The Invitation - Day 44

So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

To continue the illustration from yesterday a bit. Have you ever walked into your home and felt that things have been moved around? My wife is fantastic at setting up our home in a way that works wonderfully with our furniture. However, there are times when she wants to try something new that might work better. She often does this when I am at work. Therefore, I come home to a house that has been moved around and reorganized, and while it feels familiar, it is different somehow.

Sometimes, she takes furniture out of the home previously there; other times, she moves some furniture from one side to the other. I come in knowing this is my house, but it feels different. (The wildest realization is that my wife can move all our furniture by herself, and I certainly couldn’t do that!)

As the women stood before the empty tomb, they were confused that the huge stone had been rolled away. So they went in to investigate. Standing there and looking at an empty tomb did nothing to quell their puzzlement, but then two men appeared to them. These two men did not look like they belonged in a tomb. The NLT says they were in “dazzling robes,” while the NIV says they were in clothes that “gleamed like lightning.”

I don’t know precisely what that means, but it sure seems like these guys were dressed for the occasion. They had worn their best and seemed to sparkle somehow, at least in a way worth mentioning. Have you ever overdressed for an occasion? Or perhaps the robes of heaven seem to glimmer in a way that regular robes don’t. Either way, it was worth mentioning.

What this means is that the women were about to have an encounter with something other-worldly. They were about to be entertained by angels and messengers, and they were about to hear some excellent news.

I wonder if people felt this when they opened their doors to see the guys who give away the publisher’s clearing house sweepstakes. They would open the door to see the spokesman and the cameras in front of them. Those seconds between opening the door and hearing the words they had won must have been pretty exciting.

I wonder if the women felt that way when they saw the bedazzled men that day in the tomb.

1. Have you ever received good news that you weren’t expecting? What was it? 
2. How did you respond to it? Did you tell others? 
3. What did you do immediately after hearing this good news?