“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.” -Matthew 27:57-61
The death and resurrection of Jesus is arguably the most important event in Scripture. As a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us, we are forgiven, justified, heirs of Heaven, and have the promise of resurrection. This is an event that gives us real peace, lasting comfort, and true joy. Unfortunately, though, the world can try to ruin or spoil these blessings by casting doubt and skepticism about the resurrection of Jesus. During this time of the year, we might see articles or TV specials that try to cast doubt on this important and life changing event. Or on the flip side, we might see things trying to defend the resurrection, like the new movie based on Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ.
When we look at the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection, we see lots of small little details that help us to see the truthfulness and reliability of the witnesses’ testimonies. An example of this is in the snippet of the text above. Matthew records that Jesus’ body was placed into Joseph of Arimathea’s new tomb. The tomb had never been used before and had been cut out of rock. Once the body was placed in the tomb, a great stone was rolled in front of it. Witnessing this event were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. They knew exactly which tomb Jesus had been placed in. There would be no doubt. Even Joseph of Arimathea knew which tomb Jesus was in, it was his own! It can never be said that people went to the wrong tomb on Sunday morning.
Then, on Easter morning, Matthew tells us, “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” Here, we read what the women had seen when they got to the tomb. As they approached Jesus’ tomb, they found it open, with the angel sitting on the stone. The angel tells them to not be afraid, and that Jesus “is not here, for He has risen, as He said.” Then the angel invites them to “Come, see the place where he lay (v.6).” Luke the Evangelist tells us, “but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” The women actually entered the tomb, and looked around inside it. They were not lazy nor did they just take the angel at his word. Rather, they looked and searched inside the tomb, and they found it….EMPTY! Jesus had truly risen from the dead like He said that He would. More than that, Jesus Himself meets and greets them (v.9-10). Christ is risen!
While the world and others might try to cast doubt on the resurrection, we can have confidence and trust in God’s Word that the greatest event in the history of the world is true and trustworthy. Not only do we have our Lord’s own predictions about His resurrection, we also have the facts and witnesses of the event too. As we continue to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection over the coming weeks, we can rejoice and have hope in the One Who “has risen, as He said.” ~Pastor Nick Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XVIII, Number 10, May 2017)