Reflective Bible Study

When reading how the gospels describe the morning Jesus rose from the dead, we discover an interesting detail: none of Jesus’ followers expected Him to rise from the dead. While Jesus’ resurrection shouldn’t have surprised any of them, we learn that it surprised every single one of them.

For our episode today, let’s look at how Luke’s gospel described what happened, and then unpack some things we can apply into our own lives. Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 24, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ Very early on the first day of the week, at dawn, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. ² They found the stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, two men in shining clothes suddenly stood beside them. ⁵ The women were very afraid and bowed their heads to the ground. The men said to them, “Why are you looking for a living person in this place for the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen from the dead. Do you remember what he told you in Galilee? ⁷ He said the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful people, be crucified, and rise from the dead on the third day.” ⁸ Then the women remembered what Jesus had said.

⁹ The women left the tomb and told all these things to the eleven apostles and the other followers. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some other women who told the apostles everything that had happened at the tomb. ¹¹ But they did not believe the women, because it sounded like nonsense. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Bending down and looking in, he saw only the cloth that Jesus’ body had been wrapped in. Peter went away to his home, wondering about what had happened.

In the chaos of resurrection morning, we discover that the only reason word spreads about a resurrected Jesus is because some of the women who followed Jesus didn’t believe He would return to life. These women head to the tomb with spices they had prepared for Jesus’ body, possibly because they believed that the men who had hastily put Jesus into the tomb two days earlier had not done a very good job. John’s gospel described Joseph and Nicodemus taking Jesus’ body off the cross, placing it in Joseph’s tomb, and using the spices that they had, but whatever the reason, the women also want to prepare Jesus’ body for burial with their own spices.

While probably wondering how they would actually get to Jesus’ body with a huge stone rolled in front of the tomb, the last thing the women expect to find is an empty spot where they saw Jesus’ body lay. Also, the last thing they expected to experience are two angels reminding them of Jesus’ own words, predicting His death and resurrection.

However, after the angels had restated Jesus’ earlier message to them, the women remember Jesus’ words, they believe the angels, and they go tell the remaining disciples what they had experienced.

Now it’s the disciples’ turn for disbelief. Verse 11 describes that the disciples “did not believe the women, because it sounded like nonsense”.

However, according to Luke’s gospel, one disciple pushes past his disbelief. Peter, the disciple who had utterly failed Jesus only a few nights earlier, pushes past the doubts to go check out the situation for himself.

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had challenged Peter regarding Peter’s disbelief over Jesus’ future death – even going as far as calling Peter Satan. Part of me wonders if Peter remembered this conversation, and if Peter was thinking about it as he ran to the tomb.

Our passage ends with Peter returning home, wondering about what had happened. We don’t see Peter return to validate the women’s testimony, and we don’t see Peter have an encounter with an angel to validate what the women describe.

Instead, Peter is left to put the pieces together of an event that He isn’t sure what to make of. Peter was the most vocal disciple with regard to most things, and Peter was the most vocal about the Messiah not facing death.

In our own lives, we can learn from Peter’s experience that it is better to stop, wait, and pay attention – especially when things don’t make sense. Rushing into the chaos isn’t always the best approach. Peter blinded himself with His beliefs about the Messiah that kept Him from realizing the truth.

However, we can also learn from Peter, because when the rest of the disciples choose to remain doubtful when hearing about a possible resurrection, Peter doesn’t waste any time going to see the tomb for himself. Peter rushes to discover the truth for himself. He finds the tomb empty, which is what the women described, but he doesn’t get the same angelic visitors.

In a way, Peter’s experience models our own. When we have our eyes open to looking for evidence of God, and evidence to support our belief in Jesus, we will find reasons and evidence to support our faith. However, similar to Peter, it is unlikely that angelic visitors will appear as a piece of confirming evidence. In Peter’s experience, he finds enough evidence to support a belief in the resurrection, but not so much evidence that would eliminate the role of faith. Our experience is likely to reflect Peter’s.

