Introduction
When we put all the resurrection accounts together chronologically, a good clear picture can be constructed.
1. It was very early on the Sunday morning, as the sun was coming up, Matthew 28:1 / Mark 16:2 / Luke 24:1 / John 20:1.
2. Mary Magdala and the other Mary were going to anoint Jesus with spices, Matthew 28:1 / Mark 16:1 / Luke 24:1 / John 20:1.
3. John records only the experience of Mary of Magdala.
She saw that the stone had been ‘taken away’ from the entrance of the tomb, the stone had been moved from the entrance during the night.
The other Gospels say that the stone was ‘rolled back’, ‘rolled away’, clearly it was out of the groove in which it had to be to cover the entrance, Matthew 28:2 / Mark 16:4 / Luke 24:2 / John 20:1.
4. The guards had seen this occur and were much afraid, it was done by an angel and accompanied by an earthquake, Matthew 28:2-4.
5. The same angel spoke to the women telling them the Christ had risen, Matthew 28:5-6 / Mark 16:6 / Luke 24:4-6.
6. Jesus had gone on the Galilee and they will meet him there, Matthew 28:7 / Mark 16:7.
7. This was in accordance with Jesus earlier statements, Luke 24:7-8.
8. The women went to tell the disciples as the angel had told them, Matthew 28:8 / Mark 16:7 / Luke 24:9 / John 20:2.
9. As they were afraid, they told no one else, Mark 16:8.
10. On meeting the disciples, Mary was distressed and didn’t seem to believe what she had heard from the angel as she says, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him’, John 20:2. As we know they hadn’t removed Jesus, Jesus had removed Himself.
11. Only Peter and John believed initially, both ran to the tomb, and found only the cloth Jesus had been wrapped in, Luke 24:11-12 / John 20:3 / John 20:7.
In keeping with the law of Moses, they had rested on the Sabbath and had returned to complete the burial rites of the Saviour which they had begun on the day of His death.
Because it was after the Sabbath was over when the women proceeded to the tomb, this tells us that the resurrection of Jesus happened on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday morning, Mark 16:2 / Mark 16:9 / Luke 24:1 / John 20:1.
A few loyal women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had prepared spices and went out to Jesus’ tomb early on Sunday morning, Mark 16:1-2.
They were planning to embalm His body in order to give it a more honourable burial than had been possible in the few minutes that had been available on Friday afternoon.
As they walked down to the cave, they thought about how hard it was going to be for them to roll that large rock away from the entrance of the burial cave, Mark 16:3.
When they arrived, however, they saw that the rock had already been removed and the cave was open, Mark 16:4.
Matthew’s account tells us that there was a guard set round the tomb, Matthew 27:65-66. And Matthew also tells us that it was an angel who rolled it away, Matthew 28:2.
Note that Matthew 28:2, says there was only one angel at the tomb of Jesus, while Mark 16:5, there was one young man clothed in a long white garment. Luke 24:4 and John 20:12, tells us there were two angels at the tomb.
Mark and Luke referred to their human appearance, Mark 16:5 / Luke 24:4, while Matthew and John referred to their angelic nature Matthew 28:2 / John 20:12. It’s obvious there were two angels present but only one of them spoke.
Inside, was an angel who tells them exactly who it is they were looking for, it was Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. And then says the words, that no one, not even the disciples ever expected to here, ‘He is not here but is arisen!’ Mark 16:6 / Romans 1:4 / 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
With these words, the women who had come to the tomb of Jesus at dawn on the first day of the week were greeted by an angel who stood before them.
Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The resurrection means that God has an eternal plan for these bodies of ours. ‘There was nothing in the teaching of Jesus approaching the Gnostic heresy that declared that the flesh is inherently evil. Plato could only get rid of sin by getting rid of the body. Jesus retains the body; and declares that God feeds the body as well as the soul, that the body is as sacred thing as the soul, since the soul makes it its sanctuary.’
He asked them to tell the disciples and Peter, what has happened, and that Jesus will meet them in Galilee as promised, Matthew 28:7 / Mark 14:27-28 / Mark 16:7. Since Peter was himself a disciple, it seems unusual that he would be singled out and receive a special invitation.
