The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” ”They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
On the Sunday following Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary Magdalene came at daybreak to His tomb to anoint the body. She discovered that the large stone covering the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away. Mary hurried off to tell the disciples that Jesus’ body was no longer in the tomb. Peter and John came to investigate, with John arriving first and Peter entering the tomb first. They both discovered that Jesus’ grave clothes were there, but His body was gone. John’s response was belief, even though neither of them fully realized that Jesus’ resurrection was a fulfillment of Scripture.
After she returned to the grave site Mary Magdalene encountered Christ Himself, although she mistook Him for the gardener. While looking for the corpse of her Savior, Mary Magdalene recognized the risen Christ after He called her by name. He gave her the assignment of going back to the disciples and announcing His resurrection. Mary Magdalene fulfilled this task and related to them the words Jesus had spoken to her.
Jesus’ epitaph written on His tomb is not “Born—Died.” His spiritual epitaph reads, “He is not here. He has risen and He is alive, just as He said He would be!” Because He is alive, Jesus offers new life to all who believe in Him. This is the true meaning of Easter. This is what believers celebrate at Easter…..the empty tomb and Jesus’ victory over death. Praise GOD for the empty tomb of Jesus!
