Lk 24:1-12
1At daybreak on the first day of the week [the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus] took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. 5They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? 6He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” 8And they remembered his words.
9Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. 10The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, 11but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. 12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
The Women… Went to the Tomb: The last scene on Calvary is the hurried burial of Jesus since the Sabbath was about to begin. Luke notes that Galilean women who had accompanied Jesus to Jerusalem marked the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid so that they could anoint his body and give him a proper burial after the Sabbath. So at daybreak on the first day of the week, they hurry to the tomb with their spices and perfumed oil. In all probability, it never crossed their mind that Jesus would rise up from the dead despite Jesus’ intimations of his passion: he would be scourged and killed, “but on the third day he will rise.” But they failed to comprehend what he said (Lk 18:33-34).
Jesus’ resurrection is one of a kind. It is not a return to earthly life as in the case of Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, or of Lazarus. It is his being raised to the glory of God. For John, it is his return to his former glory with the Father from whom he came. Since it is an event that transcends earthly categories, we are not told of what really happened. Two angels—spiritual beings—have to explain to the women the phenomenon of the empty tomb. The women are too dazzled to understand the Easter event and can only report this to the eleven (apostles). Peter who goes to the tomb does not know what to make of the burial cloths either. It will take Jesus’ appearance to the disciples for the wonderful news to sink in.