And withal, certain women from amongst us astonished us, having been very early at the sepulchre,
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and, not having found his body, came, saying that they also had seen a vision of angels, who say that he is living.
Two disciples are walking to Emmaus. They tell a Stranger why they are so sad, and in the middle of their story comes this report from the women: angels had said He was alive. So why did such astonishing news leave them downcast? What would turn a report into faith?
The women's own errand was stopped before it began. What they met at the tomb instead came in two parts:
The Jewish sabbath came in between and stopped the women's preparations. This was of God, for those preparations were completely unnecessary. By the time the women could take them up again, the sacred body was not to be found. Instead of the dead body they found two men in shining garments. From their lips they heard that the Lord was now "the living One" and not among the dead. So the first testimony to His resurrection came from the lips of angels. A second testimony came from the words He Himself had spoken during His life. He had predicted His death and His resurrection. When reminded of His words, they remembered them.
The angels tell the women He is alive — but they do not arrange a meeting, and their words carry a rebuke:
The announcement comes by angels, and that fact alone gives it an air of distance. The reserve and reproof running through the message make that distance greater. They do not even promise a meeting with Him: He is alive; had He not told them He would rise? Why seek the living One among the dead? The women are confused and terrified; the apostles doubt: these are tales, idle tales, born in the minds of excitable, dreamy women.
The two on the road repeat the women's words correctly. Still they cannot make anything of them:
Comparing the Gospels, we find, first, that the disciples were all in great perplexity. They had no idea of resurrection. John tells us this plainly, and the same thing shows in what the two on the road to Emmaus admit… Some people believed particular details, or facts, but no one understood the great truth.
Their slowness to believe has an unexpected benefit. It clears them of the charge that they made the story up:
The apostles would not accept the word of the women about the resurrection of the Lord. The women no doubt repeated what the angels said, that the Lord had declared long before that He would be crucified and rise again the third day. The disciples probably asked, if He were raised, why had no one seen Him alive? But God's wisdom shows here. It was a test of the disciples' faith in Christ's own words, backed up by the angels' report to the women. And the cynicism of the disciples is clear proof that they had no thought of inventing a false story of resurrection to deceive the world.
The women's report is real evidence, but not the last kind. The proofs came in stages, each stronger than the one before:
The empty tomb would have been a precious gift to faith, and it was enough for John (John 20:8). The testimony of the angels would have been stronger testimony. But the crown of all was to see Him, to handle Him, to watch Him eat, to hear Him speak. This was indeed the full fruit.
When Jesus joins them, He does not offer more proof. He turns them to what was already written:
Jesus hears their sad story from their own lips. He brings out the state of their hearts. Then He opens the Scriptures, instead of just pointing to the facts as evidence. This use of the Scriptures by our Lord is very significant. The word of God is the truest, deepest, weightiest testimony — even when the risen Jesus Himself is there as its living proof in person.
Even their sad report was a first light of faith:
So already, without their knowing it, a resurrection faith was dawning in them. It needed only the confirmation of the Word to set their hearts burning, and to make them ready for the risen Lord to appear to them Himself.
- Angels first. The first witness to the resurrection came from angels. The second came from words Jesus had already spoken, and they had forgotten them.
- Angels keep their distance. Their message holds back and rebukes. It promises no meeting with Him. It points away from the grave without ending the search.
- Facts without faith. They believed the details but missed the great truth. You can repeat a report word for word and still be in despair.
- Doubt as evidence. Their doubt tested their faith in Christ's own words. It also proves they were not inventing a story to deceive the world.
- From report to Person. The empty tomb was a gift to faith. The angels' word was stronger. But the crown was to see, hear and handle Him — and it was the Scriptures, not the evidence alone, that made their hearts burn.