He isn’t here but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, Luke 24:6 WEB

After the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples and Christ’s faithful were grieving and disheartened. In their grief, the gospels teach that two separate groups of Jesus’ female followers went the morning after the sabbath to adorn his body with spices. When they arrived, they found the stone that sealed the entrance to his tomb rolled away.

In Luke’s account, the women entered but did not see the body of Christ. Instead, they encountered two men whose clothes gleamed like lightning. In his gospel, Matthew records that they encountered an angel. Understandably bewildered, the women bowed down before the men. These glowing messengers from God informed the women of Jesus’ resurrection saying these now famous words, “He isn’t here but is risen.”

It’s interesting that it was the women who received this message. We might expect that the resurrection would have first been revealed to Jesus’ disciples. Two thousand years ago, society didn’t give the word of a woman as much significance as the word of a man. And yet, God chose to reveal the risen Christ through the women who had become his followers.

When Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James told the apostles of their experience, the apostles rejected their words as nonsense, but Peter ran to the tomb and found it empty. And yet, the men couldn’t bring themselves to believe that Jesus had risen until Christ appeared to them later.

The Great Commission

That same day, Jesus came to his disciples demonstrating his wounds and overcoming their doubts. In what is now known as the “Great Commission,” Christ instructs them to make disciples of all nations, saying in Mathew 28:20, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. NIV”.

Presenting himself to the apostles on numerous occasions, Jesus revealed the scriptural and spiritual significance of his death and resurrection. As Luke 24:46-7 records, “He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’ WEB”

On the cross, Jesus Christ defeated sin and death. His resurrection gives us the hope and faith we have in eternal life. As astonishing as Jesus’ claims had been during his ministry, his return after death solidified his followers. After his resurrection, they knew that Jesus had power over life and death. Experiencing the risen Christ, the apostles were bold in their ministry, even willing to die, knowing that Jesus had told them the truth.

Yesterday’s Devotional: Born Again