The King Rises from the Dead (Luke 24:1-12)

This lesson discusses Jesus’ resurrection, covering the event from all four Gospels.

Luke 24:1-9

He Is Risen

Luke 24:1-9

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they [The women who had followed Jesus from the Galilee and who had prepared spices and fragrant oils.], and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

(Compare Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; John 20:1-10)

Preliminary comments

In our study this evening we are looking at the events surrounding the discovery of Jesus’ resurrection. I want to focus on two topics:

1. the Gospel accounts of the discovery of the empty tomb
2. and the significance of Jesus’ resurrection for believers.

As has been my practice in previous studies, we will look at what Luke’s Gospel says and supplement that account with details from the other three Gospels. As we do so, we will see that on first inspection there differences between the four Gospel accounts of the discovery of the empty tomb, with regard both to the individuals involved as well as the sequence in which the events occurred.

For example, we will see differences between the four Gospel accounts with regard to the number of:

• women who go to the tomb;
• angels present at the tomb, as well as where those angels are found;
• women to whom Jesus appears;
• apostles who visit the tomb is response to the women’s report.

I will make note of these differences as they occur in the first section of our study.

At the outset I want to confess that I often find that studies such as this one challenge to my faith by generating a certain amount of tension between what I the word of God says about itself - that it “is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”( 2 Timothy 3:16) and that the words of God are pure, purified seven time, and preserved by Him from generation to generation (Psalm 12:6-7) - and what I read in the pages of Scripture.  For right now I just want to note that for me this tension exists. I ask that you bear with me and promise that I will attempt to address it at the end of our study tonight.

In addition, I must also confess that I during the week I became aware that there is considerable controversy surrounding the day of the week on which Jesus was crucified: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday have all been proposed. Suffice it to say that there are arguments from Scripture that can be mustered for all three days. In fact I believe that it require more time than I am prepared presently to allocate just to set out the evidence for and against each day. Furthermore, my own belief is that, in the end, we will not be able resolve this question once and for all; for indeed it has not been resolved in over two thousand years since Jesus’ crucifixion and I have no doubt that I am nowhere near as wise as those who have already argued it.

For these reasons, I want to “pass over” this particular controversy altogether. For the purpose of our study tonight, I believe that it makes little or no difference on which day you believe Jesus was crucified. If it was important, the Lord would have told us the day. What is important are the implications of what the women discovered when they went to Jesus’ tomb.

The Discovery of the empty tomb

Luke 23 ended with the women who had followed Jesus from the Galilee returning to Jerusalem and preparing spices and fragrant oils. Then at sundown, with the onset of the Sabbath, they ceased their preparations and rested, in accordance with the commandment.

All four Gospels tell us the same basic story: early in the morning on the first day of the week, a group of women make their way to Jesus’ tomb, to anoint His body with the spices and fragrant oils they have prepared. When they arrive, they find the tomb is opened and Jesus’ body is gone. The women encounter angels at the tomb, who confirm that Jesus is alive and has been raised from the dead. The woman or women hurry back to the apostles and disciples to tell them what they have seen and heard. Their story is not well-received by the apostles and disciples. Only a handful of the apostles go to the tomb to verify that what the women have reported is true.

All four Gospels (Luke 24, Matthew 28, Mark 16, and John 20) agree that it was early in the morning on the first day of the week (i.e., Sunday), that the women set out to Jesus’ tomb. As we have already observed, the number of women recorded in each Gospel ranges from one to four. The Gospels have preserved the identity of several of these women: Mary Magdalene (that is, Mary from the city of Magdala), Joanna, Mary the mother of James and Joses (or Joseph), Salome, and the mother of James and John, Jesus’ disciples, the sons of Zebedee. It appears that there were in addition other women whose names are not mentioned.

                         Notes:

Luke’s Gospel lists Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and certain other women with them; Matthew's account Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (perhaps the mother of James and Joses?); Mark identifies Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James (and Joses?), and Salome; and John records that

I am assuming here that Mary the mother of Joses mentioned in Mark 15:47 is the same person as the Mary mother of James mentioned in both Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:10, and the Mary, mother of James and Joses, mentioned in Matthew 27:56.

Early Sunday morning one or more of these women went to Jesus’ tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16:3) records that  as the women walked, they wondered aloud who would roll the stone away from the tomb so that they could apply the spices and oils to Jesus’ body. We recall from last week’s study that after Joseph of Arimathea had lain Jesus in the tomb, Matthew records that he “rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.” (Matthew 27:60). This may imply that Joseph was able to roll the stone himself, although he may have had help from Nicodemus, whom John mentions, or possibly others (his servants?) who were present but not explicitly mentioned. Also Joseph may have rolled the stone downhill to seal the tomb, in which case opening it would require rolling the rock uphill, which would be far more difficult.

