A Word About the Master of the Dawning from Luke 23 and 24

Today I want to share a word about the Master of the Dawning as I comment on Luke 23:54 to Luke 24:12.

A common meme says that there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."  For those of us who aren’t morning people, here’s a good story:

The Bear family is just waking up. Baby Bear goes downstairs and sits in his small chair at the table. He looks into his small bowl. It is empty. "Who's been eating my porridge?" he squeaks.

Daddy Bear arrives at the table and sits in his big chair. He looks into his big bowl. It is also empty! "Who's been eating my porridge?" he roars, as big bears often do.

Momma Bear puts her head through the serving hatch from the kitchen and yells, "For Pete's sake, how many times do we have to go through this?!"

"It was Momma Bear who got up first. It was Momma Bear who woke up everybody else in the house.  It was Momma Bear who unloaded the dishwasher from last night and put everything away."

"It was Momma Bear who went out into the cold early morning air to fetch the newspaper and the wood for the fire. It was Momma Bear who set the table.  It was Momma Bear who put the cat out, cleaned the litter box and filled the cat's water and food dish."

"And now that you've decided to come downstairs and grace me with your presence.... listen good because I'm only going to say this one more time..." She yells, “I haven't made the stupid porridge yet!!"

Early on the first Easter Sunday, some women got up to do a very important task.  In do this work they learned that Jesus is the Master of the Dawning.

Let’s begin by reading Luke 23:54-Luke 24:1.

It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

THE DAWNING REVEALED A DISAGREEABLE TASK:

It is a fact of life that women, particularly wives and mothers, often get saddled with disagreeable tasks: Cleaning the house. Washing dishes and clothes. Taking care of the needs of children. Cleaning up after someone has gotten sick. 

Who gets called when an accident happens at home? Mom does!

These women came to do a necessary, but disagreeable task. There had been no time on Friday to anoint the dead body of Jesus, but now that the Sabbath was over, they had the chance. They arose early to do this, possibly to avoid trouble.

The seemingly mundane actions of these women actually can teach us a great deal.  They believed that Jesus was really dead, and they obviously had not yet understood what He intended to do. Yet, they loved Him enough to do this dangerous, disagreeable task. Because of their love and bravery, God allowed them to see the truth first!

A careful reading of the New Testament demonstrates that Jesus was a great liberator of women, and this incident is part of that forgotten narrative.

Let’s now look at Luke 24:2-5:

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"

THE DAWNING REVEALED A DISMAYING DISCOVERY: 

When the women arrived, they were shocked. The tomb was open, and their Lord's body wasn’t there. Even more frightening, strangers appeared nearby, suddenly as out of the morning mists. Naturally, the women were frightened and upset and not just because of their sudden appearance, but also because of the social unrest they had witnessed on Good Friday.

So, who were these men? They had the characteristics of angels: They appeared out of nowhere and shinned and glowed. Even more importantly, they came with a message.

Their message was a critical one. The entire history of salvation could have been changed!

What if they had said “Jesus’s body was stolen?”

What if they had said “The man was a fraud, and He never died?”

What if they had said, “Foolish women, He was a devil?”

We find out what they said in Luke 24:5-8:

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." And they remembered his words . . .

THE DAWNING REVEALED A DYNAMIC MESSAGE:

The message of the angels was none of those above. The message was one of hope and promise! Jesus was not there because He is not dead, though He had died. Jesus was not there because He is risen. Jesus had done just what He said He would do.

These ladies didn’t understand before, but they would now. They were the first to understand the essential truths of the Gospel:

Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus rose again, defeating death and Hell.

Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God today, making intercession for us!

To discard these facts would be like discarding a car’s engine. A car without an engine may look nice, but it can’t do its work of transportation; it doesn’t have the power. A belief system that does not include these facts is just as powerless!  

So, what did these women do? They ran to tell others this glorious and joyful news. Unlike Peter, who wanted to build houses on Mount of Transfiguration, they didn’t keep this wonderful news to themselves. They told everything to all those who needed to know!

Luke 24:8-12 tells us how their message was received.

And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

THE DAWNING REVEALED DISBELIEVING DISCIPLES:

We know what the Disciples had experienced during Holy Week. 

They had been so excited about having Passover in Jerusalem. But they had been shocked by Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and they had been frightened by Jesus’ arrest and trial. They were shattered by Jesus’ death on the cross among thieves and so they were totally defeated and demoralized. 

So, naturally they couldn’t believe what they heard. They “knew” that the world as they knew it was over and they needed more than wild stories and rumors. Besides, in those days, women were not trusted with important news. They just wouldn’t believe unless they saw themselves.

Even when Peter saw, with his own eyes, he still didn’t understand. Even though he was one of the closest friends of Jesus, He was as perplexed as the women. He would need a special messenger to teach him also.

There is an old saying that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. This story would seem to support that astute idea! Peter, without the help of God was no more or less wise than the women were!

CONCLUSION:

Today we know everything that the women knew and even more. 

In the dawning of each new day, whether that dawn is eagerly awaited or filled with dread, we need to remember, that Jesus Is the Master of The Dawning.

What makes a difference in our lives is our relationship with Jesus. If we let Him, He can be master of all our dawns, and all our days and nights as well. 

If we do, we will find ourselves blessed, because, as Jesus says to us, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus is the Master of the Dawning. Is He your master?

Happy Easter, 

Dr. Otis Corbitt