The resurrection of Jesus is discovered.

Women followers of Jesus discover the empty tomb of Jesus.

 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning: Jesus was crucified on Friday (or on Thursday by some accounts). After His entombment, the tomb was sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:62-66). The tomb stayed sealed and guarded until discovered by these women on the first day of the week, very early in the morning.

A rich man like Joseph of Arimethea would likely have a tomb carved into solid rock; this tomb was in a garden near the place of crucifixion (John 19:41). The tomb would have a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being wrapped with linen strips smeared with spices, aloes, and ointments. Customarily, the Jews left these bodies alone for a few years until they decayed down to the bones, then the bones were placed in a small stone box known as an ossuary. The ossuary remained in the tomb with the remains of other family members.

The entrance to the tomb was blocked by a heavy circular shaped stone, securely rolled in a channel, so only several strong men could move it. This was done to ensure that no one would disturb the remains.

John 19:42 specifically tells us that the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea that Jesus was laid in was close to the place of Jesus’ crucifixion (and each of the two suggested places for Jesus’ death and resurrection bear this out). Joseph probably didn’t like it that the value of his family tomb decreased because the Romans decided to crucify people nearby; yet it reminds us that in God’s plan, the cross and the power of the resurrection are always permanently and closely connected.

“This became the day of Christian worship (cf. Acts 20:7). The change from the traditional and biblical Sabbath is in itself a strong evidence of the Resurrection because it shows the strength of the disciples’ conviction about what happened on that day.” (Liefeld)

 They, and certain other women with them: These women are of special note. They refers to the women from Galilee who saw Jesus put in the tomb (Luke 23:55-56). Luke agrees with Mark 15:47 and Matthew 27:61 that they included Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (Luke 24:10). The certain other women with them included Joanna, (Luke 24:10) and others, unnamed (and the other women with them, Luke 24:10).

“These women came first, by a wonderful providence, before the apostles, to confute that impudent lie made by the priests, that the disciples had stolen the body away.” (Trapp)

Came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared: The body of Jesus was hastily prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (John 19:38-41). The women came to properly complete the hurried job performed immediately after Jesus’ death.

Mark 16:3 tells us that the women discussed the problem of what to do with the heavy stone blocking the entrance to the tomb.

 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus: The actual event of Jesus’ resurrection is nowhere described, but the discovery of it is recorded in some detail. Here, the women who intended to give Jesus’ body a more proper burial discover that the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and that the body of Jesus was not inside the tomb.

“This lack of spectacular detail itself speaks for the historicity of the New Testament documents. There is no attempt on the part of the writers to embellish the event of the Resurrection.” (Pate)

Matthew 27:65-66 reminds us that there was a guard set round the tomb. The stone could not have been rolled away by the women (they were not strong enough) or by the disciples (even if they were brave enough, they could not overcome the armed guards). No one else would have wanted to roll away the stone, and Matthew 28:2 tells us that it was an angel who rolled it away.

The stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out. John 20:19 tells us that Jesus, in His resurrection body, could pass through material barriers. The stone was rolled away away so that others could see in and be persuaded that Jesus Christ was and is risen from the dead.

The angelic announcement of the resurrection.

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 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? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” And they remembered His words.

 As they were greatly perplexed about this: Once the women saw the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, their immediate reaction was that they were greatly perplexed. They did not expect to find an empty tomb. This shows that the resurrection accounts cannot be the product of wishful thinking; they were not even expecting that it could happen.

Two men stood by them in shining garments: Even as angels announced the birth of Jesus, (Luke 2:8-15) so they also announced the resurrection of Jesus. The announcement of His birth was made to a few humble people, considered unimportant by the culture; His resurrection announced by angels to a few women.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? This was a wonderfully logical question. The angels seemed almost surprised that the women were surprised; after all, the angels had heard what Jesus said regarding His resurrection, and they knew the women had heard it also. They naturally wondered why the women were surprised.

“Jesus is not to be thought of as dead: therefore he is not be sought among the dead.” (Morris)

“As places of burial were unclean, it was not reasonable to suppose that the living should frequent them; or that if any was missing he was likely to be found in such places.” (Clarke)

The angels’ question made a point: the living are not to be found among the dead. We should not expect spiritual life among those who do not have it. Many look for Jesus in dead things – religious traditionalism, formalism, man’s rules, human effort and ingenuity. We find Jesus only where there is resurrection life, where He is worshipped in Spirit and in truth.

 He is not here: These were some of the most beautiful and important words ever spoken by an angel to men. One may look all over Jerusalem and see countless thousands of tombs, but one will never find the tomb of Jesus – because He is not here.

Every so often someone claims to have found evidence of the tomb of Jesus or the bones of Jesus. Each claim is found to be untrue, while the testimony of the angels is proved true over and over again: He is not here.

