Words that changed everything

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb,
rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Matthew 28:1-10


In times of shock and grief sometimes the only thing a person can do is just go through the motions.
This seems to have been the case with the women as they journeyed to the tomb.
It's hard to even imagine everything that was going through their heads.
Just days earlier their world had been turned upside down when their dear Lord was arrested,
sentenced to death, and violently executed. They witnessed the intense hatred of his tormentors;
they saw the blood running down his body; they heard his cry of anguish,
and probably even saw the Roman spear pierce Jesus' already lifeless body.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had quickly prepared his body for burial,
but now the women wanted to perform this one last act of love for their dear Savior.

But the stone was removed. The tomb was empty!
What thoughts rushed through their heads in the seconds before the angel spoke?
Is this the wrong tomb? Did someone steal his body? Can it get any worse than this?
First Jesus is wrongly condemned to death, and now he won't even get the dignity of a proper burial?
But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."

Those words changed everything.

He has risen, just as he said. You can imagine all of the times that Jesus predicted his resurrection
replaying in their minds like flashbacks in a movie. Could it really be? The truth was almost too much for
them to digest at once. Is this what he meant? While it was too much to digest all at once,
the Spirit would slowly help them understand. The joy that began that morning would fill their hearts and lives as they proclaimed the good news to others.

The angel's words have changed everything for us as well. Jesus is risen! Your sin is gone!
Death has been destroyed! Don't stop looking into the empty tomb, and don't stop telling others what you have seen!
Prayer:

Dear Jesus, help us to continue to ponder the truth of Easter and cause our hearts to be filled with joy and peace.
In your name we pray. Amen.