Anchor My Faith

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Author: Stephen Weller
643 words, 3 minutes read time

Two Men and A Message

Scripture: Matthew 28:5-6; Luke 24:5-8

We ended the previous lesson with Mary the mother of James and Salome bowed down before two men dressed in dazzling apparel. In this lesson we will learn what message they have for them.

^{Mt 28:5} But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ^{Lk 24:5} [But] why do you seek the living among the dead? ^{Mt 28:6} He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ^{Lk 24:6} Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” ⁸ And they remembered his words.

In the previous lesson it appeared that the angel of the Lord had left as did the Roman guard and in place of the angel two men in dazzling apparel appeared shortly after the women arrived. Now the text says that the angel spoke to the women. Again, we see differences between gospel reporters. In the previous lesson it was Luke who spoke of two men while Matthew seems to remember only the angel. I am inclined to rewrite Matthew 28:5 to read “The two men said to the women,” and listen to what was said and not fuss over which reporter was correct. My reason for going with two men is that there was no mention of the women seeing the angel when they first saw the open tomb.

The first thing that was said by the men was, “Do not be afraid.” The women needed assurance that they would not harm them as they had an important message for them. These men knew what was on the minds of the women as they said to them, “[We] know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.” They were looking for his body and found the tomb empty.

The men then ask the women a question: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Their question suggest that the women need to adjust their thinking. They were looking for a dead Jesus and had forgotten that Jesus promised that he would rise from the dead in three days. At this time the women should be looking for Jesus who would be alive not looking for a dead body.

The two men tell the women that Jesus was not there, which they already knew. He informs them that he had risen and was not there. I believe he was in heaven at the time with his Father. The women are then invited to come with the men and look more closely at where Jesus had been. As they were looking at the place where he laid before rising they ask the women to recall a previous conversation with Jesus when he was still in Galilee that he spoke of being delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified. But that was not to be the end, for he continued to say that in three days he would rise from the dead. I can almost hear the women saying, “Awe, that’s right, he did say that, we now remember his words.”

Conclusion

In this lesson we saw some difference in reported information. Did the angel speak to the women or was it two men? Taking the side of two men we watched and listened to them remind the women of a previous conversation with Jesus when he informed them that he would be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise from the dead. As we ended the lesson, the women remembered.