Moving the Stone
The showdown between the angel and the Roman kustodian, such as it was, occurred before the women arrived early that Sunday morning. Carrying the additional spices they needed to complete the anointing of his body, they talked about the huge stone that blocked the entrance to the cave. They knew it was too large for them to move on their own and wondered how they could get someone to help them (Mark 16:1–3).
Bible Lesson
The women didn't know that the Roman kustodian were guarding the tomb. If they had arrived any earlier, no doubt the soldiers would have killed them. The only ones who knew about the kustodian guarding the tomb was Pilate, the Jewish religious leaders who requested the guard, and the kustodian itself. The apostles and the women followers had no knowledge of a guard being posted at Jesus’ tomb.
When the women got to the tomb, they were amazed to see that the stone was no longer in front of the tomb. And they were frightened when they saw the angel, who told them not to be afraid and encouraged them to look into the tomb (Matthew 28:5–6). The angel didn't move the stone to let Jesus out of the tomb, but to let people in so they could see that Jesus wasn't inside. However, it's not accurate to say that the tomb was empty. Read on to discover what occurred on that Sunday morning.
