Luke 24:1-12

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body.  ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The womenwere terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the mensaid to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.  ⁶ Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” ⁸ Then they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Meditation

The resurrection story is a little bit different in each of the four gospels.  For example:  Matthew is the only one who explains how the stone was moved (see Matthew 28:2), Mark has the women hiding in fear (see Mark 16:8), Luke names the women only when they tell the disciples (vs. 8), and John has Mary alone that morning and she only tells Peter and (presumably) John the tomb is empty (see John 20:1-2).  Matthew and Mark give the women instructions for the disciples to go to Galilee (Matthew 28:7, Mark 16:7), Luke reminds them what Jesus told them about his resurrection (vs. 6), and in John, Jesus is revealed directly to Mary.  Luke and John talk about the evidence of the linen burial cloths that somehow prove that this idle tale may well be true.

Our text in Luke wants the women, the disciples, and us to remember (vs. 6).  Remember Jesus’ words; “remember how he told you . . .” (vs. 6), remember his teachings, remember the signs, remember the miracles, remember.  Peter remembered because he ran to the tomb, he remembered that linen cloths do not stay in graves by themselves, he remembered and was amazed.  We, too, are meant to remember.  We refresh our memory when we eat bread and drink from the cup.  We remember when we tell the idle tale again and again of the empty tomb.  We continue remembering when we believe without seeing that Jesus is alive. 

He is risen; he is risen indeed!