We also discussed last Friday also how the Gospel of Matthew records that chief priests and Pharisees had gone to Pilate on the day after Jesus was buried, asking him to set a guard on Jesus’ tomb. Pilate gave them permission to do so and they sealed the tomb and set a guard there to prevent His disciples from stealing Jesus’ body. Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 28:11) records that after being terrorized by the angels, the guards reported the disappearance of Jesus’ body not to Pilate but rather to the chief priests, which is evidence for the fact I believe that they were Jews in the employ of the chief priest rather than Roman soldiers. Scripture does not indicate whether the women were aware of the existence of this guard or the reason it had been placed there.

When the women arrive, they discover that the tomb is open and the stone that had blocked its entrance had been moved. The Gospel of Matthew mentions that there had been an earthquake, and that an angel had descended from heaven and rolled back the stone, upon which stone the women find him sitting (Matthew 28:2-3). In Luke’s account, the women do not see the angels initially; first they enter the tomb and discover that the body of Jesus is gone. This discovery perplexes the women greatly, so that they are dumbfounded; they literally do not know what to think or do next. It is at very this moment that two men in shining garments appear near to them. Luke does not explicitly state that the men are angels; however the other three Gospels directly state that angels speak to the women. Luke’s description of the men’s garments as shining or flashing like lightning is consistent with the appearance of angels elsewhere in the New Testament (Revelation 15:6-7). In Acts 10:30-32 the Gentile Cornelius describes his angelic vision to Peter with these words: …"Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.' " Interestingly Matthew 28:3-4describes the angel at the tomb that appeared to the women as having a face like lightning and a garment as white as snow. 

Assuming that the men Luke mentions are indeed angels, all four Gospel accounts mention the presence of one or more angels at the tomb. In Matthew and Mark, one angel is mentioned; in Luke and John, there are two angels, although in John’s account, the angels appear only to Mary Magdalene, and then only after she has the disappearance of Jesus’ body has been reported to the disciples and confirmed by Peter and John.

Luke records that the women were afraid of the angels and bowed their faces to the earth. If angels, who are themselves created beings, like man, can evoke such a reaction, imagine what the presence of Jesus in His glorified body will be like!

Just as we saw last week how Jesus’ life was bookended by righteous people who were waiting for the Messiah (Simeon and Anna when His earthly parents brought Him to the Temple to present Him to the Lord and Joseph of Arimathea to claim His body from the cross and bury Him), so too we see here how angels were used by God to announce the good news associated with His birth and resurrection. Thirty three years before the Lord had sent His messengers to announce the wonderful news to the shepherds in the fields:

Luke 2:10-12

"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

And now God has again sent His angels, to tell the women the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead. Here are the words that Luke records the angels spoke to the women:

Luke 24:5-7

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

The crux of the angel’s message is this: Jesus is alive and has left His tomb, in fulfillment of the words He had spoken to His disciples in Galilee and again in Jerusalem! I believe that God sent this message by angels because He wanted it understood that it came from God and not from man and because this message has great significance for the women, for the disciples, and for all believers. We will spend the second half of our study tonight examining what some of these implications are.

Scripture does not say whether the women understood the spiritual implications of what the angels had told them. I suspect that their spirits may have been stirred up by the Holy Spirit, one of whose job is to bring the things of Jesus to mind (John 14:26). They recalled that Jesus had indeed told His followers that He would be handed over, crucified, and rise again on the third day, and they hurried to report what they had seen and heard to the eleven remaining apostles and the rest. I imagine that these women were filled with a mixture of astonishment, fear, and excitement. Their friend and Lord, whom they had believed to be the Christ, had risen from the grave!

Matthew 28:9-10 records that as the women made their way back into Jerusalem, the risen Jesus appeared to them: “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."” Both Mark and John contain a variant of this incident, in which the risen Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene and she reports to the apostles and disciples what she has seen and heard. Luke’s Gospel does not mention any appearance of the risen Christ to the women at this point

The women told the apostles and disciples all that they had seen and heard. But for the most part, their words fell on deaf ears. The majority of the apostles and disciples were unwilling or perhaps unable to make sense of what the women were telling them; the women’s words, Luke tells us, seemed to them like twaddle, like complete nonsense. Luke records that Peter alone was stirred up by what they women said. He arose, and raced to the tomb, marveling that it was empty and at the linen grave clothes lying on the ground that he found there.

John’s Gospel adds some additional detail to this account. In John’s account, both John and Peter race to the tomb. John, the much younger man, arrives first and peers into the tomb without entering. When Peter arrives, he goes directly in and looks around, followed closely by John. John notes of himself that he saw and believed, I take it, that Jesus has arisen and was alive. John 20:9-10 adds the comment that “For as yet they [the disciples] did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”

Christ in us the hope of glory

What an amazing and emotional time that must have been for the women who went to the tomb that morning, and for Peter and John as well! And while the fact of the resurrection is indeed miraculous, I find the significance of the empty tomb and the resurrected Jesus for all mankind, but especially for believers, to be more astonishing still. Indeed the resurrection is at the very heart of the Gospel and is the source of our faith and our hope of glory.