Perhaps it was because the Lord knew that Peter would no longer feel himself worthy to be counted as a disciple after having denied Him, and therefore, Jesus gave him a special invitation to the meeting. What tenderness the Lord showed!
Spurgeon, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If any of you have behaved worse to your Master than others, you are peculiarly called to come to him now. You have grieved him, and you have been grieving because you have grieved him. You have been brought to repentance after having slidden away from him, and now he seals your pardon by inviting you to himself.’
The women fled away very frightened, Matthew 28:8. The women went to tell the apostles what they had learned, Luke 24:10. However on the way Jesus suddenly appears to them, and after He said, ‘greetings’, Matthew 28:9. The King James Version says, ‘all hail’ which represents the normal Greek greeting.
Spurgeon, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Not first to them who were the heads of the Church, as it were, but first of all to lowly women, did the Lord appear; and the apostles themselves had to go to school to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to learn that great truth, ‘The Lord is risen indeed.’’
Notice that they didn’t say anything to anyone because they were afraid, Mark 16:8. This may appear like a contradiction because we know that they did go and speak about what happened, Mark 16:11 / Luke 24:9.
It seems to suggest that the women didn’t discuss among themselves what they had just witnessed at the empty tomb, until they met the disciples, as the angel ordered earlier, Mark 16:7.
The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20. There are effectively just two Greek manuscripts that don’t have Mark 16:9-20.
These are codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, two important manuscripts from the fourth century. It’s almost unimaginable that the copyists who made them were unaware of Mark 16:9-20, but at the end of the day, they left it out of their Bibles.
Dummelow, in commentary, says the following.
‘From the second century onwards, in nearly all manuscripts, versions, and other authorities, it forms an integral part of the Gospel, and it can be shown to have existed, if not in the apostolic, at least in the sub-apostolic age. A certain amount of evidence against it there is (though very little can be shown to be independent of Eusebius the Church historian, 265-340 A.D.), but certainly not enough to justify its rejection, were it not that internal evidence clearly demonstrates that it cannot have proceeded from the hand of St. Mark.’
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
Joyfully, the disciples returned home, no doubt to tell the other disciples of the good news, John 20:10. ‘The beloved disciple’ was the first one to believe that Jesus had risen, this without seeing Him, John 20:8, Mary of Magdala was the first to see Him after His resurrection. She is the woman who Jesus drove out seven spirits from her, Luke 8:2 / Mark 16:9.
Mary however stayed at the tomb, even though she had seen the angel earlier on, Matthew 28:5-6, she still didn’t understand or believe. Mary stood outside the tomb ‘crying’, sobbing, weeping aloud, John 20:11.
As she sobbed, she glanced inside the tomb, she saw two angels sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the corpse had laid, the angels looked like young men, Mark 16:5 / Luke 24:4 / John 20:11-12.
They asked why she was in such obvious distress, John 20:13. It’s important to note that she makes reference to Jesus as ‘My Lord’, John 20:13, indicating continued faith in Him, even though He is no longer about.
With these words, she turned around and notices Jesus standing, although she didn’t know it was Jesus, John 20:14. Jesus asks her, ‘woman’, said Jesus, ‘why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’ John 20:15.
Two things should be kept in mind here.
1. She was crying bitterly, blinded by grief.
2. It was only when He spoke her name that ‘she turned’ towards him, John 20:16.
Until this moment she wasn’t looking at the speaker. These two facts alone would account for her not knowing it was Jesus. Perhaps Christ’s body is so changed as not to be recognised at once even by those who had known Him well. It has new powers and a new majesty, John 21:4 / Luke 24:16 / Luke 24:37 / Matthew 28:17.
Notice here words, ‘Sir, tell me and I will take Him away,’ John 20:15. How was she to carry a corpse, and where would she take it? Her loving devotion does not measure her strength. This is a beautiful example of the self-forgetfulness of love.
Why she even turned around at that point is open to speculation, but she is now facing an unknown man. He asks why she is crying, the same question the angels had just asked, John 20:13 / John 20:15.
In her upset state, thinking Jesus was a gardener, Mary gives Him a brief answer, asking if He had anything to do with Jesus’ disappearance, John 20:15. The whole conversation with this man is running along very similar lines to the one held moments before with the two angels, John 20:13-14.
