Wednesday, April 4, 2018
John 20:13 (NKJV) Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
THE CONFUSION OF EASTER
Where is His Body? When Mary Magdalene and the other women came to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea early on the first day of the week, they expected to find everything as they had left them. They had witnessed the initial preparations to Jesus' body. They stood opposite the tomb (Matthew 27:61).
When they returned early Sunday morning nothing was as it had been. The large stone that Joseph had rolled against the opening of the tomb, the one thing they were concerned about, had been tossed aside. The corpse was gone. All that remained was the "hollowed out" linen strips and a folded napkin.
Corpses don't move, they don't walk away. When Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb after summoning Peter and John, her chief concern was finding the body. She was confused about its absence. She was grieved that she had lost her Lord a second time.
How should we react? Praise God that she didn't find a corpse in that tomb. We can understand her confusion. We can even marvel at it.
Empty. Gone. These are words that can cause confusion and often elicit disappointment. In this case (sorry, Mary) we are happy that you didn't find what you were looking for that morning at the "early purple dawning." In fact, we couldn't be happier.
Jesus lives! Why weepest thou? Why that sad and frequent sigh?
He who died our Brother here Lives our Brother still on high,
Lives forever to bestow Blessings on His Church below.
Jesus lives! And thus, my soul, Life eternal waits for thee;
Joined to Him, thy living Head, Where He is , thou, too, shalt be;
With Himself, at His right hand, Victor over death shalt stand.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 188:3-4)
