Dear Explorer,
Read Matthew 28:1
And
Read Mark 16:1-2
And
Read Luke 24:1
And
Read John 20:1
What day of the week was it?
Sunday early morning while it was still dark – but near sunrise.
I believe the same group of women who watched the crucifixion together, went together to the tomb. I think that these were women who had traveled with Jesus for the past 3 years. We don't know how many of them went, but probably several.
It really helped me to understand what these followers might have gone through when I met with a group of fellow followers on Easter morning, 1976, in Tucson, Arizona. Our pastor at the time was Si Davis. He led us to imagine what different followers of Jesus might have been thinking early that Sunday morning before the resurrection.
The Sabbath was over. Jesus was dead. They had been following Him for about 3 years. What do you think they might be thinking?
Now you've got to remember that these eyewitnesses were traumatized by just seeing their Messiah and friend crucified, and their whole world turned upside down. Their testimony is a little jumbled and not cohesive. Let's examine each record separately. Record what happened from each writer's account.
Read Matthew 28:2-7
Matthew said:
Read Mark 16:3-8
Mark wrote:
Read Luke 24:2-8
Luke said that the eyewitnesses that he interviewed said:
From these 3 accounts, what can be ascertained to have happened?
There was an earthquake. The stone was rolled away. The guards were somehow rendered unconscious. An angel (or maybe 2) spoke to them.
Jesus had taught that women were of equal value spiritually to men. Here we see the women given a very important task to complete. What did the angel tell them to do?
Why do you think that the angel specifically told them to tell the disciples AND Peter?
I doubt Peter felt like an apostle after betraying Jesus. So, just to be sure that Peter understood he was included, the angel specifically mentioned telling Peter to meet Jesus in Galilee.
I'm not sure what Mark meant when he said that the women didn't tell anyone. He could have meant that they didn't speak to each other while they ran to tell the men because they were too afraid. Or it may have meant that they didn't tell anyone that they met as they raced to tell the men. Or it could have meant that most of them just went home and didn't complete the assignment. But we know that Luke named at least 3 women and added that other women were with them as they told the disciples.
This is the first recorded event on that first Sunday when everything changed. Our sins were paid for and we were assured of life eternal. Be still and try to imagine being there and trying to comprehend the excitement.
We'll look at this more next time.
In His service, dale
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