Read Matthew 28:1-10
This blessed day dawns.
When you read the gospel accounts of resurrection morning, there was a great deal of traffic back and forth to the tomb. The women, the disciples. Confusion, disbelief.
I particularly enjoy reading where the women first approach the tomb. Prior to their arrival, an angel descends from heaven, sending the soldiers of Rome into a catatonic state–a very satisfying scene.
The angel not only rolls the stone from the tomb entrance, but sits on it, waiting for the women. Peter Marshall, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, 1946-49, makes a great point:
The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in.
The words to of the angel to them are wonderful:
Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
Think about those words. They will be preached in churches all over the world this morning. Don’t be afraid. Seek Jesus who was crucified. The cross is empty, the tomb is empty. But, if your heart is empty, He will gladly fill it.
And there is the Lord’s command when He meets the women as they are hurrying back to Jerusalem:
Rejoice!
And so we will, with serious joy. Our debt is paid. We are reconciled to God through the precious blood of the risen Christ.