During a family visit to Israel, I told my spouse that I wished to see the family cemetery in Nazareth. Peering through locked gates, I saw inside several small concrete buildings, one belonging to our family. It is a Greek Orthodox resting place for the bodies and bones of generations of the faithful gone ahead.
The day after my father-in-law’s funeral, the women of our family went early in the morning to meet the Greek Orthodox priest at the cemetery. It is a tradition, 2000 years old, done in remembrance of Lord Jesus and the promise to raise believers in Lord Jesus on the last day.
On the third day after Lord Jesus was laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, female disciples of The Lord went to the grave to further anoint His body with spices. (Matthew 27:57-61)
The two women were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of James and Salome. (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-3) They knew the entrance of the tomb had been blocked and wondered who would open it for them.
Surprised, the women found the tomb open and empty. Inside, they saw a young moan, an angel in a white robe who announced, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, Who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. Go, tell His disciples and Peter..’” (Mark 16:4-6)
The women ran in fear! And, they kept their mouths closed, being afraid.
Then, Lord Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. She made full report to the disciples. (Mark 16:9-11)
David prophesied in Psalm 16:10 of Lord Jesus, “For You will not abandon My soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.” The Savior’s body never began decomposing, though it laid in the tomb.
With hope, our women return to the grave, remembering the faithful Savior Who declared that He would rise on the third day. (Luke 24:4-8)
And He did!
Eyewitnesses matter. They are used in a court of law. Many people saw the risen Christ besides Mary, the men on the road to Emmaus, Peter, the disciples, and on one occasion to more than 500 believers at the same time. (1Corinthians 15:4-8)
With hope, our women return to the grave, remembering the Word, that we too, believers who are in Heaven, our bodies in the grave, will also rise when The Lord returns at the trumpet sound. (1Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? That He was crucified and raised again by Holy Spirit and God the Father on the third day?
Will you too be raised from the grave, in body, at the trumpet call of God?
Will your grave be empty, just as The Lord’s is?
(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon