‘When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him (Mark 16:1)
‘And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him (Mark 16:6)
Early in the morning after the Sabbath, three women set out for Jesus’ tomb. They wanted to anoint His body as a sign of their love and devotion. You can imagine that they were deeply saddened and full of questions. There was also a practical concern: the tomb was a chamber carved into a rock face. This chamber was sealed with a large stone. How would they roll this stone away?
They were greatly astonished when they saw that the stone had already been rolled away. On entering the tomb, they were startled to find a young man standing there. Who was he? What had he done?! The young man clearly stated whose grave this was: Jesus, of Nazareth. The man who had been crucified. They were clearly at the right grave and heard the astonishing words: He is not here. Not because His body had been taken away, but because He was alive again! The women could see it for themselves: the place where the body should have been was empty.
They had set out to look for Jesus, who had died. But He was not there. He had done what He had promised: He had risen! The sound of victory rang out on that Easter morning. And it still rings out today: Jesus is alive!
How did you first hear about Jesus, or How did you come to know Him?