1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
The apostle Paul says that the resurrection is the foundation and validation of our faith. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the apostles are liars, our preaching is worthless, church is a waste of time, death is final, and we as Christians are of all people the most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). We don’t follow Jesus because it is a nice thing to do or a good philosophy on which to base our lives. We follow Jesus because He is Lord. He has conquered death. He alone has power over sin and Satan. He alone is our hope and our salvation. Apart from Jesus, we have nothing.
As I read this passage today, I am drawn to verse 9. Jesus meets the women as they are running to tell the disciples the news and He says one word to them. “Rejoice!” In Greek, it is the one word chairo. It can be a word of greeting which is how the NIV and NAS translate it. But the word overwhelmingly is translated as “rejoice” in the NT (62x out of 74x). And personally I don’t think Jesus met them and said, “Hello.” I think He met them and said, “REJOICE!”
Can you imagine? The women go to the tomb in sorrow, grief, and confusion. Death has claimed another victim. All their hopes have been buried with Jesus. But instead of arriving at the tomb and finding a quiet grave site, they find two angels sitting on the stone telling them that Jesus is alive. They run from the tomb with a mixture of “fear and great joy” (v.8). They are bursting with an unspeakable, unbelievable joy but mixed with it is a feeling of doubt, a sense that this is too good to be true. They believe, but they also struggle with unbelief, with fear, with the threat of overwhelming disappointment if this is all just an illusion.
Then Jesus Himself meets them. He stops them in their tracks. Their eyes are as large as saucers and He says, “REJOICE!” In other words, it is true. What you have seen is reality. I am alive. And then, as they fall at His feet in worship, He says to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see Me.”
Do not be afraid. The women have a mixture of fear and great joy. Jesus tells them to let go of the fear and fully embrace the joy.
I think that is the message for us too. As we follow Christ, as we believe His death and resurrection, as we live this life and seek to share Jesus’ love with others, we have that same mixture of fear and joy. We believe, but we also struggle with unbelief. We have joy…but also a sense that maybe this isn’t all true. We worship and we worry. We shout and we doubt. Faith isn’t easy. It is a journey between fear and joy. Seeing the waves around us and trying to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We want to experience joy but fear keeps popping its ugly head up.
What’s the solution? REJOICE! Focus on the resurrection. Believe. Trust Jesus’ words. And do not be afraid. Jesus is alive. Death has been conquered. Sin has been paid for. Satan is a defeated enemy. And your life is in His hands.
