Was It A Morning Like This? Series

Was It a Morning Like This?

Luke 24:1-12

I have entitled our message, “Was It a Morning Like This?” Was it a morning like today when Jesus arose from the grave? I want to begin by reminding us how the resurrection is the event on which our faith is founded. In 1 Corinthians 15:16-17, the Apostle Paul declared, “If the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen; and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” But let me tell you, Jesus did arise! And, the Bible tells us that because Christ arose from the grave, those who put their faith and trust in Him will be released from the penalty of sin.

Today, we’re going to celebrate the beauty of Easter morning! We’re going to rejoice in how Jesus, through the resurrection, has brought light to our darkness and given us good news to share with the world. We’re also going to see how Jesus seeks a personal encounter with us, and come to realize that in order to experience His resurrection power in our life, we have to get our minds off this world and start looking up. The very author of our passage encourages us in Luke 21:28 to “look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” It is my hope and prayer that we will each have a personal experience with Jesus that affirms His resurrection!

Walking in Death and Darkness (vv. 1-5)

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

The scene here begins early on Sunday morning, three days after Jesus had been crucified, died and had been buried. We read in verse 1 that “they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb.” So, this statement leaves us with a question: “To whom was Luke referring?” Back in Luke 23:55-56, he tells us that they were “the women who had come with Him from Galilee” and who “followed after” Him (23:55). Matthew tells us that among them was Mary Magdalene and Mary (Matthew 28:1), Jesus’ mother; and John mentions Mary Magdalene (John 20:1). However, the list seen in verse 10 of our main text (Luke 24:10), could represent who all was present.

In the song, “Was It a Morning Like This?” Sandi Patti asked, “Was it a morning like this? When the sun still hid from Jerusalem; and Mary rose from her bed, to tend to the Lord she thought was dead.” When “the sun still hid” implies darkness, and verse 1 tells us that the women began to make their journey to the tomb “very early in the morning.” Commentator John Gill says that some older versions use the wording “when it was yet dark” and “while it was yet night.”(1) The sun had not yet risen; it was still dark outside.(2)

Perhaps, when the sun finally arose, it was a morning like this. Maybe the weather was glorious! But that morning was still overshadowed by loss, grief and despair; and the darkness of night just before dawn symbolized those feelings. And maybe that’s how someone here today feels - weighed down by a heavy burden which you cannot explain; being constantly filled with sadness and hopelessness. What you’re feeling is the weight of sin. Sin leads to spiritual darkness and ultimately death. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” But Jesus came to deliver us from sin and darkness!

Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). In Luke chapter 1, Zacharias prophesied of Jesus, saying that He had come “to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God . . . to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:77-79). When you start seeking Jesus, He will come and shine His light into the dark corners of your heart, revealing your sins and convicting you of your need for the “remission of sins,” or rather, the forgiveness that you desperately need.(3)