Verses 1-8, “Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
The two Marys went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint His body. Even though there would be obstacles to overcome, they went anyway. For instance, they were not strong enough to roll the stone away from the door, but God had a plan. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away from the entrance, and saw an angel sitting on the stone. Sometimes when God calls us to do something, we focus on the obstacles and never even begin the work because it looks too hard. He just wants us to step out in faith and trust that He will allow us victory and provide what we need in order to be obedient. Had they failed to go, they would have missed out on being used to share the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead. If you want to be used by God, you need to be willing to step out, even when it's hard and does not look possible to accomplish. The you too will be blessed.
Matthew 28:2-7 goes into greater detail, “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.' ” They did go tell the disciples just as instructed, but they did not believe them. He also appeared differently to two of the disciples; and when they reported it to the rest, they still did not believe.
Verses 9-13, “Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.”
This should cause us to consider the hard heartedness of man to receive the truth. How many times and in how many ways does God have to speak to us to get us to listen and pay attention? If you suspect God is speaking to you about something, you are better off yielding to Him quickly and repenting if necessary. God loves us and if we are His children, He will rebuke and chasten us for our unbelief and disobedience as any good father would. Revelation 3:19, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” After two failed attempts to reach the disciples, He goes Himself. Verse 14, “Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” Being rebuked is not what we want to hear from our Lord and Savior. We should desire to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21). If we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Even when we know to do good, yet refuse to do it, that is also sin. James 4:17, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Jesus gives the Great Commission in Verses 15-18, “And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.' ” Notice that the signs will follow the believer, not the other way around. Many in the church will chase after the signs and put their experiences above the word of God, trading in what they know and have been given for the unknown. Signs are good when they glorify Jesus. Acts 4:29-30, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
Matthew 16:4, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” A sign should never be a prerequisite for your belief. Jesus has already done enough. He does not need to prove Himself to you or anyone else. The point is, if your heart is full of unbelief, no sign will ever convince you to believe. Remember Lazarus and the rich man (in Hades)? The rich man wanted a sign for his relatives of one going back from the dead. Luke 16:29-31, “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ” If you are so hard now that you will not receive the truth, do not think for a minute that after the rapture you will then believe.
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