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Holy Week · Easter Vigil Seventh Reading · Year C

Luke 24:1-12

The Women Come at Dawn

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.Luke's account is the women finding the tomb open and being asked why they are looking 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 ReadingEzek. 36:16-17a, 18-28Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28 orIsa. 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 (3)Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 (3)
Responsorial PsalmPs. 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 (42:2) for baptismsPs 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 (42:2) for baptisms orPs. 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19 (12a)Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19 (12a)

Overview & Insights

“Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee” (Luke 24:6)

Read after a long sequence of Old Testament lessons, the narrative begins where the sabbath ended. The women had prepared spices and then “rested according to the commandment” (23:56), so the first act of the new week is a delayed burial errand. The stone is found already rolled back before anything is explained (v. 2), and the announcement arrives as a question, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (v. 5), the only resurrection announcement in the Gospels put in that form. Luke’s messengers say nothing of Galilee as a destination, which fits a Gospel whose appearances all occur within a day’s walk of Jerusalem (24:13, 33, 50). The hinge is the phrase “on the third day rise” (v. 7): the women are asked to interpret an empty tomb by recalling a sentence, which is the same operation the vigil’s readings have been performing all night.

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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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