Bring Us to Resurrection: Matthew 28:1-10 - Resurrection of Our Lord

It never seemed right to me that the women who followed Jesus are never referred to as disciples. While the men argued amongst themselves as to which of them was the greatest, the women served Jesus. Whenever Jesus taught, the women paid attention. The men heard only what they wanted to hear. When Jesus spoke about his death and resurrection, the men refused to believe. A woman anoints him for burial. When Jesus was arrested, the men deserted him and fled. The women stayed with him. They wept over him as he died. They helped to bury him in the tomb. 

And now, on the third day, it’s the women who are returning to the tomb. 

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We don’t know exactly what was on the minds of the women when they came to the tomb. At this point, there wasn’t much they could do for him. Pilate had his men secure Jesus’s tomb with a stone, so that no one could get in (or out). Guards were standing by to make sure nobody could steal the body and go around shouting, “he’s risen from the dead.” 

If the women were spotted near the tomb, they could’ve been arrested. But they still came. 

Perhaps they were in denial that Jesus was dead. Perhaps they came to grieve. Perhaps they came to say their final goodbye, since Passover was over, and it was time to go home. Whatever their motivations may have been, they could not let Jesus go. 

That’s important—because Jesus’s death was the most traumatic thing to have ever happened to those who loved and trusted Jesus. Jesus said that he was God’s Son. His signs and miracles supported his divinity. Everyone hoped that Jesus would liberate God’s people from Romans and taking the throne of David king. But the Romans put him to death. How can Jesus be the messiah if he’s dead?

Nevertheless, Jesus promised that he would rise again. He spoke the word and planted the seed in the hearts of all who heard. The thing about faith is that you act on it, even when you’re not consciously aware of it. Perhaps that was what led the women to the tomb that morning.

Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled back the stone, and sat on it. The guards were petrified. They fell to the ground like dead men. 

The angel said to the women, “do not be afraid. You came looking for Jesus, but he is not here. He has been raised and he is going ahead of you to Galilee, and there you will see him.” The women ran from the tomb to tell his disciples the news when Jesus suddenly met them. 

The women fell at his feet and worshiped him. But this didn’t mean that everything was suddenly all better. For starters, if they were to tell anyone that Jesus was risen, they were committing treason against Rome. They women may not have even realized it yet, but life was never going to be the same as it had been. But through his betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, burial, and beyond—they held onto Jesus and refused to let him go. 

There is much for us to learn from the example of the two Marys and all the faithful women in the Gospels. 

Unfortunately, most people wait a whole lot longer for resurrection than the 36 hours between Jesus’s burial and resurrection. How do you hold onto the promise of resurrection when you don’t see it?

Ukrainians have been waiting over a year for the war to stop. Every person on our prayer list is waiting for resurrection; some for weeks, some for months, some for years. Our church has been waiting for resurrection. We work so very hard to minister to the needs of our community, yet people aren’t waiting in line to get in here on Sunday. 

You don’t see a lot of resurrection in today’s world, particularly with the headlines dominated by news of mass shootings, political chaos, economic decline, and natural disasters more destructive than the last.

I feel like our collective outlook on the future is one of pessimism rather than optimism. 

But don’t you know where Jesus is amid all of this? He’s taking cover with the Ukrainians as the bombs fall. He’s in the hospital and nursing home rooms with our loved ones. He’s praying at your bedside when worry keeps you up at night. And he goes into the grave ahead of the dying. 

And just as Jesus arose from the tomb, Jesus is risen in everyone whose faith is active in love. He is risen when people like you give yourselves away to the hurting and needy neighbor. He is risen when you arise from your comfort zone and rise above what you once thought was impossible. As the Church, we create resurrection. We bring others to faith in Christ. We change lives. We transform our communities. We create more promising futures for our children. 

Too many Christians and too many congregations live as though Jesus is not risen. To lose faith in resurrection is to give up on Christ. It is to give up on hope. It is to allow death and destruction to claim a victory they have no right to. 

But when Jesus died, the women refused to let him go. Faith is a stubborn refusal to give up on Jesus and give up on doing the right thing. Be like the women.

Don’t let go. Don’t give up. Cling to Jesus and you will come to resurrection. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year. But you will. You will pass over from death to life. Your sorrow will turn to joy. Your faith will not be in vain. No matter what, the Christ who lives will live in you, and that’s all you need.

Cherry Blossom by Susanne Nilsson on Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0