The Resurrection (Day 69)

Read Mark 16:1-8
 
   The women purchased the spices on Saturday evening after the Sabbath had ended so they could go to the tomb early the next morning and anoint Jesus’ body as a sign of love, devotion, and respect. Bringing spices to the tomb was like bringing flowers to a grave today. 
   The angel did not roll away the stone so Jesus could get out but so others could get in and see for themselves that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, just as He said. Mark says that one angel met the women at the tomb, while Luke mentions two angels. These accounts are not contradictory. Each gospel writer chose to highlight different details as he explained the same story, just as eyewitnesses to a news story each may highlight a different aspect of that event. Mark probably emphasized only the angel who spoke. The unique emphasis of each gospel shows that the four accounts were written independently. This should give us confidence that all four are true and reliable. 
 
   The Resurrection is vitally important for many reasons: 1) Jesus kept His promise to rise from the dead, so we can believe He will keep all His other promises. 2) The Resurrection ensures that the ruler of God’s eternal kingdom will be the living Christ, not just an idea, hope, or dream. 3). Christ’s resurrection gives us the assurance that we also will be resurrected. 4) The power of God that brought Christ’s body back from the dead is available to us to bring our morally and spiritually dead selves back to life so that we can change and grow (1 Corinthians 15). 5) The Resurrection provides the substance of the church’s witness to the world. We do not merely tell lessons from the life of a good teacher; we proclaim the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 
   The angel made special mention of Peter to show that, in spite of Peter’s denials, Jesus had not disowned or deserted him. Jesus had great responsibilities for Peter to fulfill in the church that was not yet in existence. 
 
   The angel told the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. This is where Jesus had called most of them and had said they would fish for people (Matthew 4), and it would be where this mission would be restated (John 21). But the disciples, filled with fear, remained behind locked doors in Jerusalem (John 20). Jesus met them first in Jerusalem (Luke 24) and later in Galilee (John 21). Then He returned to Jerusalem, where He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1).