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Holy Week · Easter Vigil Fifth Reading · Year C

Luke 24:1-12

Why Seek the Living Among Dead

April 15, 2028

The Resurrection of Christ and the Women at the Tomb, Fra Angelico
The Resurrection of Christ and the Women at the Tomb, Fra Angelico, c. 1440–1442Museo di San Marco, Florence
A fresco in a cell at San Marco. The angel sits on the empty tomb and the women look into it while Christ floats, almost transparent, in the upper left where they are not looking.They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. Why do you look for the living among the dead?Fra AngelicoA Dominican friar who painted, canonised in 1982, whose work was made for the cells and corridors his brothers lived in.Museo di San Marco, FlorenceThe Dominican friary where Fra Angelico painted a fresco in every cell, left in place, so the pictures are still in the rooms they were made for.Museo di San Marco, Florence
Roman Lectionary
GospelLuke 24:1-12Lk 24:1-12
Second ReadingRom. 6:3-11Rom 6:3-11
First ReadingIsa. 55:1-11Is 55:1-11
Responsorial PsalmIsa. 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 (3)Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 (3)

Overview & Insights

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:5-6)

Luke’s two men in dazzling clothes do not send anyone to Galilee, as the messengers do in Mark 16:7 and Matthew 28:7. They tell the women instead to remember Galilee, and everything that follows in this Gospel stays in and around Jerusalem: the walk to Emmaus, the appearance in the city, the ascension from its outskirts (24:50-51). The instruction is to recall specific words, the passion predictions of 9:22 and 18:31-33, and the note of necessity in v. 7 is the verb this Gospel uses throughout for what must happen. The women are named only after their report (v. 10), and the word Luke chooses for the apostles’ reaction (v. 11) appears nowhere else in the New Testament; it describes the babble of the delirious. Verse 12, Peter’s run to the tomb, is missing from some early witnesses and was long suspected of having been drawn in from John 20:3-10, though modern editions print it.

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Commentary

Commentary on Luke 24:1-12Commentary on Lk 24:1-12 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary's Easter Vigil commentary on the women's fear and awe at the empty tomb, the one Lutheran voice for this passage.

Luke 24 Commentary: The Resurrected Jesus, Verse by VerseLk 24 Commentary: The Resurrected Jesus, Verse by Verse Enduring Word

A verse-by-verse walk through the empty tomb narrative and the witness of the women.

Luke 24:1-12 CommentaryLk 24:1-12 Commentary CEP (Center for Excellence in Preaching)

A Reformed preaching commentary on the Easter Vigil Gospel text.

Luke 24 CommentaryLk 24 Commentary Precept Austin

A compiled evangelical verse-by-verse resource page for the resurrection chapter.

Luke 24Lk 24 Haydock Commentary Online

The Catholic Douay-Rheims commentary on the women finding the tomb empty and the angels' announcement.

Background & Word Study

Luke 24:1 interlinearLk 24:1 interlinear BibleHub

Greek interlinear text for the opening verse of the empty tomb account.

Luke 24:1-12, A Group of Women Discover Jesus' Tomb EmptyLk 24:1-12, A Group of Women Discover Jesus' Tomb Empty Enter the Bible

A passage-specific background note from Luther Seminary's Bible reference site on this exact pericope.

The Church Fathers

Luke 24:1Lk 24:1 Catena Bible & Commentaries

A passage-keyed patristic catena on the verse where the women arrive at the tomb at daybreak.

Sermon 71: On the Lord's Resurrection, I NewAdvent (Leo the Great)

Pope Leo the Great's own Easter Vigil sermon on the resurrection, preached on this very night of the Church's year.

Sermons & Reflections

Rising Journey with Jesus

A lectionary essay reflecting on the strangeness and hope of the resurrection announcement to the women.

Easter Vigil, Year C Catholic Productions (Dr. Brant Pitre)

Brant Pitre walks through the Easter Vigil readings for Year C, including the Gospel of the empty tomb.

Worship & Prayers

Remember His Words, The Great Vigil of Easter (C) Sermons That Work (Episcopal Church)

A Year C Vigil homily built directly on Luke 24:1-12 and the angels' charge to remember what Jesus had said.

Podcast

SB411: Easter Vigil Working Preacher (Sermon Brainwave)

A preaching-team podcast discussion of the full set of Easter Vigil texts, including the Luke Gospel.

Art & Music

Year C, Easter Vigil Vanderbilt Revised Common Lectionary

Vanderbilt's Year C Easter Vigil page with the full reading set and art resources keyed to this service.

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