The Garden Tomb – the Surprise
The Story
There was a garden not far from Golgotha where Jesus had been crucified, and in it was a tomb. This is where they took the body of Jesus and laid him. A giant stone was rolled across the entrance.
Just before dawn on the third day after Jesus had died Mary Magdalene and her friend set off for his tomb. As they approached in the grey morning light a sudden violent earthquake shook the ground. In a dazzling flash of light an angel appeared and rolled away the huge stone. The women were terrified!
“Do not be afraid,” said the angel, “for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay”.
The women crept up to the tomb and peered into the darkness. With their own eyes they saw that Jesus was no longer there. They turned and ran faster than they had ever run before, still fearful yet brimming over with excitement.
Suddenly Jesus met them. He was standing in front of them! The women fell down at his feet. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus smiled, “go and tell my friends to go back to Galilee. They will see me there”. So the two women did just what Jesus said. No one could quite believe what was happening!
Reflection
Take a packet of flower seeds from the box beside the empty tomb. Look at seeds. They look as if they are dead but we know that when this seed is planted in the earth it will break out of its brown shell and new life will begin as shoots appear in the soil.
Response
Find a secret place, perhaps in your garden at home, and as you plant the seed think of it as a symbol that reminds us of Jesus’s resurrection.
