Resurrection Sunday! The greatest, most victorious, and triumphant day in all of history! As we read in our Scripture for today, Luke’s account of the Resurrection, the day wasn’t seeming to begin as a good day for the followers of Jesus. The remaining 11 apostles, and the other disciples were all in hiding from the Jewish religious leaders who had crucified their Lord. They were in fear for their lives. It did not seem like a great or triumphant day for them.
In addition to the numerous men who faithfully followed Jesus during His years of ministry, there were several women who were also faithful believers. Many of these women provided for the material needs of Jesus and the twelve (Luke 8:2-3). They had followed Jesus, and they were present there when He was crucified (Matthew 27:55-56). When His dead Body was removed from the cross, these women, along with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, brought it to the grave. Because it was almost sunset, and the beginning of the Sabbath, the women were not able to fully anoint the Body for burial according to the customs of the day. All they could do was a quick, superficial anointing, and then they wrapped the Body with linen. Jesus was then laid in the tomb. These women loved their Lord, and wanted to perform a respectful and proper anointing and burial, so they waited for the Sabbath to conclude, and then they would finish the proper ceremonies.
Very early that Sunday morning, before the sun was even beginning to peek over the horizon, several of these women went to the tomb to finish the anointing. Among them was Mary Magdalene. Jesus had cast seven demons from her. There is no mention anywhere in the Bible of her being a prostitute, though unfairly that rumor persists even to this day. She was the very first to see the risen Savior (John 20:11-18). Another woman mentioned was Joanna. She was the wife of Chuza, who was Herod’s chief steward, the one in charge of managing his household.
When these women arrived at the tomb, instead of finding the Body of Jesus, they found two angels who questioned why they were looking for the living among the dead. They reminded the women of the words of Jesus, and how He would rise from the dead on the third day (vs. 4-7). Jesus had told His disciples several times what would happen to Him - His betrayal, crucifixion, and also His resurrection. We see that recorded in Luke 9:22; 17:25; and 18:31-33. The other Gospels give similar accounts. Yet not one of the disciples comprehended or believed. This all took them by surprise.
After word got out about the resurrection of Jesus, the religious leaders accused the disciples of stealing the Body of Jesus while the Roman soldiers slept (Matthew 28:11-15). For years that was the Jewish belief as to what they said happened to Jesus. However, not one single person in the several years after the resurrection was ever found who stated they had seen Jesus’ dead body in some other location. Jesus had many enemies, especially among the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, yet none of them were ever able to produce a body, or even someone who could say they had seen the body, and thus truly refute the claim of the resurrection.
Other religions have some type of ethical system and religious writings, and some type of concept of an after-life. Only Christianity, though, has a God who became human, literally died for His people, and was raised again in power and glory to rule forever!
Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we know that death has been conquered, and all believers will be raised from the dead to live forever with Him. No matter what may happen to us in life, the resurrection of Jesus gives us hope for the future. It also assures us that He is alive and ruling His kingdom. Jesus is not a legend like Robin Hood or Hercules. He is alive and real!
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