Matthew 28 (NIV)

What if you had gone to the tomb that morning?

You have lost someone very important to you, someone who loved you and someone you loved. Jesus is dead. You are grieving. One thing you can do for him: you can wash his body and anoint it with oils and ointments. You can be near him. So you and Mary Magdalene leave the city and head to the tomb.

Yes, there is the problem of the stone rolled in the track to cover the tomb, but you are determined to move it, to do this one last thing for Jesus.

As you’re making your way to the tomb, the ground shakes. Not just shakes, but rolls like an ocean in a storm! It rumbles like the sound of soldiers marching. An earthquake! You hang onto each other and scramble onward.

You don’t expect to see soldiers guarding the tomb, but later you find out the chief priests had asked Pilate for guards to be sure the disciples don’t open the tomb, steal the body, and claim that Jesus was risen.

The soldiers are huddled on the ground in fear. With good reason! An angel is sitting on the stone, and the tomb is wide open! The angel, dressed in dazzling white clothing, tells you, “Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

The angel sweeps his arm around the cave, inviting you in. Holding onto each other, you step forward into the cave. You look at the angel, then you look around. The tomb is empty.

“Now go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”

As you race back to Jerusalem, you share your joy. “Jesus is alive!” You don’t analyze the situation. How it happened, why it happened doesn’t matter. Just that Jesus is alive.

And then, as you run, someone is in the road ahead of you. You stop in your tracks! It’s Jesus! He speaks. “Greetings.”

You hesitate, then drop to the ground, grab hold of his feet, and cry out his name. “Jesus!”

You feel his hand on your head, his gentle hand. Warmth fills your body. Yes, this is Jesus.

“Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me.”

Later, you hear the gossip in Jerusalem, that the soldiers went back to the chief priests and told them about the earthquake and the angel and the empty tomb. The priests and the elders paid them handsomely to say that the disciples stole the body while the guards slept. They also promised to make it right with the governor, since the guards weren’t supposed to sleep. Someone rolling away the stone should have awakened them.

But you don’t care about that right now. Because you go to the disciples and give them the message. You quickly pack up what you need and begin the three-day journey. You go with the disciples to the mountain Jesus had indicated.

And on the way, you talk. How did this happen? What does this mean? But mostly you’re just delighted that Jesus is still alive. Your lives together will continue. Jesus will do what he has always done, and you will follow him wherever he goes. Your past will be your future, and all this will just be a bad memory.

Because you’re excited to see him again, you walk quickly, and the journey becomes shorter. Near evening, you approach the place. You see someone sitting on the hillside, sitting patiently, quietly, waiting.

Your heart pounds, and you feel your blood throbbing, pulsing, roaring through your body. The pace of your stumbling feet quickens. They carry you forward, even as your body leans into a racing position. You no longer notice the others, as they, too, speed toward that figure.

And then … you drop to your knees. You reach out to touch. All those arms around you reaching out, touching, fingers interlocking, hands covering hands, from in front, from the side, from behind, voices murmuring, “Jesus. Jesus. It’s really you.”

The object of all this attention smiles and reaches out, touching each hand one at a time, speaking each name softly, gently.

Finally, you can breathe again. Your heart settles back into your chest. You look at the others around you, and you step back. Slowly the space around Jesus opens as everyone backs away to find a place to sit.

Words tumble into the space.

“I just don’t believe it.”

“This isn’t real, is it?”

“Jesus, we’re so glad …”

“Thank God you’re alive.”

“This is absolutely amazing.”

“Who would have thought …”

“I don’t know. I touched him. He touched me. I can see him. But …”

“How did this happen?”

When the space has emptied of all your words, you hear him sigh. He looks out at all of you, at each of you. With each word, his finger offers each one of you a piece of the assignment. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You know what happened to Jesus at that point because you were there. The gospel of Matthew doesn’t say.

For consideration:
General Questions
1) How does this story follow its Scripture?
2) How does this story expand its Scripture for you?
3) What is the message of this story?
4) How does the message apply to us today?

Specific Questions
5) What would you think when you saw the soldiers at the tomb?
6) What would you think when you see the angel?
7) What would you think when Jesus meets you?
8) How would you react when you see Jesus the second time when you are with the disciples?