1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
Resurrection! The report has been heralded by faithful followers of Jesus Christ for nearly 2000 years. It is absolutely central to Christianity. We are not just talking “religious speak,” but a testimony rooted in historical fact. The Sunday morning details are annually rehearsed in churches around the world: the two women as first witnesses, the earth tremors, an angel descending, rolling away the stone, seasoned military guards completely overwhelmed with fear. No wonder the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid.”
It has been said that if you remove the resurrection, whole swaths of the New Testament would have to be deleted, not only because of the pervasiveness of this teaching in the NT, but also because the Christian life is based not only the death of Christ, but also the resurrection. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins…we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:17, 19). Indeed, the very identity of Jesus rests on the factuality of the resurrection. Romans 1:4 clearly asserts that Jesus, “… was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Christians through the centuries have given their lives in the belief of this. Great minds have come to grips with the historical veracity of the gospel accounts. There is no satisfactory explanation for the rise and persuasive spread of Christianity apart from the belief of the immediate followers of Jesus that He had indeed risen from the dead and that they had seen Him with their own eyes!
Just like an angel heralded the arrival of Jesus into the life cycle of human experience, so also angels announced not just the completion of that cycle, but the conquest of fallen human nature. Death did not have the last say! This was the message that had to be told. That was the women’s mandate, and that becomes the mandate of all who claim to be followers of Jesus.
Praise the Lord for rising again to give us newness of life!
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