On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭10‬
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jesus was the crafter of great questions. And these two angels, in honor of him and his resurrection, ask another great question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” This question communicates on so many levels. First, it addresses their lack of belief. Jesus told his disciples that he would rise again on the third day. And before we dismiss this as outside of their realm of comprehension, we must remember that he raised Lazarus from the dead as well. Second, it addresses the authority by which Jesus gained and displayed his incredible power to preach the truth, have compassion on the weak, heal the sick, multiply food, and yes, even raise the dead. If the power was Jesus’ alone, then it would have died with him. But Jesus was God and was one with God. It was God’s power that he operated in. So he didn’t raise himself, but God the Father did. Third, it addresses their lack of hope. They were allowing their hope to die with the mortal death of Jesus’ body. Instead, they should have been full of hope in the life of Jesus’ Spirit and trusting him in his word.

As his followers were back then, so we can be today: deflated, downcast, devoid of hope and assuming the worst. The world around us seems to be falling apart and is steeped in celebrating sin. The possibility of a worldwide collapse of currency or energy or commerce is real and great. The possibility of our freedoms being taken from us is real. And I think Jesus would ask us the same types of question today: “Why do you look for life in the ruins of a sinful world, headed for destruction?” “Why do you look for fulfillment in worldly things?” “Why do you look for a light to follow in a dark world?”

The parallel verses in Ephesians 2 tell us that we were focused on death and the mindsets and activities that lead to death in our former lives when we were on the throne of our lives. But it says the good news is that: 1) We have been saved by God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice. 2) We have been raised up and seated with Jesus in heaven. This means our spirits have access to God and we can access the power of God as citizens of heaven. 3) We hope in the future, where we will be shown the incomparable riches of God’s grace. And, 4) Today, we get to operate as God’s handiwork or masterpieces to do the work he already prepared, planned, and orchestrated for us to do. We get to do the good work he specifically designed for us to do. We get to operate in his power to do this and we can rejoice as we do this because we become more and more like him as we do his good works!

Lord, thank you for asking me such good questions. You are the Creator of all that is good and full of life in my life. Help me to not look for dead things among that which you have made alive. Help me to anticipate in joyful hope your life and your victory!