The women woke before dawn, quickly dressed, and gathered their fresh spices in woven-reed baskets. Finally the time had come—“Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise” (Mark 16:2). A new day. Anything might happen. Light hurrying to meet the darkness. Life hastening to find the dead. Was there ever such a morning in the history of the world?
Right on cue our sisters passed through the Damascus Gate, bound for the garden tomb. “And they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’” (Mark 16:3).
In a morning full of miracles, this was the first one: “But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side . . . ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified’” (Mark 16:4–6).
This is it. This is the moment. All of creation held its breath. “He has risen!” (Mark 16:6). Hallelujah! God be praised!
Before they could respond, the angel gave them an assignment. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you’” (Mark 16:7). With the angel’s words ringing in their ears and resounding in their hearts, the women were on a mission: “Now go and give this message to his disciples” (GNT).
How I wish I could tell you the disciples welcomed the news with open ears and open hearts. Alas, that’s not what happened. “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11).
Well, I never. What sort of Easter morning was this?
The real one, my friend, full of disbelief, fear, and confusion. Could this outrageous resurrection story be true?
Liz Curtis Higgs is an internationally-known speaker and the author of more than 30 books, including The Women of Easter. Learn more at LizCurtisHiggs.com. Devotions are adapted from The Women of Easter. Copyright © 2017 by Liz Curtis Higgs. Published by WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations within these devotions are from the New International Version, used by permission.
