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The News That No One Expected
How an early morning message to the mourning women put into motion a movement that would change the world
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:1–3, NIV)
The tomb is empty.
Jesus was not there.
This is not how these things usually go.
Dead people stay in their tombs.
But this tomb is empty.
Early Sunday morning
Sabbath prohibitions had allowed time only to wrap the body Friday afternoon, so the women needed to get to the tomb as early as possible Sunday morning to complete the washing and anointing of the body. So, after a long, likely sleepless Friday night and Sabbath, the women rose early to go to the tomb.
They may have been walking quickly, hoping that the stench of rapid decomposition in the hot Mediterranean days might have been mitigated adequately by the 2000-foot elevation of springtime Jerusalem, combined…
