Jesus’ cry from the cross, “It is finished!” also expressed the understanding of His disciples. When Jesus died, all their hopes died with Him. Though Jesus plainly told them ahead of time what would happen, they did not understand or believe. Afterwards, however, something occurred which changed everything. In the Gospel account which bears his name, Mark tells us what happened after Jesus died. In chapter 15, verse 42 through chapter 16, verse 8 he writes:
“When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member who also himself was looking for God’s Kingdom, came. He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate marveled if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead long. When he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses, saw where he was laid. When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’” They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.”
Like Pilate, the Roman governor, many people question whether Jesus really died on the cross. They speculate that perhaps He merely fainted and Joseph of Arimathea placed Him in the tomb without realizing that He still lived. The reason people insist that Jesus didn’t die is that the alternative is terrifying. If Jesus truly did die then the fact that the women found His tomb empty points to a reality people do not wish to accept – Jesus rose from the dead. And, if Jesus rose from the dead it means that He is who He always claimed to be. He is not merely a good man, or even just a prophet. He is more than that. He is divine. If Jesus really did have the authority He claimed, to take up His life again, then we must acknowledge that He also possesses the authority He claimes to have over us. People do not want to accept Jesus as their Master so they deny His death or that He rose from the dead.
Unfortunately for people who wish to deny Jesus’ death, Pilate investigated the facts. When told that Jesus had died, he summoned and questioned the officer who commanded the soldiers who crucified Jesus. There was no doubt in the officer’s mind. The Roman soldiers knew their business. They were well acquainted with death. It is highly likely that Jesus and the two thieves put to death with Him were not the first men the soldiers had killed. Though Mark does not mention it, another account of Jesus’ crucifixion says that to make absolutely sure there was no mistake, one of the soldiers thrust a spear into Jesus’ side. Blood and water flowed from the wound (John 19:34). This indicates that before the spear pierced His lungs and heart Jesus had already been dead long enough for His blood to separate. There could be no question that Jesus was dead. It was only after receiving satisfaction on this point that Pilate allowed Joseph to bury Jesus’ body.
Not enough time remained in the day to fully comply with Jewish burial customs. However, Joseph, with the help of a man by the name of Nicodemus, wrapped Jesus’ body in cloth and placed it in a room carved out of the rock. Then they rolled a very large, flat stone across the entrance to seal it. The stone was large enough that the women who came to anoint Jesus’ body with spices doubted that they would be able to roll the stone away from the tomb’s entrance.
The stone was not the only impediment which prevented someone from interfering with Jesus’ body. Another account relates that at the request of the chief priests and Pharisees, Pilate officially sealed the tomb and posted a guard on it (Matthew 27:62-66).
In light of this it is no wonder that the women were amazed when they found the tomb open. Their amazement turned to alarm when a young man spoke to them inside the empty tomb. Other accounts call this man an angel and say that his clothes shown brightly, like lightning (Matthew 28:2-3, Luke 24:4).
The angel’s message was as unexpected as his appearance. He said that Jesus had risen from the dead. When someone dies, we expect him to stay dead. This is our universal experience. It is true that the Scriptures record that some of the Jewish prophets such as Elisha had the ability to raise the dead. It is probable that the women had even witnessed Jesus raise a few people from the dead, such as one of their friends, Lazarus. No doubt this was proof that Jesus had divine authority. Yet in all of human history, there had never been a case where a dead person raised himself. It was one thing to hear Jesus say, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18 NIV) It was a very different thing to actually witness Jesus do it. Perhaps for the first time the women began to understand who Jesus really was.
The women were so frightened by what they saw and heard that they fled the tomb. They were afraid to tell anyone what happened in spite of the angel’s command to take a message to the disciples.
Like the women, we too are sometimes amazed and alarmed when we encounter God’s mighty power. We too are frightened when we learn the truth of Jesus’ rising from the dead and what it means. The question is what will we do after we find out? Will we deny the truth? Will we keep it to ourselves as the women did? Or will we allow the truth about Jesus to transform us and our lives?