At dawn that Sunday morning, signaling the end of the Sabbath, the women gathered spices and head to Joseph’s tomb. They were still grieving the death of their beloved Jesus. They wanted to do one final thing for Him, by adding more spices around His body.
They knew the stone that covered the entrance of the tomb was huge. It would be impossible for them to move it themselves. The women were not sure how they would accomplish their mission, but they were determined. And it didn’t matter how big the stone, or that Roman soldiers were guarding the tomb. They were not afraid to go to Jesus’s tomb.
“Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” they asked each other as they walked through the crisp morning air. They didn’t know what they would do, but they would find a way.
As the tomb came into their sight, they saw the stone was rolled back from the entrance. They ran into the tomb. Their eyes adjusted to the dim light and hoped to see the body of their Lord.
But what they saw terrified them. A man dressed in a long white robe waited for them.
Instantly, they knew he was an angel.
“Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him,” said the angel.
They tore their eyes away from the angel and saw that Jesus was gone. The burial clothes that had been wrapped around Him were lying on the ledge—empty.
“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you,” said the angel.
The women ran out of the tomb and headed toward the home where the disciples had gathered. When they came through the door, they all talked at once to tell them that Jesus was risen, that they saw an angel, that the angel mentioned Peter by name, that Jesus would see them in Galilee.
The disciples listened to what the women were saying. But it seemed so unlikely that they couldn’t believe it.
Then Peter and John looked at each other. They bolted out the door and ran as fast as they could toward the tomb. John got there first and saw the open tomb. John bent down to look inside.
John was still looking inside the tomb when Peter arrived seconds later. He swept right past John and went inside the tomb.
Both Peter and John stared. The grave clothes were empty. The cloth that had covered Jesus’s head had been set aside, separate from the rest.
Then Peter and John knew.
Jesus had risen from the dead.
Their Lord was alive.
Carla Killough McClafferty