Scripture

Until then they still hadn’t understood the scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.

Observation

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb and finds that it is empty. She runs to find Simon Peter and John, and they immediately run to the tomb.

Going inside, they notice that the grave clothes are lying there, They see this and believe that Jesus is alive.

Mary is outside the tomb, and she sees two angels in the place where Jesus’ body had been. Suddenly Jesus appears, but she fails to recognise Him at first. She goes to find the disciples and testifies, “I have seen the Lord!”

Application

When we read this, and the other accounts of the resurrection, it is clear that nobody seriously thought that Jesus was alive. He had been brutally beaten, flogged, crucified, declared dead and then buried.

Not one of the disciples, not the women with them, had any thought other than Jesus was dead.

Confronted by an empty tomb, the first thought was that someone had stolen the body. When John and Peter examined the tomb and the grave clothes carefully, it slowly dawned on them that Jesus had risen from the dead according to the Old Testament prophecies.

Often christians today skip too quickly over Jesus’ death in order to celebrate the resurrection. But there is no Easter Sunday without a Good Friday.

He died, was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead.

The resurrection is God’s amazing promise that death is not the end of our story. Sin brought death, sickness and destruction into the world. Now Jesus has defeated sin and death.

Jesus rose from the dead to show us that His followers will also rise from the dead.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the Good News that Jesus has conquered sin and death. Thank you that I too will rise from death into eternal life. Amen.