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So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Matthew 28:8 ESV
Trying to imagine the despair the disciples felt after Jesus died is difficult; how could they feel any hope when the person who created that hope had died? But as difficult as it is to imagine the utter sense of loss, it’s also hard to imagine the sudden emotional rebirth they experienced at the empty tomb.
Matthew describes their emotions as “fear and great joy.” Encountering the more-than-natural always produces some kind of fear. Although the fear produced by a scary movie or story is much more common in our culture, there is a delightful kind of fear as well—a fear that creates anticipation. Talking with an angel filled both Marys with this kind of fear.
Alongside that fear ran a “great joy.” The adjective means “too much.” It’s as if Matthew wanted to communicate that it was more than too much joy to write about—it was too much to feel.
Encountering the more-than-natural produced fear and great joy in the disciples; it can do the same in you. As you read this week, look for God in His Word and in how He uses it in you and through you. Maybe finding His more-than-natural presence will cause you to feel the same emotions these disciples did as they “took hold of his feet and worshiped him” (Matthew 28:9 ESV).
Trying to imagine the despair the disciples felt after Jesus died is difficult; how could they feel any hope when the person who created that hope had died? But as difficult as it is to imagine the utter sense of loss, it’s also hard to imagine the sudden emotional rebirth they experienced at the empty tomb.
Matthew describes their emotions as “fear and great joy.” Encountering the more-than-natural always produces some kind of fear. Although the fear produced by a scary movie or story is much more common in our culture, there is a delightful kind of fear as well—a fear that creates anticipation. Talking with an angel filled both Marys with this kind of fear.
Alongside that fear ran a “great joy.” The adjective means “too much.” It’s as if Matthew wanted to communicate that it was more than too much joy to write about—it was too much to feel.
Encountering the more-than-natural produced fear and great joy in the disciples; it can do the same in you. As you read this week, look for God in His Word and in how He uses it in you and through you. Maybe finding His more-than-natural presence will cause you to feel the same emotions these disciples did as they “took hold of his feet and worshiped him” (Matthew 28:9 ESV).
