July 26 2025

Saturday July 26

The Tomb is Opened for Perplexed Hearts

Luke 24:1-12

"8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Remember what Jesus said in John 14:1, "Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me”. I love that because you see in this passage that we have in Luke 24, there were many different kinds of responses in the hearts of people concerning Jesus and as to what had happened. Verse 4 tells us the first women at the tomb “were greatly perplexed”. They had perplexed hearts. But my friend, I'm telling you, the empty tomb and the risen Savior is the answer for perplexed hearts.

In verses 1-7, that we read yesterday, the angel had said to the ladies that Jesus would be delivered into sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day rise again. “And they remembered His words” (v. 8). Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.

It must have been a good group of ladies that had gone to the tomb early that morning (v. 10). Their words to the disciples seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them (v. 11). Only Peter arose and ran to the tomb, and after stooping down, he saw the linen clothes lying by themselves (v. 12). And he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

This passage tells us that Jesus arose from the dead on the first day of the week. And it must have been very early. According to Matthew 28:2-4, a great earthquake took place and an angel came and rolled the stone away. This was not done to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in to see that the tomb was empty. And of course, the message was and still is, “come and see” (Matthew 28:6).

Now, Mary Magdalene is the woman who had been specially helped by Jesus and was very devoted to Him (Luke 8: 2). She had lingered at the cross and became the first person that Jesus appeared to (Mark 15:48). Luke mentions that she was the first at the tomb.  Then, we also read that Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and the other devout women also were at that tomb with her. They came to prepare the body of Jesus for burial. But their labor of love was transformed into gladness when they discovered that Jesus was alive.

Their main concern on the way there, was who will roll this stone away, because they knew that the Roman soldier would not allow someone to break the Roman seal, especially a group of mourning Jewish women. But God solved the problem for them because the tomb was open when they got there, and there were two angels that appeared to these ladies. Matthew and Mark also talk about the one angel that gave them the message. The angel’s message was a kind rebuke: “Remember how He spoke to you when you were still in Galilee, that He must die, He must be crucified, and He would rise again”. 

God’s answer for our perplexed hearts today is also to remember! We need to remember the word of God. To do that we need to read it and have it in our hearts. It was then they were told to go back and tell the other disciples, which of course, they did. But it was Mary Magdalene that came back to the tomb, and she's still perplexed, but Jesus shows up and meets with her according to the gospel of John. She supposes Him first to be a gardener. But then when He says her name and she recognizes His voice because: “My sheep hear My voice, and they know My voice, and I know their name” (John 10:3-4). Everything changed for her at that point.

My friend, Jesus will change everything for you too when you hear His voice say your name. Today, He will speak to us through His Word if we will only listen.

God Bless!