Luke 24:1-12 (NKJV)
¹ Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ²But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."' 
⁸And they remembered His words. ⁹Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. ¹¹And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. ¹²But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
(AMP) | (NIV) | (NLT) | (KJV) | (NASB)

It was the time not only when Christ was raised forever, but when those who are united with him by faith were brought to share in his unending life. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”
(1 Pet. 1:3, NKJV).

In the New Testament world, however, bodily resurrection was a notion that many found difficult to comprehend. To those influenced by Greek philosophy, it was not only absurd, it was repugnant: The material body was evil, subject to decay, and the sooner one escaped from it into the pure life of the eternal world, the better. Paul had people in the Corinthian church (not to mention others) who harbored such views.

With Jews – or at least some of them, notably the sect of the Pharisees – bodily resurrection was an accepted article of faith. But ...at the end of the age! Not now!

It is easy, then, to see how Jesus’ most devoted followers would not have understood his repeated statement that he would be killed “and on the third day rise again.” (Luke 24:7, NKJV). It is equally easy to see how, when they buried him in his tomb, they believed he would remain there until the last day. It is even easier to understand how surprised they were when his tomb was found to be empty on the third day, and reports were circulating that he had been raised from the dead.

It is from this perspective that one must approach Luke 24:1-12. Looking back from this side of the resurrection, it is hard to understand their sluggishness of perception, their total surprise, their absence of joy, and still more their tentativeness of response and sometimes downright skepticism and derision. But from their side of the resurrection, their slow and questioning reaction is easier to understand when one tries to stand in their mental shoes.

When we approach the resurrection of Christ from their side, we can trace the character of their progress as well as its pace. In so doing we find a series of features which constituted the steps by which they moved from total absence of expectation, to considering Christ’s resurrection as a possibility, to laying foundations on which they would eventually build a full resurrection faith.

1. The Empty Tomb
The beginning feature which set the process in motion was the empty tomb. 

“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body” (verses 2-3).

“They were perplexed about this” (verse 4).

Luke notes the care they had taken to observe where the body had been placed on Good Friday. “The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments” (Luke 23:55-56, NKJV).

What all of this adds up to is that on Easter Day, they returned to the tomb to complete the burial procedures left unfinished on Good Friday. In a word, they expected to find a body -- not any body, but the body of Jesus. They did not expect that the body would be gone.

They apparently had no apprehension that the body might have been stolen, though there is no mention of this. Nor did they fear that they might have forgotten which was the right tomb: They had taken care to note this, as Luke 23:55 implies.

Above all, the last thing they expected was a resurrection.
That idea was furthest from their minds.
They were looking for one thing and one thing only – a dead Jesus.

Facts have to be explained. The women had no explanation. "Perplexity" was their response.

Also, in verse 12, we have the report of the reaction of Peter, who, when he heard the women’s story, went to see for himself. What struck him was not merely that the tomb was empty; but that the grave clothes were still lying there by themselves.

This amazed him, as well it might! Even if Jesus had not really died – a wildly improbable suggestion in any case – but only appeared to have done so, would he simply have got up, dusted himself off, but left the linen cloths where they were? Though Peter probably could not have framed the thought, it looked as though the body of Jesus had vaporized, come "through" the grave-clothes leaving them unscathed.

To put all this together: the tomb was empty, but it had been emptied in an odd way.
There was no thought among the disciples of resurrection.
But there was a fact which had to be explained: the empty tomb.

2. The Witness of Angels
The narrative now takes a second step: from the empty tomb to the witness of the angels. Listen to what the angels said to the women (verse 5):

“Jesus has risen. Why are you looking for the living among the dead?”

Luke draws attention more than once to the failure of the disciples to comprehend that Jesus would fulfill his divine mission in his suffering and death. (Luke 9:44-45; 18:31-34, NKJV). That is to say, resurrection is the kind of thing that should be expected to happen to a person like Jesus.

Then the angels told the women to "Remember." (verse 6)

“Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee.”

