scripture.  It is a simple narrative that simply describes the events as they unfold.  It must have been an amazing experience for the guards and the women who have this first encounter with the power of God demonstrated in the resurrection.

THE LORD IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD: When God the Father resurrected Jesus from the dead, there was yet another earthquake.  The earthquake was either cause by our coincided with the coming of an angel the rolled the stone away from the grave.  The appearance of this angel was so intimidating that the Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb could do nothing.  They were astonished and scared.  It seems they didn’t even have the courage to confront the angel, tell it to stop or take any action against it.  Normally, these men would have defended the tomb with their weapons, subdued any intruder and kill a person who tried to resist.  The appearance of this angel made it obvious to these soldiers that they stood no chance against this being.  The text says they became like dead men without response and we have to assume that when they came back to consciousness, they ran away in fear of their lives.  The angel then sits at the tomb and waits for the women to arrive.  This is one of those scenes that I would love to see in the celestial cinema.  If the power of an angel is so astounding, can you imagine the power of God?  He and His angels defend and protect us according to His good pleasure.  May this truth fill our hearts with peace and confidence we live for and serve Him.

THE WOMEN FIND THE EMPTY GRAVE: The women who served Jesus and His disciples while He was alive are still caring for Him in His death.  They are coming on the first day after the sabbath rest to make provision for his body with herbs and spices.  When they approach the tomb, they are concerned with how they would roll the stone away.  Apparently, they were unaware of the to guards that were supposed to have been assigned to that post.  The guards seem to have fled from the area and the women see that the stone has been rolled away.  The angels that are waiting at the tomb remind the women that Jess had told them He would rise again and show them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead just as He said He would.  They remember this teaching and are astonished by what the Lord has done.  It is interesting that the soldiers had such fear of the angles, but the women do not seem to be afraid of them.  Certainly, the fact that they were believers had something to do with that.  God chose to announce the resurrection to these women.  They are the first testimonies to the resurrection.  Their testimony impacted all the disciples and continues to impact the world today.

THE ANGEL INSTRUCTS THE WOMEN: Angels have many different duties, but one of them is to serve as a messenger of God.  When God has an important message to communicate in a specific circumstance, we see in Scripture that He has sent angels to deliver that message.  The women who come to the grave expecting to put spices on the body of Jesus, instead find an empty grave and an angel.  There are basically three parts to the angel’s message from God.  The first was to go and tell the disciples that the Lord had risen from the dead.  The second was to go to Galilee where Jesus would go to meet them all.  The third was to remember the words of Jesus where He promised that He would rise from the dead.  Them message of the resurrection cannot be kept a secret.  Since the day that this happened, God has called on all believers to spread the message that Jesus died and rose again to save man from sin.  Our only hope of salvation is to believe that truth.  Our greatest priority on earth is to proclaim that glorious message of the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin through simple faith.  This is the story of redemption that God has been promising since the sin of Adam.  We are called to remember His promises, trust in His provision and proclaim the Good News that Jesus is risen!

APPLICATION: If the glory of angels is so magnificent that Roman soldiers became as dead men when the encountered on, imagine how glorious God is.  We need to stand in awe of the person of Christ.  God is still calling us as His followers to spread the news of the resurrection of Jesus, draw close to Jesus and to remember His promises.  If we will do those three things, life will work well for us.