In chapter 15 of the Book of 1 Corinthians Paul writes to the church at Corinth concerning the importance of Jesus’ resurrection. Paul begins the chapter with these words:

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 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. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

Paul begins with this clear statement of the Gospel, the “good news” which he received and has delivered to us, by which we are saved, if we hold fast to it: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…”

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead testifies that His sacrifice for our sins was accepted by God the Father. This, as I understand it, is the point of Romans 4:24-25, which tells us Jesus was delivered up to be crucified because of [or better: to make a way for] our [mankind’s] offenses [to be paid], and was raised up from the dead because of [or better: to make a way for] our [mankind’s] justification. Now we can be confident that God the Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice because He not only raised Him from the dead but He also highly exalted Him, seating Him at His right hand (Hebrews 8:1-2, Ephesians 1:19-23) and giving Him “…the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

Indeed the fact of the resurrection, Paul tells the Corinthians, is critical to our faith:

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

If Christ is not risen, our faith is futile and our sins are not forgiven. We have no hope of eternal life and are of all men the most pitiable, for we do not seek after the things of the world while alive yet have nope hope of heaven in death.

But praise God that it was not so! He was raised by the same power of God that now works within us (Romans 8:11). Paul continues:

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

But we have only the word of Paul on which to rely but also the promises of Christ and of the apostles. In the Gospel of John, we read that after they had dined together in the Upper Room, Jesus spoke to His disciples, reassuring them about the things that were about to happen. He told them that He would soon leave them, to a place where they could not follow initially. In response to their questions, Jesus adds:

2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

After the exchange continues, Jesus makes this statement in John 14:19, which I read as a promise of resurrection and eternal life: "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also."

And finally, let me read to you Peter’s greeting to the pilgrims of the dispersion taken from 1 Peter 1:3-5, where Peter reminds us of the living hope to which God the Father has birthed in us through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

What a wonderful hope we have received from God the Father! Our hope is alive, just like the source of our hope, Jesus Christ. Because of Him, and His work upon the cross, we have become adopted sons and daughters of God, and have been given an inheritance set aside for us in heaven, which neither moths nor rust can corrupt, nor thieves steal (Matthew 6:19-20). It consists of salvation, which is ready to be revealed in the last time. And of this inheritance we can be certain, because that tomb was empty on that Sunday morning, over 2000 years ago.

This then is the meaning of the angels’ words to the women at the tomb. The fact that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, that He had been raised by God the Father from the grave, and walked among the living, never again to die, meant that “It is finished!” The power of sin and death had been broken and the veil separating a holy God from sinful man had been torn from top to bottom.

I mentioned at the outset that studies like these, where accounts of people, places, and events differ from one Gospel to another, can and sometimes do cause me to pause. Perhaps I have seen too many courtroom dramas on TV, but I can imagine a skilled lawyer pointing out the discrepancies between the Gospel accounts of the discovery of the empty tomb. I can hear that lawyer questioning the human authors, seeking to discredit their testimony. Yes, I believe that is exactly how things would transpire in an earthly courtroom.

We must bear in mind that the intent of the Gospels, indeed of Scripture as a whole, is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Scripture is not intended not to preserve a detailed and completely accurate account of each person, place, and thing that is mentioned. The focus was, and should be, on Jesus, on who He was, on what He said and did, and on what He has promised that He will do.

It is interesting that the early church did not waver in its faith because of these discrepancies. I believe it is a modern sensibility that requires the list of women who went to the tomb to match exactly and reads into Scripture what may not be intended. I believe that each of the four Gospels reflects not only what the individual author knew, but also, and more importantly, how the Holy Spirit led that that individual to write. John and Matthew may have heard the testimony of the women with their own ears; Luke and mark most like based their accounts on the testimony of others and the prompting of the Spirit. If God had desired that the four Gospel accounts were in harmony to that level of detail, He could have made it so.

Notice for example, what Mary Magdalene says to Simon Peter and John after she discovers the tomb is empty: "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." Notice in particular that she uses the word “we,” which is plural, and not “I,” which we would expect given the fact that John no one beside Mary Magdalene going to the tomb. Similarly mentioning one angel does not conclusively indicate that there was only one, and not two.

I wonder if God has not given us these four similar but slightly different Gospel accounts as a test of our faith, to see if we choose to believe or be put off by a lack of complete consistency. There is a proverb that reads “The devil is in the details,” which I have read is a variation on “God is in the details.” In such cases as our study tonight, I wonder if there might not be more truth in that proverb than we might imagine. Satan, that sly fox, would I believe love to turn us away from the Gospel because of the details. But to paraphrase Joshua (Josh 24:15), as for me, and my house, we will trust in the Lord. I choose to believe His good news and not be put off by what I choose to view as minor inconsistencies.

In closing, let me remind you that this study is meant to be food for thought. Never believe what I tell you without praying about it yourselves and searching the Scriptures. You want God’s word not man’s word, for in the word of man there is little truth and even less power.