He is Risen:As He said

Luke 24:1-5

“Now it was the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bow down to the ground. They said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead?”

First Eye Witness

The women, who had come with Him from Galilee, observed the tomb and how His body was laid. (Matthew 27:59:61). Then they returned and prepared spices (mixture of myrrh and aloes) and fragrant oil to complete His burial ceremony.  

On their way to the tomb, they expressed their concern about what to do with the large stone: “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us? However, when they got to the tomb, what they encountered change their lives forever. There was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightening and his clothing as white as now. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay.  (Matthew 28:2-3, Luke 24:2,Mark16: 3-4, John 20:1)

The women from Galilee were in awe of seeing an angel, so they bow their faces to the ground, they were also in awe when Mary Magdalene told them they have taken the Lord body and did not know where they laid Him. They mourned and wept. In trepidation, they entered the tomb and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (John 20:1,11-18, Mark 16:10, Luke 24:1-3)  while perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. Upon seeing the angels, they bow down their faces to the earth- this bow is a form of respect and not worship; we do not worship angels but God. “Now I, John, saw and heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me: “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. “ (Revelation 22:9) ”

Luke 24: 6-8:  Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was in Galilee saying: “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the 3^rd day rise again.  And they remember His words.

• As Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish so will the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthews 12:40)
• From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priest and be killed and raised on the 3rd day. (Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31)
• Now while they staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him and the 3^rd day He will rise up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful. (Matthew 17:21)
• Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised, I will go to Galilee.
• Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they have seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (Mark 9:9)
• Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests, and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the gentiles and they will mock Him and scourge Him and spit on Him and kill Him. And the 3^rd day He will rise again. (Mark 10:26)
• The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the 3^rd day. Luke 9:22

• Destroy this temple and on the third day I will raise it up. (John 2:19)

• For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. (John 5:21)

• Therefore My Father loves men, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one can take it from me, but I lay it down and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my father. (John 10:17-18)

The disciples of Christ, including the women did not believe Christ would be raised from the dead, because their action spoke loudly, from the preparation of the spice before His burial to bringing of the spice after His burial. They did not understand the prophetic words of King David in Psalms 16: 10:“For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption.  There was no need to anoint His body with spices to counter odor, because His body was not meant to decompose, and see corruption; in Him was life and the life was light of men.

He came not according to the law of the flesh but according to the power of endless life. Jesus Christ our Lord, was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. This last Adam body contains a life-giving spirit that delivered Him up for our offenses and raised Him up for our justification. (Matthew 1:20, Hebrews 7:16, John 1:4,1 John 5:9, Romans 1:2-4, Romans 3:25)

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son.”

The disciple thought the Son of God’s death was final, a “done deal” even though He told them several times that He will be put to death and raised up on the 3^rd day. The resurrection of Christ was also foreshadowed in the Old Testament through the life of the prophet Jonah, who stayed in the belly of the great fish for 3 days and 3 nights.  The actions of the disciples including the women of Galilee debunk the fictitious story that the disciples stole the body of Christ away from a sealed tomb that had posted Roman guards.  (Matthew 28:11-15)

The first eyes witness of the risen Christ were women.  From the inception of the world, God uses women as an instrument of righteousness in His redemption plan: “From the seed of a woman will bruise the head of the serpent, to the virgin shall bring forth a child: “the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God”- a light to the gentiles and the glory of Israel, to He is not here, but is risen, and to I go to my Father your Father, my God, your God.” God brought true light into the world through a woman, in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God revealed the knowledge of son-ship to a woman- a woman who was persistent in her pursuit. ( Exodus 4:22, John 20: 1-2, 11-17, Galatians 4: 3-7).

 Jesus said: Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find and knock and the door shall be open to you. (Matthew 7:7)

These women mourning turned into Joy, when the angels told them Christ has triumph over death. Their attitude were transformed from despair to a living hope as they realized their faith was not futile, that Our God is active and alive and He watches over His word to perform it, He fulfills all His promises  (Jeremiah 1:12, 1 Corinthians 1:20)

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we testified of God that He raised up Christ from the dead, whom He did not raised up-if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile and you are still in your sin. “(1 Corinthians 15:13-17)

God’s Messengers

Angels are ministering spirits, which serve those who inherit salvation and angels are not meant to be worship. We worship Christ because He is one with God and He is better than angels, by inheritance, He obtained a more excellent name than they.  Also, he has gone into heaven and at the right hand of God and angels and authorities are subject to Him (Hebrews 1:4, 14, 1 peter 3:22).   Therefore, God has exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name, that at that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven, of those on earth and of those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:9-10) The angels served the people by announcing the birth and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“The empty tomb, the presence of angles, the message of angels, did not change the heart of these women, but His words did: “I am the resurrection and Life. He who believes in me, though he may die shall live. And whoever believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Luke 24:9: Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven (excluding Judas) and to all the rest.  And their words seem like idle tales and they did not believe them.  All the disciples did not believe the women testimony, except John, who believed when he went into the tomb and saw the linen cloth lying there. (John 20:8).

Jesus said: “Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe” (John 20:29)

Ministers of Christ

Who are these women and what is their relationship with Christ? These women were ministers of Christ- “And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were looking on from afar among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:56)

Mary Magdalene-  when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast out 7 demons.  Jesus said to her “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but you go to my brethren and say to them, ”I am ascending to My Father and your Father and to My God and your God.” (John 20:1-2, 11-17, Galatians 4:4-7)

Joanna: And Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward and Susanna and many others who provided for Him for substance.  Luke 8:3

Mary the Mother of James:  Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Him. (Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10)

Others- unnamed women.

Luke 24:12: But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, and stopping down He saw the linen cloth lying down by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself what had happened.  

Peter responded in unbelief when he saw the grave clothes were loosed from Christ’s body. He did not fully comprehend scripture that Christ must rise again from the dead as the first fruit among those who have fallen asleep. (John 20: 6,9,11:44, 1 Corinthians 15:21-23) Since by man came death, by a man also came the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive; to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. But each one in his own order: Christ the first-fruits, afterward those who are in Christ’s at His coming.  The Old Testament first fruit harvest symbolized the promise to come and Christ’s resurrection fulfills this promise now, and in the future: harvest of living souls will be raised to life with resurrected bodies that will never die again, then shall come to pass this saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is your victory”. (Leviticus 23:9-14, Romans 8:29-30, 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, 1 Corinthians 15:)

“Later the Lord appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table, and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. (Mark 16:14)

Other Eye Witnesses: The Christ Resurrection

For I delivered to you first of all that which I received that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, and that He was buried and that He rose again the 3^rd day according to the scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas and the twelve. After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, all the apostles saw him. Then last of all, He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15: 3-8)

After Christ’s resurrection, many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.  They came out of the grave, went into the holy city, and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:52-53). Jesus said: Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. … Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.  (John 5:29)

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. “ (John 20:31)

So, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

(Romans 10:9-10)

“Now to Him who is able to exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think; according to His power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. “Amen. (Ephesian 3:20)

Pause & Reflect

• What did the women experience at the tomb?
• Who were the women at the tomb?
• How many men did the women meet at the tomb?
• How many men did the women meet in the tomb?
• How many angels proclaim Christ’s resurrection message?
• Who are angels and what purpose do they serve?
• How does remembering the words of God give us hope?
• Who were the witnesses of Christ’s resurrection?
• Who did He appear to first? And how many times did He appear to His disciples?
• What was Christ departing message to the disciples?
• Who declared Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man?