Even the beginning of the resurrection account refutes many of the false alternative theories suggested by some.

· The wrong tomb theory is answered by Luke 23:55; the women knew exactly which tomb Jesus was buried in.

· The wishful thinking theory is answered by Luke 24:4 and 24:11, which note the surprise of the women and the disciples of the news of Jesus’ resurrection.

· The animals-ate-the-body theory is answered by the presence of the stone (Luke 24:2).

· The swoon theory is answered by the presence of the stone (Luke 24:2).

· The grave robber theory is answered by the presence of the Roman guard and seal (Matthew 27:62-66).

 The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again: To the women, it must have seemed like a long time ago that Jesus said these words (Luke 18:31-33). Nevertheless, they needed to remember them and the angels remind them of what Jesus said.

Must is the critical word here; just as much as the crucifixion of Jesus was necessary and ordained, so was His resurrection. Jesus would have never come to the place of Calvary unless there was also an empty tomb of resurrection there.

 And they remembered His words: The first notes of hope were sounded in the hearts of the women when they remembered Jesus’ words. The empty tomb, the presence of angels, the words of the angels in and of themselves could not change their hearts – but His words could change and cheer their hearts.

The women tell the apostles and are not believed.

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest: The women who saw the evidence of the resurrected Jesus and remembered His words were excited about what seemed to be the most wonderful news possible – that Jesus was alive and had triumphed over death.

They would not be excited if Jesus had only somehow miraculously survived the ordeal of the cross. The news that He was alive meant so much more to them than knowing Jesus was a survivor; it meant He was the conqueror over death and that He was everything they had hoped for and more.

 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them: These were the women mentioned in Luke 24:1 as those who discovered the empty tomb. Three are mentioned specifically, and then an unnamed group of other women. These were given the privilege of being the first to tell others of the risen Jesus.

The only references to Mary Magdalene in the Gospels concern her as a witness of the crucifixion (Mark 15:40 and John 19:25) and of the resurrection (all four gospels) and as one from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2, Mark 16:9).

Joanna is mentioned in Luke 8:2 as one of the women who accompanied Jesus and provided for His needs. She is also noted in Luke 8:3 as the wife of Chuza, who helped manage Herod’s affairs (a steward). She was likely a woman of privilege and resources.

Mary the mother of James is only mentioned in connection with the resurrection appearances of Jesus. She was apparently the mother of one of the apostles, James the Less (not James the brother of John).

 Their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them: Despite their excitement, the testimony of the women was not believed. In fact, to the apostles, it seemed as if the women told idle tales, a medical word used to describe the babbling of a fevered and insane man (according to Barclay).

“In the first century the testimony of women was not deemed authoritative. Luke’s inclusion of the incident serves to emphasize his high regard for women.” (Pate)

“The disciples were not men poised on the brink of belief and needing only the shadow of an excuse before launching forth into a proclamation of resurrection. They were utterly skeptical.” (Morris)

The apostles come to believe.

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.

 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb: We know from John 20:3-8 that both Peter and John ran to the tomb together. They saw grave clothes, but not as if they had been ripped off after a struggle. They saw the grave clothes of Jesus lying in perfect order, as if a body had just passed out of them (John 20:6-7). When John saw that, he believed, and Peter marveled. They had not seen the risen Jesus, but they knew that something powerful had happened to cause a body to leave behind the grave clothes in such a manner.

 Marveling to himself at what had happened: Peter and John both observed what was in the tomb and John believed (John 20:8). This tells us that Peter analyzed the situation; he knew something spectacular had happened because of the condition of the grave clothes, but he because he had forgotten the words of Jesus (John 20:9), he did not yet understand and believe the way John had.

You can know that Jesus rose from the dead, but unless you know His words, it won’t make sense. Without knowing the life and teachings of Jesus:

· You don’t know that the resurrection means that the payment that Jesus offered on the cross was perfect and complete.

· You don’t know that the cross was the payment and the empty tomb is the receipt.

· You don’t know that death has no hold on redeemed man.

· You don’t know that when God’s love and man’s hate battled at the cross, God’s love won.

· You don’t know that because Jesus was raised from the dead, we can be resurrected in Him.

We have completed reading Luke 24. There are still more stories to be read and written testimonies to be heard as well. This study of Luke did not cover the entire Gospel as you may be aware. I was hoping to cover the key topics and if I missed any that you feel that I should've please let me know and I will follow-up the week after Christmas. 

The stark and harsh reality is that Jesus was born to die. It has been the divine will and plan of God since Adam and Eve bit into the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. God loves us that much. He has achieved a final victory over sin by bringing God down to us and with us. (Immanuel)