"He is risen"

Read Luke 24:1-12

.

The resurrection is the essential conclusion to the story of Jesus (1 Cor.15:14) and so in all four gospels it’s the climax of the book. Jesus appeared to many people (1 Cor.15:5-7) and the variations in the accounts are a mark of authentic testimony. In all the gospels it was women who discovered that the tomb was empty (1; Mt.28:1; Mk.16:1; Jn.20:1-2). At that time women could not be witnesses in a court of law so if the story had been fictitious this role would certainly have been given to men.

.

None of the gospels record all the resurrection appearances and from Luke and John we know that Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem several times (24:36-49; Jn.20:19-29). But Luke doesn’t include the appearances in Galilee and so he omits that part of the angel’s message (Mk.16:7). Instead, the word “Galilee” is a reminder that Jesus had predicted all these events (9:22).

.

The women were looking in the wrong place for him, for the living are not likely to be buried in a graveyard (5). Many people have tried to explain the empty tomb in other ways but the best explanation is still that which was given to these women – Jesus was not there because he had risen from the dead.