The Greek word for angel is literally, “messenger.” Angels are God’s messengers to man. Just as an angel brought the message that announced Christ’s birth, so too an angel brought the message that announced his resurrection. In Matthew 28, we read about the angel at Christ’s resurrection. The body of Jesus Christ apparently returned to life unseen in the darkness of that Middle Eastern tomb, rising out of His burial shroud and physically and miraculously passed through the sealed, stone door of the tomb without the guards even knowing He was gone. As the women approached the tomb, an angel descended, touched down with an earthquake, and rolled away the stone—not so that the body of Jesus Christ could get out of the tomb, but so that the women, the guards, the disciples, and all the world could go in and see for themselves that it was empty.
In a garden in view of Mount Golgotha, the place of the skull, in Jerusalem today, there is a tomb called “Gordon’s tomb.” It’s named after the man who discovered it some time ago. With good reason it’s believed to be the very tomb in which Jesus was laid 2000+ years ago. When in Israel, one of the most exciting sites on our tour is this tomb. We arrange our time there so that it’s the last spot on the tour and in this garden we stop and enjoy a communion service together. There are numerous groups there every time we’ve been there and you hear communion songs in many different languages being sung as you walk through the garden. It gives you goose bumps! You have to bend down to enter the tomb and there’s only enough room for about four people at a time. The rest of the group waits outside for their turn to go in. There’s always someone in the tour group who goes in and comes out shouting, “He’s still not there!”
It always moves me to realize while I’m there in the tomb that I’ve accepted the invitation of God’s messenger, the Angel, who said to the women, “He is not here, for he has risen. Come! See the place where he laid.” We’re going there again in June 2011. Come! See the place where he laid!
Chuck
“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come! See the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:6)