THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN HUMAN HISTORY AND KNOWLEDGE
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD
Compiled from NKJV Bible and Halley’s Handbook Commentary
Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons (Luke 8:2), was the last one at the Cross and the first one at the tomb.
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, she and the other women went to the tomb to complete the embalming of His body for permanent burial (Mark 16:1) (Luke 23:56; 24:1). Apparently, the women did not expect a resurrection.
The women thought about how large the stone was and how difficult it would be to dislodge it from the entrance (Mark 16:2-4).
There was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. And the guards shook from fear of him, and became like dead men (Matthew 28:2-4).
And, so, the tomb was opened not to let Christ come out, but to allow others in, so they could see that it was empty.
Then the women went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. But the angel said to them “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed, He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him…” (Matthew 28:5-7) “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:5-6)
Jesus was alive; anointing Him would not be necessary.
And then, they remembered His words (Matthew 12:40,16:21,26:32; Luke 9:22,18:31). Mary, who had strong and deep devotion to the Lord, was given the privilege of relaying the first resurrection message.
She ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb…” (John 20:2). Peter and the other disciple went into the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there, and believed. Yet they did not know that He must rise again from the dead. They went back to their own homes.
But Mary stood outside by the tomb, weeping as if her heart would break. Oh, how she loved Him! And now He was dead; even His body was gone. As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And the angels sitting there said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” (John 20:11-13).
She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know it was Jesus. He said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She thought He was the gardener and asked Him where the Lord was taken.
In that moment of grief, Jesus stood by her, and called her name.
Jesus said to her, “MARY!” She recognized His voice, and cried out in joy, “Rabboni!” (Teacher). Jesus is not dead, but alive!
Jesus then told her not to cling to Him, that He had not yet ascended to His Father, and for her to go to His brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. (John 20:14-18)
And, so, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene (in the eyes of the world, a lowly woman – in the eyes of her Lord, a born-again-from-above child of God), and she went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept (Mark 16:9-10).
And Jesus appeared to many before He returned to His rightful glory, which He had before the foundation of the world.
All authority has been given to Jesus by the Father, and He will manifest this power when He returns in all His glory. Because His authority is over all, everyone needs to hear His gospel. “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
The disciples were in a position to know whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead. These men would not have been able to face continual persecution and horrifying deaths for something they knew to be a lie. They certainly could not repeatedly claim to have been eyewitnesses of His Resurrection, as they did (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39; 13:31). One of the disciples, John, is one who testified (eyewitness) and wrote of these things, and we know that John’s testimony is true.
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, the world could not contain the books that would be written.” Amen (John 21:24-25).
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