Jesus now reveals Himself with one word, ‘Mary’, John 20:16. It must have been in the tenderness of His tone, or the gentleness of His voice that sparks a memory in the mind of Mary and she realises who she is addressing, John 20:16.
The word, ‘Rabboni!’ is the Aramaic form of ‘Rabbi’, and it means ‘my great Master’, John 20:16. Jesus tells her, ‘do not hold me,’ ‘do not touch me,’ John 20:17, but we must remember He allowed women to touch Him after His resurrection, Matthew 28:9. He even told Thomas to touch Him, John 20:27.
He isn’t talking here about mere touching, but holding, in other words, He is saying, ‘cease clinging to me’. Her instinctive desire would be to hold on the Jesus, to keep Him and not to let Him go, that wasn’t possible.
She couldn’t keep Him physically with His disciples, a completely new period was to begin, involving His ‘going to his Father and her God’, John 20:17.
After that, His ascension, a new kind of fellowship, spiritual, would be available to all His followers. This couldn’t be interrupted by any event. Conditions had changed, and the relationship between the disciples and their ‘Didaskalos’ and ‘Kurios’ must also change.
She must of ran to Him and embraced Him, as He gently tells her not to hold to Him, not to cling to Him, John 20:17, referring also to the fact that His current reappearance was just a short and temporary stay.
What did Jesus mean when He said, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God?’ John 20:17. Remember on the cross, Jesus promises the penitent thief, ‘today you will be with me in paradise,’ Luke 23:43.
The intermediate state was transformed by Jesus’ emphasis on being with him ‘today.’ There’s no denying where Jesus was going, He was going to ‘paradise’, Luke 16:22 / Luke 23:43 / 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 / Revelation 2:7.
If we’re say He went to heaven when He died, how do we understand what He said to Mary? Jesus is telling Mary not to crutch on to Him because there is work to be done.
She needs to tell others what has happened and so there’s a sense of urgency. She wanted to hold on and not let go but Jesus wouldn’t allow her.
Remember He allowed women to touch Him after His resurrection, Matthew 28:9. Later Thomas was invited to touch Jesus, John 20:27.
Could it be possible that when Jesus speaks to Mary, He speaking in terms of now clinging onto His new glorified body? He hasn’t ascended to the Father in His new everlasting body. Isn’t that what the resurrection is about? 1 Corinthians 15:35-44 / 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 / Romans 8:23 / Philippians 3:20-21.
We know from these verses that we will be reconciled with our bodies at the resurrection, but they will be new, in terms of glorious. If we know this, then surely, it’s possible that this is what Jesus meant when He spoke to Mary in terms of Him going to the Father.
No longer is paradise just an anticipatory condition awaiting the messianic presence at the end of the age. Those who die in faith will ‘be with Christ,’ Philippians 1:23-24. The dead in Christ will not experience life diminished, but life enhanced, as Jesus’ words to Martha in John 11 imply, John 11:23-26.
Jesus now charges Mary with the responsibility of telling the disciples this vital news, He is returning to God the Father, and her God, a reference to His victory, John 20:17.
Gladly Mary must have run the road to the disciples to tell them the news and the message, John 20:18. Jesus first appeared to the women, and He treated them as always beautifully, notice the first person to tell about the risen Christ was a woman.
The Significance Of The Empty Tomb
The importance of the resurrection of Jesus is summed up by Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:14-15 / 1 Corinthians 15:17. Jesus died to atone for our sins.
But we could not know that He did so unless we also knew that He arose from the grave, for one who did not have the power to conquer death would not have the power to forgive sins. Only in the light of the empty tomb does the cross have significance.
Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus demonstrates the possibility of our resurrection. If He could conquer death for Himself, He can overcome it for His disciples. The Christian’s hope of eternal life is inseparably connected with the resurrection of Jesus.
The resurrection of Christ also shows that Jesus brought an end to the old covenant and its law when He died on the cross. The Mosaic Age in which Israel had been living for 1500 years ended at Calvary.
There Jesus blotted out ‘our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross,’ Colossians 2:14.
From that time forth all men, Jews and Gentiles, have lived in the Christian Age and are subject to the laws of Christ as recorded in the New Testament.
