Luke 24:1, commentary and pictures

Very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, the women came to the tomb bringing sweet spices they had prepared before the Sabbath. They came grieving without thought or expectation that He would rise, wondering who would roll away the heavy stone, and found it rolled away and the tomb open and empty. Two angels in bright shining white stood by them, told them they were seeking Jesus but He was not there because He had risen, showed them where He lay, and sent them to tell His disciples He would go before them into Galilee. That morning He came forth from the grave a mighty conqueror, and the empty tomb with the burial cloth left behind, together with the disciples afterward seeing and speaking with Him, is evidence that His body had not decayed but had risen, though the disciples at first doubted the women's testimony in their weak faith. The day named is the first day of the week, not the seventh-day Sabbath, and though it records the day of the resurrection it does not call it the Sabbath or the Lord's day nor make the first day sacred.

Women at the Sepulchre

Very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, the women came to the tomb, and other women came with them. They brought sweet, precious spices to anoint the body. Those spices had been prepared before the Sabbath, even the day before the Sabbath, to continue the burial work. Having rested on the seventh day according to the commandment, they waited for the hours of the Sabbath to pass and then rose to go.

They came without any thought or expectation that he would rise. The sun of their hope had gone out in darkness and night had settled on their hearts, so they grieved with hope gone. As they walked they recounted his works of mercy and his words of comfort instead of remembering his promise that he would see them again. Grieving and unaware of what was happening, they wondered who would roll away the stone, even though they could not move it themselves.

As they approached, the earth trembled. They found the heavy stone rolled away from the door, the tomb open and empty, and the body gone. This sank their hearts and made them fear that enemies had taken it. Two angels in bright shining white apparel stood by them, knew their errand, and told them they were seeking Jesus but he was not there because he had risen. They showed them the place where he lay and told them to go tell his disciples that he would go before them into Galilee, sending them to tell the disciples.

Resurrection Witness and Meaning

This verse marks the morning of the resurrection, the day Christ was not left in the grave. Angels from heaven rolled back the stone, life from heaven came to Him, and He walked forth a mighty Conqueror proclaiming Himself the resurrection and the life. He is a living Saviour with the same power still.

The women and others who went to the tomb very early on the first day of the week found it empty. The disciples later testified that they found the burial cloth but not Jesus, and that they had seen and spoken with Him, which was evidence that He had risen and that His body had not decayed.

The resurrection brought the women news that angels assured them He had risen and that they had seen Him alive. The women who came to the tomb very early also saw angels and met Jesus, and their report spread in Jerusalem that same morning. By late afternoon two earnest believers who had come to the city to keep the Passover had heard both that the body was removed and the women's testimony, yet remained perplexed, disheartened, hopeless and faithless.

The disciples doubted the women's testimony, showing how weak their faith had become. Influenced by doctrines and theories casting doubt on resurrection, including Sadducean doctrines, they scarcely understood what rising from the dead meant. The women brought tidings that a vision of angels had appeared to them affirming that Christ had risen from the dead and that they themselves had seen Jesus alive in the garden, yet unbelief persisted. Thus the first day of the week after the crucifixion, a day that held everything to fill the disciples' hearts with rejoicing, became to some not a day of joy but a day of uncertainty, confusion, and perplexity.

The verse identifies Sunday as the first day of the week, after resting on the seventh day according to the commandment, not the seventh-day Sabbath itself. Though it records the day of the resurrection, it does not call it the Sabbath, the Lord's day, or a sacred day, nor does it establish first-day sacredness. Rendering its wording as Sabbath, as in Luther's German Bible which substitutes Sabbath for first day of the week, is incorrect.

The chapter of which the verse is part presents Christ's saving work: through His suffering and death He made salvation possible for repentant, converted people who come to the Father through faith in Him. Those who trust Him and follow His example receive assurance of forgiveness and may be sanctified through belief in the truth. His followers have been given work to do: after receiving the Holy Spirit they are to bear witness to the gospel and carry its light from their own community to all nations. The disciples' mission is a model for believers today, who are to proclaim present truth with compassion and zeal so that people in darkness may hear and be saved.