Luke 24:1-12
Resurrection Sunday, Year C
🌄 The Dawn That Changed Everything
📖 Luke 24:1–12
Resurrection Sunday, Year C
What if resurrection isn’t something we understand first—but something we walk into with confusion, wonder, and trembling hope?
In Luke’s telling of Easter morning, the tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away, and the disciples are disoriented. But the first word is not explanation—it’s remember.
Let’s step into the mystery.
🕰️ Context: Setting the Scene
Luke’s resurrection narrative is not about spectacle. It’s about quiet wonder, divine messengers, and a dawning realization that nothing will ever be the same.
🕯️ Literary Context:
Luke places deep emphasis on memory and witness. The angels don’t say “He is risen” right away—they say, “Remember what he told you.” In Luke, resurrection is rooted in Jesus’ words long before it’s confirmed by sight.
This passage also introduces a theme that runs through the rest of Luke 24: disbelief, astonishment, and gradual recognition. Unlike John’s intimate garden moment or Matthew’s earthquake, Luke’s account is marked by silence, awe, and wonder.
It is the women who show up first—again. And they become the first apostles to the apostles, even when their words are dismissed as “nonsense.”
🌍 Historical Context:
In the first century, women were not trusted legal witnesses. And yet, every Gospel writer insists that it was women who first encountered the empty tomb. This isn’t just historical—it’s deeply theological.
The “spices they had prepared” (v.1) were part of standard burial practice, a way of honoring the body. The expectation was death. The surprise was life.
The mention of Peter running to the tomb connects Luke to the broader resurrection tradition—but in Luke, the emphasis is on marveling, not fully understanding. This sets up the Emmaus Road encounter that follows.
📖 Luke 24:1–12 (NLT)
1 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.
5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?
6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,
7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”
8 Then they remembered that he had said this.
9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.
11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.
12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
🎧 Listen or Explore the Passage:
💡 Key Insights
The Faithfulness of the Women - They came expecting to anoint a body—and became the first proclaimers of resurrection. Faithfulness in grief leads to surprise in glory.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” - This is one of Scripture’s most profound questions. Resurrection always begins by challenging our assumptions.
“Remember what he told you.” - Resurrection isn’t a new idea—it’s the fulfillment of what Jesus had said all along. When we forget, resurrection feels like nonsense. But remembering reawakens our hope.
🔁 Sacred Practice
Sit with this story using the rhythm of Lectio Divina:
Read – Slowly read Luke 24:1–12.
Reflect – Where do you see yourself in the story?
Respond – What do you need to remember about Jesus today?
Rest – Let the words “He is not here—He is risen” echo in your soul.
❓ Jesus-Centered Questions
What parts of resurrection still feel like “nonsense” to me?
Where might I be looking for life among the dead?
What grief am I carrying that resurrection might transform?
Who are the unexpected witnesses of resurrection in my own life?
📚 Reflections & Resources
Commentary: Working Preacher – Luke 24:1–12
Visual Reflection: Bible Project – Luke 24
💬 Want to Reflect Together?
Which part of the story stirred your heart?
What do you need to “remember” today?
Leave a comment or share this with someone who needs to hear the news that hope is alive.
🧵 Connect the Threads
Other Easter readings:
How do these passages intersect to reveal the Good News?
🔊 Weekly Practice Invitation
Each morning this week, ask yourself:
“What do I need to remember today?”
And then let that memory be the doorway into resurrection wonder.