Easter Sunday
An Empty Tomb, Angels & A Resurrected Jesus
The forty days before He was taken up to Heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father
On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified.
On the third day, He rose from the dead.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples many times over a period of 40 days.
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’s body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb, and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they got there, the stone had already been rolled away. They got a fright when they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side of the tomb.
The angel said to them, “Don’t be alarmed”, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.” (Mark 16:6)
Each gospel gives a slightly different account of what happened, but it is thought that the writers of the gospels were most likely recording the events at different times as they must have been located in various places at the time of the resurrection of Jesus.
In the gospel of John, Peter and John run to the tomb in disbelief.
“So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.”
Jesus appeared to the disciples many times.
They were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. (John 20:20)
He appeared to Thomas who had often doubted Him.
As Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus came, he did not believe them and said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)
A week later, Jesus came again to where the disciples were staying, and said to Thomas:
“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20: 27–29)
He reinstated Peter
Jesus loved his disciples and He knew they were suffering after all that had happened. They were probably sad, confused, bewildered, disillusioned, and lost without Him, not knowing what they would do with their lives and their future.
They had so much hope that He was going to change everything, yet now, it seemed hopeless.
Jesus loved Peter, even though he denied Him three times.
I love how Jesus reinstates Peter. For every time he denied him, Jesus got him to say that he loved Him.
“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
There are many more interesting and beautiful encounters recorded in the four gospels of how Jesus appeared to the disciples at this time.
Can you imagine what an exciting and life-altering time that must have been?
I’d encourage you to read through these encounters.
Jesus is so peaceful while everyone else is in a tizzy.
When the supernatural takes over, we soon realize how dependent we are on God.
Apart from reassuring and comforting the disciples, Jesus had another purpose for staying with them.
The first was to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22)
The second was the great commission. He told them they were to preach the good news to all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He commanded them. (Matthew 28:18–20)
They would not have to worry about how they would do it as Jesus had done what He had promised which was to empower them with the Holy Spirit.
And this is still our calling today. All believers are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord.
There are slightly different accounts in the four gospels of what happened exactly on that glorious morning when Jesus rose from the dead.
It seems a little confusing but many studies have been done that verify that these accounts do match up perfectly well (you can read more about that below).
