“Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” Mark 16:8

There are numerous times in the Bible when God “surprises” people with the plan of salvation. In fact, if we look closely for surprises in the Bible we will notice that God is constantly surprising people in order to bring salvation through faith in Jesus. God does this in the Old Testament and the New Testament. We could argue for a lifetime, or longer, which surprise is the greatest, or the most startling. So, I will simply say this moment at the tomb is ONE of the most startling and one of the greatest surprises for God’s people that we find in scripture.

The women came to the tomb early in the morning with a somber task. Those who took down the body of Jesus had only enough time to wrap the body quickly and place it in the tomb. The fact that they touched the body meant they had to be outside the gate of Jerusalem at sundown as it was the Sabbath – more importantly the Sabbath of the Passover. The women are coming to the tomb after the Sabbath is over at the first break of dawn to properly wash and wrap the body in cloths with herbs as was the custom of that time.

The women were concerned about who would roll the stone away. They were aware of the large stone, but perhaps not aware of the Roman guards stationed to keep people away from the tomb. What an incredible surprise to find that not only was the stone rolled away, but the tomb was empty. In Mark’s account a young man tells them that Jesus is not there, they should tell Peter and the disciples, and that Jesus will meet all of them in Galilee. The surprise and fear is so great that Mark says, they did not say anything to anyone.

As we close out the season of Lent and each of us approaches the empty tomb of Easter, I want to encourage you to take stock of the surprises in your life. Has God surprised you in positive ways? What were the greatest surprises? Which surprises were positive and affirmed your faith? Finally, consider this question – what surprises lie ahead in your life.

The funny thing about surprises is that they are not surprising if we already know. We know that Jesus will bring us to heaven, but we do not know everything about what that will be like. Just as the women were surprised, we will also. The surprises will be wonderful and bring great joy – just as the angels brought to the shepherds. This is the way of the Lord, to surprise us with Grace and keep us connected through Jesus.

May God grant you holy and positive surprises during this Easter season.

God’s Peace,
Pastor Jon