Luke 24:1-12

content/bible_journal/luke_24:1-12.md

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+title = "Luke 24:1–12"
+date = "2023-02-23"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk24.1-12)
+
+It's kind of funny how each of the Gospels includes different details, when
+they share an event in common. I would have liked to discuss the soldiers
+guarding the tomb of Jesus, and the seal that had been placed on the stone that
+closed off the tomb. But it's not in our text today, so I shall refrain.
+Instead we will focus as Luke does on the women who have come to finish the
+hasty burial preparations for Jesus now that the Sabbath is over. Since Sabbath
+ended at sundown, they may have worked through the night in order to get things
+ready as early as they did. Their love for Jesus was so strong that they wanted
+to honor Him in death as well as they could as soon as they could.
+
+Having a stone to close the tomb was a common practice, and Mark's account
+tells us they saw it put in place and also that they wondered who would roll it
+out of the way for them. When they reached the tomb, however, they find the
+stone in front of it has been rolled away, and Jesus's body is not there.
+Instead, two men in dazzling clothes appear before them and remind them of the
+things Jesus said about rising again after He would be crucified.
+
+Note how the women react to seeing these two angels (as John and Matthew call
+them). They bow their faces to the ground in fear. Angels can be incognito and
+appear as normal men, but when they reveal themselves for what they are, this
+is how everyone reacts when they see them, if they don't faint outright. If
+anyone tells you they met an angel, and it wasn't the scariest thing they've
+ever seen, then they are lying or deceived.
+
+The veil of forgetfulness has now been lifted from the women, and they remember
+that Jesus did say He would rise again, so they do as the angels instruct them
+and go tell the other disciples about it. For first-century Jews, this is
+radical that women are the ones who get to tell everyone else what's been going
+on. The disciples didn't believe them at first not because these women are
+prone to telling tales, but because they were from a culture that didn't value
+anything women had to say. Court cases required two witnesses to provide ample
+evidence of an accusation, but only if they were men.
+
+Peter may not have believed everything they said, but it was enough to get him
+to go to the tomb to see for himself. He runs to the tomb, anxious to know what
+he will find. And it's just as the women said: Jesus isn't there, but the
+burial clothes are. He still doesn't know what to make of it as he heads home.
+
+* * *
+
+Keep Your words ever in our minds, so that we may live according to them, and
+give You the honor and praise You deserve.