Luke 23:55
“And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.”
Luke 24:1
“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.”
Jesus was dead. The Romans soldiers at the Cross knew it for they had seen death often. Just to make certain one soldier pointed the sharp tip of his spear and thrust it into the side of Christ causing fluids to rush from His body.
“Behold thy Lord, the Lamb of God
Blood sprinkled lies before thee,
Pouring out His life that He
May to life restore thee.”
The Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin knew Jesus was dead for they watched carefully every moment He was on the tree. Their wicked hearts rejoiced in the victory they had won over Christ. Theses masters of spiritual deceit had silenced Jesus of Nazareth who had publicly condemned their religious hypocrisy thereby shaming them. They had showed themselves superior to this One who claimed He was the Son of God and greater than Abraham, Isaac or Jacob. The religious leaders had maneuvered the masses like puppets on a string to cry out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Yes, the Pharisees were quite certain Jesus was dead.
So were the disciples. It was but six days ago the disciples believed all their Messianic dreams were about to materialize. The excited cries of the multitude still rang in their ears. There were fond memories of the people spreading their garments in the road and laying down palm branches as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a colt. The people had cried out,
“Hosanna, to the Son of David,
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21: 9).
The disciples were as excited as the people. There was no one that could stop the momentum towards a new world order in Israel. Soon, very soon the Romans would be forced to leave the nation, or at least withdraw their troops. And even if a war broke out, the disciples were certain Jesus would use His miraculous powers to destroy any force Rome sent against the Jews.
Then, once military victory was won, a new political order could be established with Jesus as King of the nation, and His disciples as co-rulers with Him. Oh, the possibilities were endless. Dreams of glory filled the hearts of the former fishermen. In just three short years they had seen Christ do amazing feats that defied the laws of nature and stunned the imagination. Jesus had even brought people back to life who had died. What was the power of Rome against this one solitary Life saturated with the power of the Almighty?
But the bubble burst. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jewish authorities who whispered to the Romans they would co-operate with putting Jesus to death. The city of Jerusalem was being turned upside down with talk of revolution and revolt against Roman government. The Pharisees did not want a band of fishermen to be their new rulers. And they certainly did not want any part of Christ or His Messianic message, so great was their hatred and hostility toward Him.
The disciples were stunned when they learned Judas had betrayed Jesus. They were alarmed when, in the middle of the night many Temple guards carrying torches came to arrest Jesus. They were awakened out of a restless sleep in the garden of Gethsemane to find Jesus surrounded by angry officials taking Him into custody. In a terrible moment of madness the world of the disciples fell apart. Filled with fear they scattered into the night leaving Jesus to His fate.
The events after that moved with incredible speed. While the disciples regrouped and tried to comprehend the sudden change of events, Jesus was put on trial, sentenced to death, and executed within a matter of hours. It was all such a bloody violent nightmare. When they saw Jesus nailed to a cross, and then breathe His last breath, the disciples knew Jesus was dead.
The women who watched Jesus while He suffered on the Cross-also knew He was dead. Helplessly they stood near the cross weeping with broken hearts. The pain and sufferings of Christ were as if a sword had pierced through their own souls. They listened to each utterance of Christ from the Cross, including the finally desperate cry, “It is finished!” And then Jesus bowed His head and dismissed His spirit. He was dead.
Joseph, a secret disciple, knew Jesus was dead. From the hill country northwest of Jerusalem Joseph had come to witness the death of Christ. When He saw Jesus had drawn His last breath he managed to get an audience with the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
“I have a request,” he said upon entrance. “I want to bury Jesus.” Pilate was astonished at the request since Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin. Joseph was a member of the religious body that had brought the initial charge against Jesus of being an insurrectionist.
Pilate shrugged his shoulders. He would never understand these tempestuous Jews who screamed out for the crucifixion of their Messiah one moment and then offered to bury Him the next. Permission was granted. When the Roman soldiers ripped the body of Jesus from the tree as brutally as it had been nailed, there Joseph was present to receive it. He knew Jesus was dead.
“O darkest woe! Ye tears, forth flow!
Has earth so sad a wonder?
God the Father’s only Son
Now lies buried yonder.”
Soon after the body of Christ was taken to the burial site to a cave near Golgotha, “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome start for the tomb, And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.”
The purpose for this observation was to know where to return after the Sabbath had ended. The women would go home and prepare spices and ointments for a proper burial. They would return to wash the body lovingly and make it look as attractive as possible, much like morticians do today.
In the midst of their sorrow the women would keep the Sabbath and they would worship God. It was proper the women kept the Sabbath. In the midst of death and sorrow, despite tragedy and loss the heart must always stay centered in the Lord. So, the women returned to their homes in Jerusalem where they prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.
The long hours passed. The Sabbath ended and the dawning of a new day appeared. It was the first day of the week. Very early in the morning, with the first light-rays streaming down the women came to the sepulchre bringing the spices, which they had prepared. However, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome were not alone. Others had decided to go with them to the sepulchre. Together they made their way back to the graveyard.
There was not much talk as the journey was made but there were fewer tears. The trauma of the death of Christ had worn away and the women were able to function again. Step by step they moved quietly towards the tomb. As they drew closer a dawning awareness came to their senses. What was that? The stone was rolled away. They could not believe what they were witnessing. The massive stone had been rolled away from the sepulchre.