God has called us to have faith in Jesus, and to trust in the promises of His word. It is unlikely He will remove all reasons for doubt, but He is more than willing to give us enough evidence that we can base our faith on. Let’s keep our eyes open for the evidence He shares, and walk forward in faith.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to intentionally place your faith in Jesus and keep your eyes open for the evidence God shares. While a skeptical mind is capable of discounting anything and everything, don’t be a skeptic. Choose to accept the evidence God shares and intentionally walk forward in life with Him.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself because prayer and Bible study are the best ways to grow personally closer to God. An author, pastor, or even a podcaster can give you ideas to think about, but only personal study leads to a personal relationship – and God wants a personal relationship with you!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, give up on, chicken out of, or back away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

In our last episode, we discussed Jesus’ death leading to resurrection and the amazing truth that Jesus is the ultimate Life-Giver. In this episode, we continue this same theme by drawing our attention onto an amazing detail, or should I say, an amazing lack of a specific detail, included in Jesus’ resurrection. While Jesus’ list of miracles doesn’t include this event for some reason, I think this might be one of the most amazing miracles in the entire Bible, and it is definitely the most significant miracle in this world’s history.

Let’s read what happened on resurrection morning, and discover what we can learn about this amazing miracle from what is included and what isn’t. Our passage comes from Matthew’s gospel, chapter 28, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 1, Matthew tells us that:

¹ The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

² At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. ³ He was shining as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was. ⁷ And go quickly and tell his followers, ‘Jesus has risen from the dead. He is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

⁸ The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. ⁹ Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” The women came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my followers to go on to Galilee, and they will see me there.”

In all the chaos surrounding resurrection morning, Matthew has the most detail included about Jesus’ actual resurrection. While all the gospel writers include details of the women being the first to go to the tomb, and that the women who went to the tomb saw angels, Matthew includes extra details about the guards’ experience. Matthew describes what happened by saying in verses 2 through 4: “At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. He was shining as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear because of the angel, and they became like dead men.”

There is one detail that is missing that we might think should be included. In this event, nothing is said about the angel greeting Jesus as He steps out of the tomb or that the angel called Jesus out of the tomb when rolling the stone away.

This is significant because nothing in this event indicates that the angel had any role in Jesus’ resurrection other than to disperse the guards and to remove the stone for the women and disciples to examine the place where Jesus lay. The angel also had the privilege of reminding those who came to the tomb how Jesus had repeatedly told them He would die and that He would return to life.

In this event, the angel who came down did not resurrect Jesus.

Instead, John’s gospel records Jesus saying something fascinating that directly ties into this event and this miracle. In John, chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, Jesus tells those present: “The Father loves me because I give my life so that I can take it back again. No one takes it away from me; I give my own life freely. I have the right to give my life, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”

Jesus has the power to give life and to return it, and this isn’t just the power to do this for other people. In some way that is impossible for us to truly understand, Jesus has this power over His own life as well. The greatest miracle in the entire Bible is Jesus resurrecting Himself from the tomb.

I don’t think it was an accident that earthquakes happened at the moment Jesus died and here at His resurrection. Jesus’ life returning to Him shook the earth just like the earth shook when His life left Him. All this is described before Matthew tells us the angel came. The earthquake was not caused by an angel hitting the ground on arrival, as I have heard some people speculate. Instead, the earthquake was the evidence that Jesus’ life returned to Him, and the angel was simply sent to reveal to the world what had just happened inside the tomb.

Jesus did not need the angel’s help to step out of the tomb. In His resurrected body, Jesus is able to move through objects, as is seen when He appears to the disciples while they have locked themselves in the upper room. The angel was sent for our benefit, so that we could see and know that the tomb really was empty.

The greatest miracle in the entire history of the world is Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus returned to life exactly how He said He would, and Jesus’ resurrection gives us the hope and reassurance that when it is our time to die, He is more than able to resurrect us when it is time for us to be with Him!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first and place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Him and in what Jesus accomplished for you. Believe in Jesus and in His resurrection, and trust in the truth that since Jesus stepped out of the tomb alive, we know that there is life awaiting us after death.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God each and every day. While learning from others is okay to do, never let your own personal relationship with God become dependent on someone else to help you grow. A personal relationship with God must be personal, and a personal relationship with God leads us to Jesus and to eternal life.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!