3. The Steps to the "Resurrection Faith"
From Luke’s account in chapter 24:1-12 we are able to learn something of the roots of resurrection faith. Everything depended on how they interpreted the basic fact of the empty tomb. There appear to be been at least three activities that went into it.

The first was remembering. The angelic messengers instructed them in verse 6 to "remember," and verse 8 shows that they did so: “Then they remembered his words.”

Remembering involves more than recollection. It is possible to remember everything and understand nothing! Remembering in the sense intended here involves understanding.

It is summed up perfectly in Jesus’ words to the pair traveling to Emmaus: “'Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures"”(vs. 26-27).

This step for us today means studying the scriptures and investigating the claims of Christ. The Gospels do not try to prove the resurrection. It is just stated as a fact. We’re given very few details. There is an extensive account of the crucifixion, but we are simply told that the tomb in empty.

The only “proof” is the number of people that saw the Risen Savior in the 40 days between His Resurrection and His Ascension. The fact that Christianity not only survived but thrived is testimony to a Risen Savior. But the maybe the greatest proof of all is the changed lives of those who witnessed the Risen Lord and their willingness to die rather than say differently.

A second factor in the beginnings of resurrection faith was personal searching (verse 12). Peter heard the report of the women, but he wanted to know first-hand. So he made for the tomb to see for himself and, in doing so, observed another fact that had to be explained - the empty grave clothes. Shortly after, his questions were answered: We read in Luke 24:34 (NKJV): “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”

Now I know what your thinking - “If Jesus would appear to me, I would believe too.” Apparently, things like this are happening in underdeveloped countries in the world. But we have access to the Bible like no one has ever had, and it reveals Christ to us.

Study the Old Testament prophecies; study the Gospel accounts. When you study and learn for yourself, you will discover that it all fits.

Faith in Christ is not only a matter of the head, but also the heart. There comes a point when you take the leap of faith based on the evidence. Listen to the words of Jesus for those today who place their trust in Him (John 20:29b, NKJV): “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (That’s you and me!)

A third activity that went into the making of resurrection faith was witnessing (verse. 9). Once personally convinced of the Resurrection of Jesus, they began to tell others. This willingness to share, even when made fun of (verse 11), led others to investigate and eventually become convinced of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Once convinced personally, you will be a witness to others as well. Some at work or in your family or in the media may make fun of your beliefs.

In Acts and the rest of the New Testament, as the church grew, the heart of its message was the resurrection. That’s still true today - Belief in the Resurrection is essential to your Christian faith:  “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9, NKJV)

In our study of Acts 20:7-12 (NIV) last Sunday night, we encountered Eutychus. Eutychus was a young man who fell asleep while Paul was preaching and fell out of a window and died. Paul ran to Eutychus, fell on him, and a miracle happened - he came back to life. The boy sat up and Paul said, “Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!”

Our world needs to hear that. 
When it seemed all was lost, 
when it seemed that sin and evil had defeated the One hope we had of being made right with God when
Jesus died ..
... that wasn’t the end of the story! Because on the third day the empty tomb said to the world, “Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!”

Are you bound by a sin that you just can’t seem shake? “Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!” Have life’s circumstances caused you to lose all hope? “Don’t be alarmed. He’s alive!”

CONCLUSION
To truly be a believer Christ and place our eternal destiny in Christ requires that we take the necessary time to move from skepticism to faith regarding His Resurrection. As we do this, we do not have the opportunity for first hand discovery, so we are indebted to these first witnesses for the secure way in which they progressed: looking, reflecting, and interpreting.

For some, this process is a relatively easy and short one. For others, it is a long and difficult journey.

There are probably people here this morning at different points in this journey. 

Believers: You have placed your trust in the Risen Christ - Rejoice!

Backsliders: You need to renew your commitment to Christ on this Easter Sunday.

Seekers still investigating: Take your time but be open to the truth. I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you.

Seekers ready to commit to Christ: What a great day to make that decision!