First Hand Witnesses

28 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, 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. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Matthew 28:1-10 NKJV

They went to visit the grave of Jesus. Only Jesus’s body wasn’t in the ground, it had been placed in a cave. I cannot imagine the grief they were going through.  If they were at all like me, their eyes were probably swollen from crying. Their upper lips were probably puffy too. I bet they were exhausted from weeping, maybe even had a sinus headache. I wonder if they walked in silence or if they were crying softly as the waves of grief swept over them. Then they finally arrive where Joseph had placed Jesus’s beaten and bloody body.

A couple of days earlier Mary Mag (that’s what I like to call her), and Mary, (the mother of  Zebe-dee son’s James and John), had seen Jesus tortured and hung to death on the cross. They had heard Jesus cry out in pain and agony. They had heard Him cry out, “My God, My God why have You forsaken me?” Can you imagine? They had been there to watch Joseph, another follower of Christ, place his wrapped body in the tomb. The Pharisees had even asked Pilate to place soldiers at the tomb just to make sure that no one would steal His body and they sealed his tomb with a giant stone.

Mary Mag had seen the healing power of Jesus in action before. The other Mary was the mother of James and John; their nicknames were the sons of thunder! Her sons were close friends and followers of Jesus. She loved Jesus too. What had happened? It was all a blur. When he died the earth shook as if it mourned too. Their world had been shaken, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The Savior was now dead; He was their hope…what happened? If they were anything like me they were trying to remember everything He had ever said to them trying to piece it all together, trying to make sense of it all. Where were the promises that had been promised?

Back to the tomb…there was another huge earthquake! The stone had rolled from the entrance and now there was this angel sitting there. The word says that His countenance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were totally freaked out! The Bible says that they shook with fear and became like dead men. I am guessing that means that they passed out! Then the angel spoke to them.

He reassured them, telling them to not be afraid and he knew why they were there too! He told them the best news ever! “He is not here; for He is risen. “ I love it because the angel wanted them to see the place where the body had been laid. These two ladies were first hand witnesses! The angel told them to hurry and go tell the His disciples that He is risen from the dead! The angel also told them that Jesus would go before them to Galilee and they would see Him there.

Oh my goodness, how exciting is that? What had they just witnessed? Was it real? Or was it just a dream? The Bible says that they were afraid and had great joy! Have you ever been so excited about something but afraid that it was too good to be true? I wonder if that was part of it…but of course it had to be a little fear of the unknown too! So much had just happened in just a few days. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!  As they hurried to go tell the disciples the news Jesus met them saying, “Rejoice!” I love the next part in verse 9, “So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.” Can you imagine it? Wow. It was true! He really was alive. Then Jesus reassures them to not be afraid. He then tells them to go and tell His disciples. Jesus knew how to get the news out! He told two women who loved Him! Lol

If you think about it there is something so very cool in this story. Even though society at this time didn’t value women (they were pretty much property), Jesus appeared to them first. I love how He made sure that they were comforted when they were afraid.  He let them fall at His feet and have their moment and then He sent them on a very important mission. He cared for them because He loved them.  Man talk about good tears!

Jesus loves us so very much. He makes room for us in ministry, even when we can be a mess. He will reassure us; He will let us gather ourselves, spend time at His feet and then send us to do His important work. So remember when your world has been shaken, whether physically, spiritually or emotionally, Jesus has it all under control. When you are sitting there trying to piece things together and it isn’t making sense, He has it all under control. It appeared that Jesus was defeated on the cross that day but it wasn’t over when He died. It wasn’t over when He was laid in the tomb; it wasn’t over when the soldiers were guarding the tomb. I am sure that it felt like it was over to Mary and Mary but they were there to witness the empty tomb.

I am thankful that He is risen! When I went to Israel I got to see the empty tomb too…He still isn’t there J

Shanin