St. Luke 23: 50- 24:12

September 8, 2022

50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:

51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

8 And they remembered his words,

9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

“… wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” We have to remember that for us, we’re looking back at something which happened centuries before but for people of that time, this is history unfolding and they are having trouble grasping what exactly has happened here at the tomb. What does it mean? Has there been foul play? Who all is involved? Just like us at headline news each day – what does it mean?

The disciples – the eleven and the other followers – had walked with Jesus three years and while they had faith in the man, they couldn’t grasp the Divine. If this all transpired today, would we be any different?

There was a movie not so long ago, Risen, that while not the best movie in world, was a thoughtful piece and I’ve watched it a couple of times and do recommend it. The premise is that a tribune, who had ordered that the spear be thrust into Jesus’ side, at the command of the prelate, is to find Jesus’ body and find out what happened so that the Jews can’t come back with wild stories about Jesus being God. And then this happens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZobW1s2CG0

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