News: Day 8

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”" - Matthew 28:1-10

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Did Mary Magdalene and her friends have any idea the news that awaited them at the tomb? Did they have a clue that this deepest grief into which they had fallen was about to be reversed into “great joy”? By the violent change of emotion, it would seem they were quite blind-sided by this bomb of good news.

“He has risen!” the angel announced to this group of mourning women. “What? No, can't be…can it?” A bewildered hope arose in their hearts, a wild faith that looked beyond the limp Body taken down from the cross to the power and faithfulness of God. The domesticated ears of the world would have heard this news as a sensational tabloid, but these women knew – somehow, some way, Jesus really had risen from the dead. The stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and there were angels loitering about saying he is alive and well.

Their belief in this good news delivered these women from their sorrow into a mysterious mixture of “fear and great joy.” Fear because they were witnesses of the holiest event in history. Joy because they could hear the voice of their Friend again. Fear because their Friend, with whom they had shared meals and stories and laughter, had just proved himself to be of divine stock. Joy because God had won – all the ungodly powers of this world that had conspired together were not able to hold his Son in the grave.

But perhaps the most fearful, joyful news of this Sunday was that the cross of Friday was, after all, a good thing. The very thing that caused such grief was now a cause of joy. The very thing that had humiliated their King now exalted him. For his death was not the end of his kingdom, but its inauguration. Apart from the resurrection, Jesus was just another martyred prophet. It was his resurrection that declared his sacrifice an acceptable payment for the sins of his people. What a fearful, joyful thing that our God can take news as terrible as the crucifixion of the Son of God and turn it into the Good News that we know it to be today. This is why the cross has for so long been the defining symbol of Christianity.

The resurrection also serves, in this sense, as the basis of Christian hope. For if even the death of God’s Son can be made into such good news, what sorrow of ours will not undergo the same transformation? Let us not doubt God’s power and promise to apply the resurrection to our own sufferings. Let us not say of a certain sorrow, “‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory” (Lewis). Christ, in his risen body, is the Living Hope that one day all who believe in him will share in the blessings of his resurrection.

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1. What did the resurrection prove about Jesus’ identity? Why? 
2. What is the response of these women when they see Jesus? What does such a response say about their views of Jesus' identity?
3. How did the resurrection turn the death of God’s Son into a good thing?
4. In what ways does the resurrection of Jesus serve as his vindication over his enemies?
5. What specific sorrows, losses, or evils would you like for God to reverse? How does the resurrection of Jesus serve as hope that he will do so?