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Luke 24:4–6a
“While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.’”
Ancient Jews counted days inclusively, meaning that counting three days from Friday would make Friday day one, Saturday day two, and Sunday day three. Thus, all four Gospels tell us that Jesus rose on the first day of the week, Sunday, three days after He died on the cross for the sins of His people (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). They also all affirm that the women were the first to receive the news of the resurrection and that the tomb of Jesus was empty when they came to it that first Easter morning.
As with the accounts of our Lord’s trial and crucifixion, however, there are differences among the Gospels in some of the details. For instance, the Gospels differ on the number of angels present. Luke tells us about two angels (Luke 24:4), whereas Matthew and Mark mention one angel (Matt. 28:2; Mark 16:5). John does not mention the angels and their message at all. Some people have called such differences contradictions, arguing that they make it doubtful that the event actually occurred in history. These differences do not indicate true contradictions, however. There would be a real contradiction if Matthew and Mark said that there was only one angel or if John said that no angel ever appeared, but that is not what is said. In fact, many people have pointed out that the differences actually speak in favor of the resurrection’s being a historical event. When police interview witnesses, they will get different accounts because people remember different but equally true things. Furthermore, if the New Testament writers wanted to make up the event, surely they would have made the accounts identical so as to remove any potential questions about it. The same people who criticize the Gospels for their differences would almost certainly say that some kind of collusion happened if the four Gospels told the story of the resurrection in exactly the same way.
The Gospels all affirm the empty tomb and the resurrection because that is what actually happened. Though the empty tomb perplexed the women at first, their confusion was turned to joy when the angels told them that Jesus had been raised (Luke 24:4–6a; see Matt. 28:8). Moreover, the angels did not merely proclaim the resurrection, but they reminded the women that the resurrection was what Jesus had been predicting all along (Luke 24:6b–7). The resurrection confirms the trustworthiness of Jesus. Everything happened just as He said it would.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
If we ever have any doubts concerning the trustworthiness of Jesus, we need only look to the empty tomb to have them assuaged. Just as Jesus promised many times before His death, He rose from the dead on the third day. Because He kept that promise, we can be confident that He will keep all His other promises as well.
For further study
- Psalm 119:50
- Luke 9:21–22
The bible in a year
- Amos 4–6
- Revelation 6
- Amos 7–Jonah 3
- Revelation 7–8