The Resurrection (A Harmony of the Events on Sunday)
(Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-9; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-23)
Needing to get Jesus buried before sundown on Friday evening (Sabbath begins Friday evening and goes until Saturday evening), Joseph of Arimathea secures the body of Jesus in order to give Him a proper burial. The tomb is guarded by Romans soldiers.
Saturday all is quiet and somber.
At dawn on Sunday morning, a group of women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and some other women) arrived to the tomb taking spices which they had prepared in order to anoint the body of Jesus. They did not know how they would remove the very large stone covering the tomb. Instead of finding a guarded tomb with the stone covering the entrance, the women found two angels, the stone rolled away and an empty tomb. The stone had been rolled away by the angels with the force and power of an earthquake. The power and majesty of the angels petrified the guards and they became like dead men.
One of the angels told the women, “Do not be afraid, for Jesus whom you seek was crucified, buried and has now risen and he is not here.”
Mary Magdalene wasted no time and ran ahead of the other women to get quickly to the disciples to tell them what she had seen.
Meanwhile, the rest of the women check the place where the Jesus had been laid only to find that he was not there. The angel instructs the women to go and tell the disciples that Jesus has risen and that He is going ahead to Galilee as he told you.
With mixed emotion—fear and joy—the rest of the women depart. As they were on their way to tell the disciples (and catch up with Mary Magdalene), Jesus met them and said “Greetings!” The women came up, took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Jesus tells them to go and tell the disciples to go to Galilee where they will be reunited.
Mary Magdalene had reached the disciples before the other women, and told them that Jesus was not there and was unsure what had happened for she had left the tomb before the angels had explained what had happened. The disciples quickly run to the tomb in order to see for themselves what had happened. John arrived first, and then Peter and they went into the tomb finding only the burial linens folded in the tomb. The disciples still unsure of what has happened return to their homes. Mary stays behind.
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb not knowing if the body of Jesus had been stolen or if Jesus was alive. The angels who had appeared to the other women were still there and they asked Mary why she was weeping. Ask she explained to the angels the reason for her tears; she turned around and saw a man who also asked her why she was crying. She assumed him to be the gardener, and she pleaded with him that if he knew the whereabouts of Jesus to let her know. The gardener, Jesus, said, “Mary.” She then realized it was Jesus and she held fast to Jesus. Jesus told her to go back to the disciples and let them know that he had risen. Mary quickly ran to the disciples to tell them she had seen the risen Jesus.
At this point, the women have all seen Jesus, the disciples have been notified by Mary and the other women and Peter and John have gone to the tomb to see for themselves.
During the day, Jesus appears to two other disciples (one named Cleopas) while they are on their way to Emmaus. The two men had heard the report of the missing body and the empty tomb and had decided to leave Jerusalem. Jesus explained to them the Scriptures concerning himself and they arrived in Emmaus. During the meal, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. At this moment their eyes were opened and they realized that their visitor was in fact Jesus. At that moment Jesus vanished from their sight. They quickly got up from their meal and headed to Galilee to tell the disciples.
As they were telling the disciples about what had happened Jesus stood among them and said “Peace to you!” The disciples are startled and frightened at first and invites the disciples to touch him and see. Jesus stays with them, eats some broiled fish and opened their minds to the Scriptures.
Over the next forty days, Jesus will appear to over 500 people (Peter, the disciples, Thomas, and many others) before ascending to the right hand of the Father.
