And as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the Living among the dead? Luke 24:5
We cannot imagine the situation that those brave women faced as they approached the sepulchre on that resurrection morning. With day barely breaking and with hearts heavy with grief, and with arms burdened heavily with burial spices and ointments, they drew near, despite their dread of the Roman guard and their concern for the weight of the stone at the sepulchre’s entrance. The shock of seeing the stone rolled away was followed by the astonishment of finding the tomb empty. Is it any wonder that they dropped to the earth in dread and awe as the angels appeared to them. The angels’ question was designed to redirect their thinking – and our thinking as well – in six remarkable ways.
Firstly, the women were redirected from death to life. They had come to the tomb to tend to the burial of a dead Man, but are redirected to a Living Man. The word’s religions and philosophes are focused on leaders whose bodies lie mouldering to dust in the earth and whose souls wail in the torments of damnation. But our focus is on One Who was dead but is alive for evermore (Revelation 1:18).
The women were also redirected by the angels’ question from the cross to the resurrection. We rightfully ponder the cross and regret our awful sinfulness that caused our Saviour such deep sorrows and anguish. But we must never pause long there, because the cross was temporary but the resurrection is eternal. The Lord Jesus not only lives in the power of an endless life, but He also confers the hope of the same upon us in His great victory over death.
The angels’ question also redirected the women from their feelings of grief to their Saviour’s own words, his declaration that after His death He would rise again. We also need never trust our feelings and our attitudes, when we consider that we have the Word of God in all of its truth and immutability as the foundation for our hope and assurance.
The angel’s question also redirects the women from the events of men to the provision of God. Yes, they could never forget what men had done to the Lord Jesus, in their rejection, their false accusations, their false judgment, and their cruel torments. But the events of that awful day must fade as they – and we – reflect on the reality that God hath raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). What men had intended for evil, God had intended for good.
Another redirection arising from the angels’ question is from the keeping of the law to the believing of the Gospel. The women had dutifully waited until the end of the Sabbath before bringing their spices and ointments to the tomb. Keeping the law was critical to them because they were committed to serving their God. But they were now being redirected by the reality that the law is but a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).
Finally, the angels’ question redirects those women from grief to joy. Their tear-stained cheeks and heavy hearts over the death of their Lord were things of the past. Why weep over the terrible events of Calvary when the One Who died there is no longer dead nor ever will be? They came to the tomb in deepest grief, but could now depart in the greatest of joy. And so should we.
Let the angels’ question – Why seek ye the Living among the dead – redirect our hearts today. -Jim MacIntosh