LUKE 24:1-11 [NASB]   But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened that while they were wondering about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel;  and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  He is not here, but He has risen!  Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”  And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest.  Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.  And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.

I want to a simple word to sum up the Easter message. It is a word that runs throughout this passage that probably escaped your notice. In fact this word is so insignificant that it does not even appear in all English translations, although it is present in the Greek. The translation above began with this word, just three letters long: BUT.

That word seems out of place. It doesn’t belong here. Good Friday ends with a death and burial. THE END. It said Jesus breathed His last. THE END. There was a brief eulogy offered by the centurion:  SURELY THIS WAS AN INNOCENT MAN. That was well and good, but a little late. It was over. Jesus breathed His last. THE END. There is a paragraph describing the funeral arrangements, and that should be the final word, telling us not only that He was dead, but that He was dead and buried. Then they all went home. THE END.

BUT…the story goes on. Luke surprisingly continues. It is almost like those annoying commercials that say, “BUT wait! There’s more.” That word does not belong after a death. BUT…he says, and heads must turn and eyes open–“There’s more?” Yes, this is most certainly true. The story continues. A more literal translation of the Greek text would show this word appearing more often than you think:

  • BUT they found the stone rolled away.
  • BUT when they went in they did not find the body.
  • BUT as they were frightened..the two men spoke to them.
  • He is not here, BUT has risen.

Peter would later recall these events in this same way, with that surprising unexpected little participle:  They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree;  BUT God raised Him on the third day and made Him manifest (Acts 10:39-40). Paul also used this word in writing to the Corinthians, who feared that their hope in Christ would be snuffed out by death. Paul squashes that fear by writing: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20).

That one word changes the whole story. Try it as you deal with heartaches, disappointments, and death in your life. The story line in life always comes to the same, sad conclusion: THE END. But God in His great mercy brings up that word again:  BUT… Scriptures comfort us with this little word:

Romans 5:8 BUT God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And in that most familiar and comforting of passages, we again find this little word:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, BUT have eternal life.

It is a word that does not belong where it comes in the story, where THE END should be.  You don’t expect to find anything after THE END.

  • BUT Jesus said, Father forgive them.
  • BUT now is Christ risen.
  • BUT the righteous shall go into eternal life.

If you are looking for one word to summarize Easter, there are a lot of likely candidates.  ALLELUIA, RISEN, LIFE, and VICTORY are all good. BUT try on this new word for size, and for surprise, as the message of Easter. Try it on a tombstone. Where the dates appear, there are always two: one for the birth, the beginning, and one for the death, that spells THE END. Can you see one more word engraved there for the faithful, after that second and final date…God’s little unexpected Easter word, made ours by the one who arose on this day…look for it there on the tombstone, after the final date:  BUT…  This is not the end.