(Matt. 28:8)
And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
(Mark 16:8)
They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
(Luke 24:12)
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
Words like fear, trembling, astonishment, great joy, and marveling are good descriptions of how an evolving revelation of the resurrection affects you. C.S. Lewis said something like, “I believe in The resurrection as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” I’ve been walking with the Lord for 44 years, and I’m still “seeing” the resurrection of Jesus as if I just encountered the empty tomb for the first time.
The word for “fear” that’s used in Matt.28 literally means “to put to flight.” I love that idea, because the fear that comes with “SEEING” the resurrection is mixed with a great joy, marvel, and astonishment, that makes you take flight with holy exhilaration from every dark perspective you’ve ever had. I find myself more than ever waking up each day and walking around my life with an astonished heart. As my mind is continually renewed in the truth of what’s happened because Jesus is risen and ascended, I find myself rejoicing in the glorious “flight” of freedom that being in Christ brings. I get all of my news from the resurrection, and it changes the way everything looks. Jesus rose as King of Kings, launching the Kingdom of Heaven. The world has changed, and the risen Christ reigns. No matter what happens in the world and what all the talking heads try to tell us, I know, because I can see through the resurrection, that Jesus has and is making all things new. I know that all things will be summed up in Christ, and are being summed up in Him as I write this.
I also know that a whole new me was raised up in the resurrection. I’m still astonished by what is true about me in Him, and it makes me “take flight” from all the false opinions I’ve had about myself. I’m discovering the depth of what Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:10, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” I’m a “Man in Christ,” and that is my true identity. It’s as if I can tremble with a great marveling that “I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but the risen and ascended Christ lives in me, and the LIFE WHICH I NOW live in this human frame, with this specifically unique personality, I live by the very faith that Jesus has about all things.”
I believe if your Christian life doesn’t include a growing sense of wild joy, marvel, and astonishment then maybe you need to visit the empty tomb again. By the way, the account of Peter’s visit to the empty tomb in Luke 24 was his second visit. The second visit caused him to go away marveling.