On the third day after Jesus was crucified, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and found it empty. She went straight to Peter and John, two of Jesus’ inner circle disciples, and told them that Jesus’ body was gone. They ran to the tomb, eager to find him.
They were eager because the body missing meant one of two things. Either someone had stolen the body, or Jesus’ promises of coming back from the dead were true. The first meant they had given up their lives for a lie. If Jesus had in fact risen from the dead, everything was truly changed forever.
Notice in the story that only Mary Magdalene lingers at the tomb. The men run back home, perhaps to tell others and begin the search, or maybe they were afraid whoever took Jesus’ body would be coming for them.
Mary encounters two angels and Jesus. They dispel her anguish and confirm that it is true; Jesus is alive. He conquered death. Finding Jesus requires lingering with a hopeful expectation. It is hard to believe from a worldly standpoint that he is God, yet he is, and he came as a humble servant and was murdered in the most horrible way imaginable.
All of those that knew Jesus gave their lives to spread the truth about what happened. Today, we have everything because a few wrote the story down and shared it with others.