The past two days had been very difficult and traumatic for the followers of Jesus. After His arrest on Thursday night they had all scattered to various locations to stay in hiding from the religious leaders and Roman soldiers. They all heard what had happened next. Their own religious leaders had condemned Jesus to death, which was okayed by the Roman governor. The sentence was carried out, and Jesus was crucified. Their leader was now dead and buried. The disciples were now engulfed with despair and fear. What was left for them? They had put everything in their lives on hold to follow Jesus, whom they had come to believe was the Messiah, and now their hopes, dreams, their whole world lay crumpled in a heap. This is where we find them as dawn was breaking that Sunday morning.
As our Scripture passage begins several of the women, in particular Mary Magdalene, who had followed Jesus from the start of His ministry and had helped financially to provide for His needs, now wanted to do one final act of devotion to their Lord. With the coming light of dawn they wanted to go to the tomb and properly anoint His body, as that ritual had been put off with the coming of the Sabbath. Mary Magdalene and the others were on their way to the grave alone, as none of the men accompanied them. The men remained in hiding, still afraid. It was equally dangerous for the women. They could just as easily be arrested. They were at the mercy of the rough Roman soldiers who guarded the tomb, as well. Their love for the Lord overruled these concerns. They would not leave Him without these final acts of devotion.
Nothing was going to stop Mary Magdalene from doing what she needed to do. She sought Jesus. She sought Him with boldness. The other disciples were in hiding, but she wasn’t. Mary Magdalene went out with boldness because she had great love for Jesus. She sought Him faithfully. Though she wasn’t certain that Jesus had risen yet, however she was faithful to Him even to the tomb. This was the very least Mary could do. She was earnestly weeping because she loved much.
When the women were coming to the tomb, they wondered among themselves how they would get the stone which closed off the entrance moved (Mark 16:3). They didn’t need to worry about that, though. The angel had already moved it before they arrived. How many times do we worry about big obstacles in our lives, wondering how we will ever get past them? We sometimes face huge barriers, immovable stones. When we leave these in the Lord’s hands, He will see that the stone will be rolled away.
Who rolled the stone away? It wasn’t the earthquake that by chance dislodged the stone, causing it to roll away from the tomb’s entrance. God sent one of His angels to move the stone from the entrance. The angel didn’t roll that stone away to let Jesus out from His tomb. Jesus didn’t need any help getting out of the tomb! The angel rolled the stone away to let the women and apostles in to see the empty tomb, to see the proof of the risen Savior.
When the women arrived at the empty tomb and saw the angel, he had four messages for them. The first was “Do not be afraid”. When we remember the empty tomb we do not need to fear anymore. Instead, the knowledge of the risen Savior should fill us with joy. The angel’s second message to the women was that Jesus was not there. Jesus was no longer dead, so don’t look for Him among the dead. He is alive. The third words the angel spoke were for them to come and see for themselves. Check the evidence yourself. The tomb was empty then, and it is still empty today. The angel’s final words were to go and tell the news. Go, and spread the joy of the resurrection.
Jesus rose from the dead as He promised. We can trust all that He has promised. His resurrection shows us that He is more than a human leader. He is the Son of God, and ruler of God’s eternal kingdom. Because Jesus rose we will be resurrected to eternal life, as well. Darkness has been replaced by light, and fear has been replaced by hope.
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