Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Matthew 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
A SINGLE MIGHTY ANGEL
As they approached the tomb in the early morning darkness, they had been talking quietly. But then one of the women stopped and looked startled. How could they have forgotten? The door! Who would roll away the massive stone door from the mouth of the tomb? It wasn't locked, but the door was heavy. Perhaps one of them would have to return to Jerusalem to fetch someone who could help.
The women didn't know that the Chief Priests and the Pharisees had spoken to Pilate the previous day. They had requested that guards be posted at the tomb. They thought the disciples might come steal His body away and claim that He had risen from the dead. Pilate had given them a guard of soldiers and had commanded them to seal the tomb.
But the women wouldn't see any tomb guards this morning. For earlier the soldiers had been startled. Below them the ground had begun to shake. Above them the sky had lit up as an angel in brilliant white descended from the sky. The angel hadn't spoken a word to them, but setting his feet down on the earth, he had strode up to the door of the tomb and had calmly flicked the massive stone out of the track and flat onto its side. That done, he turned toward the path leading to Jerusalem and sat down on the stone like he was waiting for someone.
When the soldiers recovered their senses enough to move again, they fled. Rome didn't pay them enough to fight with angels! And it was clear that this angel wasn't waiting to speak with them.
The soldiers expected a rag-tag band of disciples to attempt an opening of this tomb. But God smiled, and sent a single, mighty angel to show the world that Jesus needed no disciples to open His tomb. The risen Christ had already left.
