Jesus Rises From the Dead
May 11, 2022
Commentary
This final chapter of Luke records the experiences of several people who had first-hand experiences with the risen Lord. In each case they were depressed because of Jesus’ death, but after meeting with Him they were joyful and praised God. The first people to learn of the resurrection of Jesus were the women who had been faithful in following Him. It was very early in the morning on the first day of the week when these women arrived at the tomb, bringing more spices for His burial (v.1). The women brought spices to the tomb as we would bring flowers, as a sign of love and respect. However, they did not find the body they were looking for (vv. 2-3). The stone was gone, the body was gone, the grave clothes were still intact and two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning were standing there. These were obviously angelic beings (v. 4).
These women were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth as they questioned these angelic beings where Jesus was (vv. 5-8). Then they ran to tell the apostles and others what they had seen (vv. 9-10), but they refused to believe the report (v.11). Then Peter ran to the tomb and found what the women had described was true (v. 12). It must have looked like an empty mummy shell. The resurrected body of Jesus had passed through the cloth wrappings, leaving them undisturbed.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the central fact of Christian history. Keep in mind that the message of the Gospel rests upon the death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection (I Corinthians 15:1-8). The earthquake and the angel opened the tomb, not to let Jesus out but to let the witnesses in (Matthew 28:2-4). “Come and see, go and tell!” is what it was all about and still is today. Without the resurrection there would be no Christian church today.
Application
What difference does the physical resurrection mean to me? I can use these verses to comfort those who have lost love ones.
Luke 24:1– 12 (NET)
1 Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the aromatic spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood beside them in dazzling attire. 5 The women were terribly frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then the women remembered his words, 9 and when they returned from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed like pure nonsense to them, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and saw only the strips of linen cloth; then he went home, wondering what had happened.
Illustration: Moody Christ Broke Up Every Funeral
As a young man, D. L. Moody was called upon suddenly to preach a funeral sermon. He hunted all through the Four Gospels trying to find one of Christ’s funeral sermons, but searched in vain. He found that Christ broke up every funeral He ever attended. Death could not exist where He was. When the dead heard His voice, they sprang to life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations – 10514).