Chapter 1.

The First Souls To Encounter

the Risen Lord

 

Very early, the morning of April 7, A.D. 30, the first Easter, a band of Christian women hurried to the tomb of Jesus determined to re-bury Him.  They had seen Him die, Wednesday afternoon.  They had watched as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus removed Him from His Cross, shortly before sundown.  They had followed the men as they moved Jesus’ body to a nearby cemetery garden.  As the evening skies had dimmed, they had watched the men hastily wash Jesus’ body and wrap it in grave cloths intermingled with spices.  And, they had mourned as the men laid Jesus in His tomb and rolled a great stone to its door.

 

 

 

The Women Were Ready

To Re-Bury Jesus.

 

Though they honored the men for burying Jesus, especially Joseph for providing the tomb, they felt Jesus deserved a better burial.  So, for days they had prepared to re-bury Him.  They planned to wash His body, anoint it with precious ointments, and re-wrap it with loving care.

 

 

 

Who Were These Women?

 

They were believers who had followed Jesus and His Apostles from time to time as they moved about Israel, spreading the Gospel.  They ministered to the Apostolic team and Jesus, making and mending garments, preparing meals, praying with them and for them, etcetera.  They were older women, able to spend time away from home.  And, they had monetary means.  They were able to travel and buy what they needed along the way.  For instance, they had purchased the expensive materials they were about to use in re-burying Jesus.  Some of them were mothers of one or more of the Apostles.

 

 

 

The Women Pressed On.

 

Luke says ...

... upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.  (Luke 24:1)

Mark declares ...

... when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.  (Mark 16:1-2)

Matthew discloses ...

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.  (Matthew 28:1)

And, John states ...  

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre ...  (John 20:1a)

 

 

 

The Women Worried,

“How Will We Get Into the Tomb?”

 

Their minds were awhirl.  They knew the door of the tomb was blocked by a great stone.  Who would move it for them?  They knew the tomb was guarded by Roman troops and that it had been marked “sealed” by order of Governor Pilate.  Would the guards give them access to Jesus?

... they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 

(Mark 16:3)

 

 

 

God Solved Their Problem.

 

Matthew reveals ...

... behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.  (Matthew 28:2-4)

The earthquake disoriented the ladies.  Some fell to the ground, others staggered.  The shaking reminded them of the quake that had occurred as Jesus died.  After composing themselves, they proceeded with caution.  The last few days had disquieted them.  The Crucifixion of their Lord, the plague of darkness that had occurred while Jesus was on the Cross, the 2 quakes ... all these combined to  make the ladies uneasy.

 

 

 

The Women Rejoiced

When They Saw the Tomb Was Open.

 

As they drew near to the tomb, Mary Magdalene ...

... seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.  (John 20:1b)

Mark states ...

... when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.  (Mark 16:4)

And, Luke declares ...

... they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.  (Luke 24:2)

 

 

 

Warily,

The Women Skirted

the Unconscious Roman Guards.

 

The supernatural appearance of the angel that opened the sepulcher and the violence of the earthquake had left the Roman soldiers unconscious.  The women were in awe as they passed by the bizarre scene, well-armed troops collapsed into awkward postures near the entrance to the tomb.

 

 

 

The Women

Were Greeted By an Angel.

 

Suddenly, they were face to face with the angel who had rolled back the great stone.  He appeared as a young man in a dazzling white robe.  As they looked at him with questioning expressions ...

... the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 

(Matthew 28:5-6)

 

 

 

The Women

Entered the Sepulcher.

 

Luke says ...

... they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.  (Luke 24:3)

 

 

 

The Ladies

Met Another Angel.

 

Mark says that upon ...

... entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.  (Mark 16:5-6)

 

 

 

The Women Were Stunned

By What They Saw.

 

They were amazed.  There on a wide ledge before them were the grave cloths that had been wound around Jesus by Joseph and Nicodemus.  They were intact.  But, there was nothing inside them.  It seemed that the body of Jesus had evaporated.  The angels had said, “He is risen.”  But then, they thought, “Where is He?  How could He have left the tomb without breaking free from these windings of grave cloths?”   The women froze in shock and awe.  The earthquake ... the angels ... the comatose squad of soldiers ... the missing body ... all these flustered them.

... it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,  Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words ...  (Luke 24:4-8)

 

 

 

The Angels Urged the Ladies

To Tell the Apostles,

“The Lord Is Risen!”

 

The angels sent them forth with 2 messages for the Apostles and their fellow believers: “Jesus is risen from the dead,” and, “Believers may attend a ‘Gathering in Galilee’ where they will see the Risen Lord.”

... go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.  (Matthew 28:7)

And, Mark states ...

... go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.  (Mark 16:7)

 

 

 

The Women Bolted

From the Sepulcher.

 

They fled to an open spot in the cemetery garden and sat down to regroup.  Their emotions quelled as they ardently shared their feelings in the warmth of the rising sun.

... they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.  (Mark 16:8)

And, Matthew discloses ...

... they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy ...  (Matthew 28:8a)

 

 

 

Mary Magdalene

Ran On Ahead Of the Others.

 

She could not relax.  She wasn’t sure who the 2 young men were.  She asked herself, “Were they angels as the other ladies presumed?  Or, were they agents of the Romans or the chief priests with an elaborate scheme to hide the body of her Lord?  They had said, ‘Jesus is alive and risen from the dead,’ but they had not said where He was.”  She did not believe them.

