But
on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again?” They remembered his words, returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles.
Luke 24:1-10
Luke 23 [50.] Behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was also waiting for God’s Kingdom: this man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. He took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near. The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Luke 24 [1.] But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. While they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. Becoming terrified, they bowed their faces down to the earth. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again?”
Luke 24 [8.] They remembered his words, returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them told these things to the apostles. These words seemed to them to be nonsense, and they didn’t believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened.
Luke 24 [13.] Behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was sixty stadia from Jerusalem. They talked with each other about all of these things which had happened. While they talked and questioned together, Jesus himself came near, and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk, and are sad?”
Meaning:
After resting on the Sabbath, the women who had seen Jesus buried returned to the tomb at first light on Sunday. They came to finish anointing a dead body. Instead they found an open, empty tomb and heard the news that changed history. The parallel accounts are in Mark 16:1, Mark 16:2-4, Mark 16:5, Mark 16:6 and Matthew 28:5.
- “On the first day of the week, at early dawn”
The women came as early as they could, carrying the spices they had prepared (Luke 23:56). They expected to find the body exactly where they had seen it laid. The first day of the week, Sunday, would become the day on which Christians gather to worship, because it was the day the Lord rose.
- “They found the stone rolled away”
A large stone sealed the entrance to the tomb. It had not been moved to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in. When the women entered, they did not find “the Lord Jesus’ body.” The women were not confused about the place, for they had watched the burial. The body itself was gone.
- “Two men stood by them in dazzling clothing”
Luke describes the angels as men in shining clothes, like the two who had appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration (Luke 9:30-31). The women bowed to the ground in fear.
- “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
The angels’ question is a gentle rebuke. Jesus is not a dead hero to be honoured with spices, but the living Lord. “He isn’t here, but is risen.” Then they reminded the women of Jesus’ own words in Galilee. He had said plainly, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up” (Luke 9:22). He had repeated it on the road to Jerusalem (Luke 18:31-33). The prophets had hinted at it too: “After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up” (Hosea 6:2). Nothing had gone wrong. Everything had happened exactly as he said.
- “They remembered his words”
The angels did not give the women a new explanation. They pointed them back to what Jesus had already said, and when the women remembered, they understood. They went at once to tell the eleven apostles and the other disciples. Luke names them: Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James, along with others. Mary Magdalene and Joanna had followed Jesus since Galilee (Luke 8:2-3). These women became the first messengers of the resurrection, even though the apostles at first thought their words were nonsense (Luke 24:11).
The Significance of Luke 24:1-10
- The living Lord
Christian faith rests on the fact that Jesus is alive. The question “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” still challenges anyone who thinks of Jesus only as a great teacher of the past. He is risen and present with his people today.
- Remembering his words
The women understood when they remembered what Jesus had said. In confusion and grief, believers find light by going back to his words. The promises of Jesus are trustworthy, because he kept the greatest promise of all.
Cross-References:
Mark 16:6: Mark’s account of the angel’s announcement that Jesus has risen.
Luke 9:22: “the third day be raised up.” Jesus foretold his death and resurrection.
Hosea 6:2: “On the third day he will raise us up.” A prophetic picture of the third-day restoration.
Luke 8:2-3: Mary Magdalene, Joanna and other women who followed Jesus from Galilee.
Conclusion: In Luke 24:1-10 the women come at dawn with spices and find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Two angels ask why they seek the living among the dead and remind them that Jesus foretold his death and resurrection on the third day. Remembering his words, the women become the first to carry the news of the risen Lord to the apostles.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible