Saying Goodbye
They came all the way from Galilee with him. Now, they would have to go home without him, but first they would come and take him in their arms one more time, and prepare the body for burial.
On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. - Luke 24:1-12
The resurrection of Jesus is such a wonderful event that we don't think about what life was like for Mary as she came to the tomb for the last time.
Luke doesn't describe the women in detail, and it isn't even clear if Mary, the mother of Jesus was among them, but I assume she was. She had come with them to be with her son.
Now, in the Gospel of John, Jesus, while on the cross, knowing his mother would have no one to care for her, gives John that job, so Mary had someone to care for her.
But where did they all stay?
They couldn't travel on the Sabbath, so they probably stayed where they had the last meal with Jesus, and Mary and the other women would have stayed with them.
That had to be a difficult Sabbath, with them working out the details of how they would go back home and what they would do now that Jesus was no longer their mentor and teacher and would-be king.
Their entire understanding of Scripture was tossed aside with His death. The Messiah was supposed to live, and Jesus even told them they would not die if they followed him.
The stage is set for the most remarkable and joyous upset imaginable.
Who would have thought He would have been risen?
More to come...