Come and see ...

Matt. 28:5-8 (NLT) “Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you." The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel's message.”

“You will be my witnesses.” The words ran past them like a gentle breeze, hardly noticed by the disciples and other followers. They didn’t really even stop to ponder what kind of “witnesses” they would become, nor did they probably consider that a witness sees something and testifies or tells truthfully about it. The closest we get to the understanding of witness today is in our legal system. When people are called to be witnesses in a trial, they are called to tell their side of the story – what they saw and heard. Sometimes, people are character witnesses, meaning that they testify to the integrity or character of a person.

The women didn’t stop to try to understand the meaning of the word “witness” when they left the tomb with the most incredible, unbelievable, impossible news they had ever heard. They just went and told people exactly what they had seen and heard. “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.” The angel had given two instructions for these women: Come and see, and Go and tell. The women saw the empty tomb, they heard the voice of the angel, and then they ran “with great joy” to tell the disciples what they had seen and heard. These ordinary women became the first “witnesses” to Jesus’ resurrection.

Time has passed, and we are almost 2000 years away from the resurrection. We weren’t there on that Easter Sunday morning, but we retell the story year by year. Even today, we are witnesses! Maybe not in the “eyewitness” sense of the word, but we are witnesses to the character and integrity of the risen Christ as the Holy Spirit moves in our lives and in our world to make all things new. We are witnesses of Christ’s love if we have opened our hearts to receive that love and God has warmed our hearts. Listen to the directions given to those women so long ago: “Come and see” what Christ has done for you. Then, “go and tell” others just how much Jesus loves them, too.

How have you been a witness for the risen Lord in your life today?