Reading: Luke 23-24
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest((Luke 24:1-9).
Jesus was dead and buried. This wasn’t hearsay or a rumor that could not be verified. They knew it for a fact; they had seen His dead body with their own eyes. The Man that was their everything, the Savior in whom they had placed all their hopes, was gone. And despite everything He had done to prepare them for this moment, they could not see beyond their despair.
Christ’s lifeless body had been removed from the cross on the eve of the Sabbath (Luke 23:52-56). With no time to spare, Joseph of Arimathaea had collected the body, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in the tomb. The women made preparations to properly anoint the body, but their ministrations were delayed by the Sabbath day of rest. When they arrived at the tomb the morning after the Sabbath, they were met, not by the Roman guards and sealed tomb they expected, but rather by an open, empty tomb and a pair of heavenly messengers, saying, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you? Upon hearing this reminder, the women rejoiced. A sudden understanding of Christ’s words flooded their hearts and unlocked their faith. Jesus had risen; He had conquered death.
The women immediately rushed to share the news with those who had loved Christ best. Scripture doesn’t tell us all that was said, but it is reasonable to assume that in addition to telling them of the empty tomb, they also recalled for the disciples the things Jesus had told them to expect. But where the reminder had restored the women’s faith, the eleven were unmoved. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not (24:11). Yes, they had seen Jesus work miracles, but Jesus was gone. In their minds, the miracles had died along with Him. It would take varying levels of proof before they would believe any differently.
Perfection is not in the nature of man; it is not possible to achieve. This includes perfect faith. Even those who have genuinely come to know the Lord will sometimes have their senses clouded and be overcome with doubt and fear. God understands this and will not leave us to our despair. He will reveal Himself to us as often as we need Him to do so. As long as we still seek Him, we will never be left in the dark.
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:24).
Thought for Today: God is there to catch us when we stumble in our faith, but if we allow our pride to get in the way of taking His outstretched hand, we risk falling prey to temptation and sin.
Cross Reference: For Luke 23:30: See Hos. 10:8. Luke 23:34: See Ps. 22:18.
Word Studies: 23:5 Jewry = the Judean region; 23:19 for . . . sedition = for having started a riot; 23:23 instant = insistent or persistent; 23:29 paps = breasts; 23:32 malefactors = criminals, ones who do evil; 24:29 far spent = almost over.
Prayer for Staff:Jennifer Palafox • Country: Gaza Strip (1,816,379) Mid East • Major Languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English • Islam is Official Religion • 99.3% Muslim; 0.7% Christian• Prayer Suggestion: Let your faith in the Word of God overrule all fears (Prov. 3:6).