Several women gathered. They wished to anoint the body of Jesus; but there were many difficulties. It was early in the morning and still dark. An enormous stone blocked the entrance to the grave. None of the women were strong enough to move the stone; and worse, the stone had been sealed by the authorities with instructions not to roll it away or break the seal. Guards were stationed at the tomb to enforce the instructions.
Anointing the body was not a necessity. It was not a life or death situation. Jesus was already dead and buried. The men who buried Jesus had prepared the body for burial, albeit rather hurriedly.
Considering all the difficulty, perhaps one of the group asked, “Do we really want to risk this? Aren’t we inviting trouble? No one would ever fault us if we did not do it.”
“True,” a companion answered, “but it is the right thing to do. We want to do what is right, don’t we?” Thus, with spices in hand, the ladies began their thankless trek to the tomb.
One by one the difficulties disappeared. Dawn’s darkness turned to daylight. They arrived to find the stone rolled away. Someone else had broken the seal. The guards were like dead men. Then, miracle of miracles, an angel greeted them warmly saying, “I know why you are here. You have come to anoint the Lord’s body; but He is not here. He is risen. He is alive. Look into the empty tomb and see for yourselves.”
Make no mistake, the most important message in this story is the resurrection of Jesus. He is alive! Still, there are other lesser messages leading up to this all important one. The women determined to do what they believed was right. That was a human victory. Then, God took over. He chased the darkness. He rolled away the stone. He attended to the guards. And, He raised Jesus from the dead.
The choice of the women to do right did not cause Jesus to rise from the grave. Apparently, He had already risen. However, because they chose to do the right thing, they were blessed beyond measure. They were the first to hear the good news, He lives. HE LIVES!
