I’ve always imagine her wandering alone in the garden, barely able to see through her tears. But she wasn’t alone. With adrenaline rushing, they were all running away from the tomb, afraid and bewildered, yet giddy with joy (Mt 28:8).

Their reverent plans for the morning took a sudden sharp turn when they discovered the open tomb. The women probably dropped their spice bundles as well as their jaws when an angel appeared with brilliance far surpassing the rising sun.

“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter…” (Mk16:6-7)

Oh yes, they fled! They raced to share what they’d seen. Imagine the hearts pounding, adrenaline rushing, bewilderment swirling. But their mission took another sudden turn when

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. (Mt 28:9)
(My paraphrase Jesus would say “Good morning ladies!”)

What?!!!

John suggests they didn’t recognize him initially but in speaking Mary’s name Jesus removed the mistaken identity. And what is their response?

They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. (Mt 28:9, Jn 20:11-16)

Their response to Jesus’ resurrection is to fall at his feet in worship.

We worship Jesus all the time, so you may find it surprising that prior to this moment, Jesus is worshiped only three times:

1. by the Magi as an infant (Mt 2:10-11)
2. by his disciples who declare him the Son of God after he walks on water (Mt 14:25-33)
3. by the man born blind whom Jesus heals when he identifies himself as the Son of Man (Jn 9:35-38)

Since worshiping Jesus was rare prior to this moment, their impulsive worship response is curious. I wondered:

• Why did the women immediately worship him?
• What did they understand about his resurrection?

God doesn’t leave the women, and thus the disciples, to figure it out on their own. The angels get them started by saying:

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” Then they remembered his words. (Luke 24:6-8) (emphasis mine)

And I’ll bet they began remembering a lot of his words, piecing together the evidence, and connecting the dots. After their initial confusion and fear, they recognized Jesus as exactly who he said he was.

OMG! It’s True! It’s all True — True with a capital T!

So….. if it’s all True, if Jesus is exactly who he said he was, what does that mean for us?

With Jesus’ resurrection we can believe in God’s truth.

• He loves us with unbreakable love.
• He created us in his image with loving relationship and partnership in mind.
• The Creator knows what it means to be fully human – his way is the way.
• His kingdom requirements are for us, not against us.
• Jesus has the power and authority to forgive sins.

Believe it’s True!

Let’s go a step further:

• Write down all God’s promises you can remember (or search online for a list).
• Underline the ones you know to be true.
• Mark those you have trouble believing.
• Write down the obstacle keeping you from believing this promise.

Consider looking for articles or sermons that can help you deepen your understanding of these promises and strengthen your faith.

You can search Seeds of Scripture (on the right) for posts about God’s promises. To get you started, this video post describes the ritual displaying how very serious God is regarding promises. His love is a forever kind of love.

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