Where is the Body? (April 17, 2022) Luke 24.1-12

We have come to the most holy day of the Christian year. It is the day that makes us Christians. Not Christmas, but Easter. Specifically, Resurrection Sunday. It is faith in the one who was put to death for our sins and who was raised from the dead that makes us who we are. We are a people of the resurrection.

We have traveled through Lent and the preparation for this day. This is the day for which we look for from the beginning of the Christian year at Advent. And now it is here. But this is not just a single day. This begins the Easter season in which we remember that Christ was raised, that he appeared to those around him, that he conversed with them, that he ate with them. He did everything that he had done before only with a new body that was not limited by the ordinary limitations of human bodies. So, enjoy the candy and celebrations that take place today, but don’t forget that the story is not over and that it continues for another 50 days.

And what a story. This is a continuation of chapter 23 where Jesus was crucified and buried. We are told at the end of the chapter that a number of women were making note of where the body was laid and that they prepared spices for the anointing of the body in the traditional manner. This would have been the last act of love that they preformed for their beloved teacher. They prepared the spices but did not anoint the body because of the Sabbath. Justo Gonzalez says this about the women who were watching: “In the narrative of the passion and burial, even while others deny Jesus or flee, these women stand firm, although at a distance[1]…They, no less than the rest, believe that in the cross all has come to an end. It is time to return home to their more traditional lives. But before they do that, they must perform one last act of love for their dead Master: they must anoint his body.[2]

So, very early, at dawn we are told, on the day after the Sabbath they came with the spices. We are told that it was a number of women though only three are named. Perhaps they came as a large group to be able to roll the stone away. They might have come as a group to carry all the spices and to mourn properly the one who was dead. Whatever the reason, we know that women were a part of the disciples that followed Jesus.

It is interesting to notice that none of the men are there. Perhaps they were afraid of being arrested for being a part of what seemed to be a revolutionary’s band of merry men. Perhaps they were in mourning themselves and could not bear to see the tomb. We will never know because the text does not tell us.

But back to the women. As they are walking toward the tomb, they notice something peculiar. The stone to the tomb has already been pushed away from the opening. I am sure they all looked around wondering what had happened. Did they come to the wrong tomb? Surely not, there were too many of them who saw where it was and who knew where the body had been laid. So, what was going on? In the nature of human beings, they decided to investigate.

When they come into the tomb, they notice one thing right away: The body is missing. “Where is the body?” one can hear them ask. “This is the correct tomb, right? We saw them lay the body, or at least a body, in here so there should be a body somewhere. I mean, dead bodies don’t just get up and walk away.” The text tells us that they were perplexed or puzzled over this. I imagine that this is an understatement. If we know anything of human nature there was probably an uproar among the group. Where was the body?

Then suddenly two men in dazzling white appear before them. Now if you know anything about the sudden appearance of someone in the bible there is bound to be fear from those to whom they appear. And so, it is with the women. They bow their heads in fear and to probably shield their eyes from the brightness of their clothes.

The men do not give an introductory statement. They do not say “fear not”. What they do say is this: “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? 6 He is not here, but he has been raised.[3]” This mild rebuke is to tell them where the body is not. It is not here because Jesus had been raised from the dead, not by himself but by the power of God.

They continue by saying: “Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”[4] With this statement they jog the memories of the ones who are gathered. Have you ever had someone tell you something that you heard but did not really hear? And when asked about it you really cannot recall what was said? Then someone says, “Oh, you know. He or she said such and such.” and in doing so you remember that yes, they did say that, how could I have forgotten. This is what the women experienced.

When they have been reminded of what had been told to them, they fully realize what has happened and they have the faith that comes with the resurrection. They have the faith that Jesus was alive and that he had been raised from the dead. That he was not there, not because someone had taken him, not because they were at the wrong tomb, and definitely not because he had only swooned on the cross but recovered, but that he walked out to the tomb alive and well. And so, they hurry and go to tell the other disciples, the men who were somewhere that we do not know but the women do.

When they arrive where the other disciples are gathered, one can only imagine their joy. They have good news, news that cannot wait to be told! Their teacher is alive, just as he told them he would be and they have seen that he is not in the tomb. Where he is they really don’t know, but does that matter? He is alive! What exciting news!

But male disciples are skeptical. In fact, the story seems to them to be an idle tale, or better, utter nonsense. They saw that the teacher was dead and though they did not know where he was buried, they were sure that he was buried. Plus, these are women who are telling the tale. Women were not taken as valid testimony in the time of the Second Testament. They just were not reliable; they were given to too much hysterics. And this tale just proves it. So, the first proclaimers of the resurrection, the first preachers of Jesus being raised from the dead, are not taken seriously.

But one disciple senses that maybe, just maybe, these women are telling the truth. Peter goes to the tomb to check it out. He looks inside and sees that the linen burial cloths are still there. No one who takes a body out would have left the burial cloths, they would have kept the body wrapped. And so, Peter is amazed. It would appear that the women were telling the truth. But notice this, Peter does not go and tell anyone about what he has seen. Perhaps he thought that they would not have taken him seriously. Perhaps he wanted to be seen as plausible. Or perhaps he was so shocked that he had to ponder what had happened for quite some time.

We are an Easter people. We believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and that he is alive today. If we did not believe that, we would not be here. The claim of the discovery of the empty tomb is at the heart of the Christian faith. R. Alan Culpepper says that the resurrection of Jesus “is God’s response to Jesus’ death, God’s vindication of Jesus, and God’s validation of Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom to the poor, the outcast, and the penitent.”[5]

Yet too often we look for the body in the tomb. Too often we look for Jesus only in the church. But is this the only place where we find Jesus? I’m sure you know the answer. Because if this is the only place where we find Jesus, then the church has become the tomb where he was buried. The body is still in place and our faith is in vain.

Too often we turn to the cross and proclaim that our faith is there where the payment for our sins was and we forget (except on Easter) that the body is not in the tomb. We ask “where is the body?” when we should already know.

We must remember God’s and Jesus’ presence with those in the past to deal with that presence in the present. We must remember what Jesus taught, what he did. We must remember the meals he shared, the healings, the parables all the things of his ministry. If we are to understand the empty tomb, we must remember (as the women did belatedly) all that Jesus was and did.

The tomb was empty and the question was where is the body. The question should have been “Where is Jesus now?” The good news is that we know where Jesus is and that the body is not to be found in the tomb. Because he lives, we too can live with the power of the resurrection behind us knowing that sin and even death have been conquered and that fear of those no longer holds us in their grasp. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Thanks be to God.

[1]González, Justo L. Luke. Ed. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. Print. Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible. [2]González, Justo L. Luke. Ed. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. Print. Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible. [3] New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print. [4] New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print. [5]Culpepper, R. Alan. Luke; New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville. Abingdon Press. 2015. 402.