New fears suddenly gripped the hearts of the women but not to the point to dispel their curiosity. So, they entered the tomb, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they stared in amazement at what was not there, the body of Christ, a heavenly light engulfed them. The women blinked and crowded together as two men stood by them in shining garments. Terrified, the women fell to the earth inside the cold tomb with their faces to the earth. They heard a voice speaking to them. It was not unkind but it did seem to be rebuking them. “Why seek ye the living among the dead? Jesus is not here, but is risen. Do you not 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?”
The women did remember. With their bodies on the ground inside the tomb, with their faces to the ground, with their hearts pounding with the excitement of mixed emotions, the women remembered the words of Jesus, and when they did, joy came in the morning.
“Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!”
The light of the heavenly messengers brought the light of day when the women remembered Jesus said, “I will rise again.” And they believed! They believed that Jesus was no longer in the burial cave because He was alive! By faith they believed He lived again.
Had not Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead (Luke 7:11-15)?
Had not the Lord raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Luke 8:41, 42, 49-55).
Was not Lazarus now alive because Christ raised him from the dead (John 11:1-44)?
Of course! Jesus was alive! Their hearts now filled with renewed faith rooted in a miraculous reality, the women arose from the ground and with excitement half ran back to Jerusalem to tell all they had seen and heard to the eleven. However, when their story was told the women appeared to the disciples to be emotionally hysterical. What they had to say was doubted. It was too fantastic to believe!
Nevertheless, Peter and John decided to make their way to the graveyard to see for themselves. Apparently, they were not subject to arrest or by now the soldiers would have come to take them into custody. Making their way toward the tomb the thought of Jesus not being there became to much for John. Leaving Peter behind he began to run toward the tomb. Just as the women had said, the Roman guard was gone. The massive stone door was rolled away. John went to the entrance and stooped down. He peeked inside and then he went away.
When Peter arrived, he too noticed all the women had said was true. He went inside and there he found something the women had overlooked. The burial clothes of Christ were lying neatly folded. Peter picked up the fabric and wondered. Where was the body?
“Peter, you will soon know where the body of Christ is for He has said He will meet you. Peter, Jesus will meet you where He first found you, by the waters where the fish swim. Go Peter, go to the Sea of Tiberius and wait.”
The Bible tells us that Peter did go back to fishing. Jesus found Him once, He would find Him again. Like Jacob, who went back to Bethel, Peter went back to the place where He first met the Lord. Sometimes, the wisest decision we can make is to go back to where we first met the Lord and wait on another divine visitation. If God came to us once, perhaps He will come in grace the second time.
Sometimes, in the twilight years of life an older person will reflect on the better memories of a childhood once filled with songs about Jesus. Across decades of wasted years the music of the heart plays. The listening ears can hear a child’s voice happily singling,
“Jesus loves me, this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.”
.
Sometimes, it is good to remember.
Another thought crowds the mind. The gospel had been preached and the invitation was given. Once more the music plays in a magical moment of memory.
“Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!”
Will Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909)
Peter thought of how terribly he had failed the Lord. He was no better than Judas. Judas betrayed Jesus for money; Peter betrayed His loyalty to Jesus to save his own life. He had boasted he would never deny the Lord but he did. Not once, not twice but three times.
What right did he have to say anything to anyone about sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come? Is it any wonder Peter said, “I go fishing?”(John 21:3). So Peter went fishing. He went home. He went to the place where Jesus had first found him. And he went to a place of promise. He did not know it but Jesus had made a promise. Jesus had told the women He would meet with Peter, not in judgment or condemnation, but in grace.
“O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.”
There is pardon for you and for me because there was pardon for Peter (John 21: 4-19). But we must believe and return to the place where we first met the Lord. In time, He will come if He finds us waiting for Him and wanting Him. He will come if he finds us with a broken heart ready to do His will and not ours. He will come if he finds us humble and not full of our own dreams and schemes.
Have you gone fishing lately? Have you gone back to the place where you first met the Lord? Have you gone back to a place where the Lord first met you and wanted to use you in His service?
I am sure Peter had no intention of ever ministering again. He was too ashamed of himself. But Jesus gave Him work to do. “Peter, feed my sheep. Peter, did you hear me? Feed my sheep. I do not want you to spend your days fishing, unless you are fishing for me. Peter, preach the gospel. Advance my kingdom. You are still my Rock and I will still build my church upon you. Peter, feed my sheep.”
Consider these spiritual observations.
First, the resurrection is central to the Christian faith. If Christ is not raised from the death, then it does not matter how a person lives or acts for there is no hope of salvation.
Second, because Christ lives there is a story to tell to the nations.
“We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light,
A story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.”
The only request I have ever asked of the church in over thirty years of public ministry is to help me tell the story to the nations. I have never asked for financial security. I have never asked for life insurance, retirement plans, medical coverage, or any other human security. But I have asked people to help me tell the story to the nations. Because Christ lives there is a story to tell.
Finally, the gospel calls not only sinners to salvation but professing saints to renewed ministry. The heart might feel useless and ask itself, “What can a person do having wasted a lifetime summarized with illicit sex, broken relationships, verbal and physical violence, drugs and alcohol? What can a person do that has dared to deny the Lord of glory for personal security? What can a person do that has been a religious hypocrite?”
The gospel answer is this: “Come home. Come and wait for Jesus and then go forth and engage in kingdom work for the glory of God and the good of one’s soul.” Only then will joy come in the morning.
“Christ the Lord is risen again;
Christ hath broken every chain;
Hark! Angelic voices cry,
Singing evermore on high,
Alleluia!”
