There were significant findings on the third day. Those same women who saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it…went home and prepared spices and perfumes…[and then] rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment (Luke 23:55-56) returned to the tomb. They were coming to properly anoint Jesus’ body for burial, fully prepared to find Him dead as He was on Friday and, by this time, beginning to decompose. Instead, the findings were quite different from what they expected.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb (Luke 24:2), a most unexpected situation, given that the tomb was guarded by Roman soldierscharged to prevent tampering. When they went in the tomb, they did not find the body (Luke 24:3), astonishing given that any of the Jewish leaders who might have removed the body would now be ritually unclean. Next, they found two men in dazzling clothes beside them (Luke 24:4) who told them the most astounding finding of all: He is not here, but has risen (Luke 24:5). No wonder these women were terrified, unable to comprehend the findings in front of them.
But then, the “men” gave them one more “finding”: a rediscovery of what Jesus had said to them, which enabled them to find the truth of what had happened. They said, remember how He told you, while H 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 (Luke 24:7). And then the women remembered His words, and, reinterpreting their findings, ran to tell the others the good news. It was finding the words of Jesus which enabled them to find the gospel in the midst of the tragedy.
And so it is with us. Perhaps you are going through challenging circumstances, with finding after finding that tell you that there’s no hope, that things will go from bad to worse, that all is lost. Or perhaps you just don’t know what to think about your life, or that of someone you love, as it’s just impossible to understand what’s happened or is now happening. Thankfully, we have the word of God to help us to interpret our findings, even to make new findings that we have forgotten, or that have been hiding in the midst of other findings. The finding of God’s Word, regularly, will make it possible for God to speak in difficult times, so that we can find our way again, and can find His resurrection power at work in times of darkness.
So make it habit to find the Scriptures, daily, that the findings God has left there for you may be discovered, and may make all the difference.