... she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.  (John 20:2)

Having delivered her message, Mary Magdalene felt compelled to return to the grave site.  She walked back slowly, along a lonely path, in sorrow and deep thought.

 

 

 

The Other Ladies

Headed Back To Jerusalem.

 

Having recouped, the women Mary Magdalene had left in the cemetery garden decided they must tell the Apostles what they had seen and heard.

... they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.  (Matthew 28:8b NLT)

 

 

 

Immediately, the Women

Met Jesus.

 

Jesus knew they were overcharged with emotions.  He met them to verify that the message of the angels was true.  In His Resurrected body, He was dazzling, but when they heard His familiar voice, they recognized Him.

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 28:9-10 NIV)

Abruptly, He vanished.

 

 

 

The Women Rushed

To Their Fellow Believers.

 

They ...

... returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.  (Luke 24:9)

 

 

 

These Women Were the First

To See the Risen Lord.

 

We believe, the women that Mary Magdalene had left in the garden were the first persons to see Jesus alive.  This is a hotly contested conclusion, because, in the King James Version of the Bible, Mark 16:9 states, “... when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene ...”  Many other translations of Mark contain similar wordings of verse 16:9.  So, for centuries, Christian pastors, scholars and authors assumed this statement was true.  The “time-honored” answer to the question, “Who was the first to see the Risen Lord?” was, “Mary Magdalene.”

 

But today, we have copies of the Gospel of Mark that pre-date those used by the scholars who produced the King James Bible.  And, they do not contain verses 9 through 20 of the 16th chapter of Mark.  Apparently, these 12 verses were added to the Gospel of Mark by a copyist or a translator of the script.  Therefore, they are excluded from modern translations of Mark.  This troubles some Bible-believers, because these 12 verses contain some doctrines they hold dear.

 

Nevertheless, we have not used these 12 verses in preparing this book for 2 reasons:

1.  They are not in our most ancient copies of the

 Gospel of Mark, and

2.  There is no way to coordinate the narratives of

 the 4 Gospels if Mark 16:9 is a valid Bible verse. 

 It is certain that Mary Magdalene did not believe

 Jesus had risen when she told the Apostles about

 the empty tomb.  And, it is clear that the other

 ladies who subsequently reported to the

 Apostles were sure Jesus was alive.  They had

 encountered Him!  Later, Mary Magdalene met the

 Risen Lord when she returned to the tomb to look

 for Him.

 

 

 

Jesus Arose

On the Third Day

After His Crucifixion And Entombment.

 

Above, we quoted Luke 24:7 ...

... the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again ... (Luke 24:7)

This verse, and many others, state that Jesus arose on the “third day” after His Crucifixion.  This forces us to examine our timeline for Holy Week, because we believe Jesus was Crucified on Wednesday.  And, Easter Sunday was the 4th day after Christ’s death.  So, why did the body of believers who formed the New Testament Church say that Jesus arose on the 3rd day following His Crucifixion?

 

Jesus died about 3:00 Wednesday.  Despite bureaucratic delays and logistical problems detailed in “The 4 Gospels, Interwoven, Holy Week”, Joseph and Nicodemus were able to take Jesus down from the Cross by sundown.  But, because they had to move His body to a nearby cemetery, wash it, and wrap it in linen cloths intermingled with spices, Jesus was not laid in His tomb until an hour or 2 after sunset.  Strictly speaking, then, Jesus was Crucified on Wednesday and buried on Jewish Thursday.  And, in a sense His burial was not completed until the tomb was sealed by Pilate’s decree during the daylight hours of Thursday morning. 

 

So, when the authors of the Bible say that Jesus arose on the 3rd day, they are speaking of His Crucifixion as a process that included His burial and the sealing of His tomb.  This process ended on Thursday, making Easter Sunday the “third day” following the Crucifixion process.

 

This phrasing is not to be confused with the fact that Jesus’ body lay lifeless in His tomb for 72 hours: all but a couple of hours of Jewish Thursday, all of Jewish Friday and Saturday, and a couple of hours at the beginning of Jewish Sunday.  It is not contradictory to say, “Jesus’ body was in His grave for 3 nights and 3 days,” and to say, “Jesus arose from the dead on the “third day” following the completion of His Crucifixion.”

 

 

 

Jesus Promoted

An Upcoming

“Gathering In Galilee”.

 

As the day of His Crucifixion had approached, Jesus had spoken of a “Gathering in Galilee” that would occur after His Resurrection.  Matthew 26:32 and Mark 14:28 both have Jesus saying, “... after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”

 

As we mentioned previously, within the walls of Jesus’ empty tomb, the first Easter morning, the angels said ...

... go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.  (Matthew 28:7)

And ...

... go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.  (Mark 16:7)

 

Later in this narrative, we shall see that the Apostles did travel to Galilee, but not immediately.  Matthew says ...

... the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.  (Matthew 28:16)

 

From these verses, it is clear that Jesus organized a gathering of believers who wished to see Him, their Risen Lord.  He positioned the event on a certain mountain on a certain day at a certain hour.  We call this the “Gathering in Galilee”, and we shall discuss it below.