Jesus’ Resurrection may hold keys to visualizing our dreams. To an attentive reader, the eyewitness accounts surrounding the Empty Tomb in the four Gospels appear to vary, though it was a single event. For example, did one (Matthew and Mark) or two (Luke and John) angels appear to the women, and were the angels standing or sitting inside the tomb (Luke and John)?
Since God’s Word is also the language of dreams, and nothing in the Scriptures occurs in error, could these “inconsistencies” hold clues to unlocking our dreams? Could the multiple dreams we receive in one night look different but deliver a single message?
Let us inspect the events of that Sunday morning so many years ago to find answers.
Jesus’ Resurrection Witnessed on the Road to Emmaus
On the 3rd day after Jesus’s crucifixion, two disciples talked as they walked the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Suddenly, a Stranger came alongside them and asked about their sad faces. The question surprised them.
“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who has not known what happened?” they asked.
He replied, “What things?”
They shared how the chief priests condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. Through their words, we see what weighed on their hearts.
“BUT we were hoping He was the One to redeem Israel. Besides, certain women went to His tomb, saw a vision of angels who said Jesus was alive. Some disciples went to the tomb, BUT they did not see Him.”
At that point, the Stranger (Jesus) rebuked their unbelief and reminded them of prophecies in the Scriptures. Though His words warmed their hearts, they did not recognize Jesus until He broke bread with them in Emmaus. When they discerned the Lord, they were so overcome with joy that they immediately returned to Jerusalem to give testimony to the other Disciples. (Luke 24:13-35)
Key #1: As breaking bread (the Scriptures) opens our eyes to the supernatural, understanding the message of dreams gives us confidence in God’s way of communicating.
Visualizing Jesus’ Resurrection
Certain women arrived at the Tomb early in the morning to prepare Jesus’ body with spices for his burial. According to the Gospel of Matthew, it was just beginning to dawn; Luke states it was early morning, but still dark. However, Mark’s account was that the sun had risen.
One way to interpret Scriptures and dreams is through visualization. (Visualization means “walking through” the events or scenes as if you were there). This technique deepens our understanding of the women’s testimonies and the sequence of events surrounding Jesus’ Resurrection.
Visualizing the Angels of Jesus’ Resurrection
As the women were on their way to the Tomb, they wondered who would help them roll away the stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb. It was dark, but dawn was breaking. The amount of sunlight visible would depend on the direction they faced and whether the horizon was visible. (Online maps suggest that Tomb was generally north- and west-facing, and the city was to the east.)
According to Matthew, an angel in brilliant white garments, with a countenance as bright as lightning, came down from Heaven. He caused an earthquake when he rolled away the stone and sat on it. What an amazing sight! It so terrified the soldiers guarding the tomb that they fainted from fear. (28:4, NKJV)
But the angel told the women that Jesus had risen, as He said.
“Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” (Matthew 28: 5-7, NKJV)
Mark tells us what the women saw inside the tomb. Another angel, (young man) wearing a white robe, was sitting “on the right side”. He shared almost the same message, but added, “Go tell the disciples and Peter.” (Mark 16: 5-7, NKJV)
As the women were greatly perplexed inside the tomb, two angels who stood near them shared the same message. He is risen! (Luke 24: 3-8, NKJV). The women left quickly, trembling as they went.
Key #2: As you visualize, details become clearer. Just as God spoke the same message through different angels, He speaks to us again and again, and through multiple dreams.
The Disciples Fail to “See” What They Hear
At the house in Jerusalem, the Eleven disciples were gathered, mourning the loss of their Lord and Friend (Mark 16:10). The energetic entry and the women’s testimonies must have felt like an unwelcome intrusion. The men dismissed the story as an idle tale. Jesus had died, and these women were clearly overcome with emotion. (Luke 24:9-11)
Nevertheless, according to John’s Gospel, Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves (Luke reported Peter went alone). John, the younger, arrived first and waited outside. When Peter arrived, he went inside the tomb. Neither saw any angels; they only found an open tomb with a missing body and neatly folded linen. (John 20:3-7)
Peter and John’s account did nothing to encourage the other Disciples or bolster faith. Subsequently, instead of visiting the Tomb, the Two left Jerusalem for Emmaus with heavy hearts and sad countenances. And that’s exactly how Jesus encountered them.
The Women Encounter the Resurrected Lord
The women were clearly despondent when they arrived at the tomb for a second time. They likely left the spices there when they visited the first time. By now, the morning sun had risen.
Mary Magdalene sat alone outside the empty tomb, weeping. The other women may have been nearby. Mary looked inside the Tomb once more and saw two angels sitting there, one at the head and the other at the foot, where Jesus should be. She was too sad to be afraid.
They asked, “Why are you weeping?”
“They took away my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid Him,” she explained. The angels did not respond. After this, she turned and saw a man standing there, whom she believed to be the gardener.
When He called her by name, she recognized Him immediately. Mary clung to Him. “Rabboni,” which means Teacher. Mary loved the Lord and saw Him first.
Key #3 Loving and seeking the Lord will open your eyes to the Spirit realm. When you seek Him, you will surely find Him!
He said, “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” (John 20:11-17). Matthew reports that Jesus also appeared and was touched by the other women as they went to tell of His Resurrection and to communicate His directions to meet Him in Galilee (28:9-10).
Jesus Manifests to the Eleven
The women quickly returned to testify to the Disciples again. This time, nothing could suppress their joy. They had seen and touched Jesus, but the Disciples still did not believe. (Mark 16:9)
The Lord was aware that the Two who were headed to Emmaus were not there to see His appearance. They were discouraged and would likely share a false report. So, He met them on the Road. Later, when they gave testimony in Jerusalem, the Disciples still did not believe the Resurrection story! Jesus appeared among them and rebuked their unbelief. (Mark 16:13-14)
Key #4: Jesus and the angels said the meeting with the Disciples would take place in Galilee. The Lord altered His plans, met them in Jerusalem at their point of need to help them believe. He will do the same for you.
Thomas was not there and did not believe any eyewitness testimonies. Remarkably, the Lord made a special second appearance a week later so that Thomas would also believe (John 20:24-29).
Jesus’ Resurrection: Keys to Visualizing Dreams.
Until I visualized the story of the Empty Tomb and “walked through” the scenes from the perspective of all four gospels, I did not understand the sequence of events.
Jesus’ Resurrection Story holds several keys to visualizing dreams. Let’s recap a few.
- The eyes of the Two were initially restrained, but breaking bread (the Word) brought them revelation of Jesus. Recognizing Jesus in our dreams comes as we read the Scriptures. He acts and speaks exactly as He does in the Scriptures.
- God speaks again and again, as He did through the angel messengers. Visualization of Scriptures and multiple dreams enables us to “see” what we initially overlooked.
- Unbelief and personal bias will hinder our ability to discern when God is speaking to us through other people and through dreams.
- The Lord is compelled to reveal Himself to those who love and seek Him, not necessarily to those who only seek revelation.
- Jesus did not wait to meet His Disciples in Galilee; He altered His plans and appeared to them in Jerusalem. Similarly, dreams are not always fulfilled exactly as we anticipate, but the Lord knows exactly what we need.
- It is important to the Lord that we understand and believe when He speaks to us through dreams. He will go through great lengths to “meet” us right where we are in our faith (or lack of faith), as He did for the Two on the road to Emmaus and for Thomas.
- The multiple perspectives from Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection Story suggest that multiple dreams are different perspectives of the same message.
In conclusion
As you can see, the varying testimonies in the Resurrection story were just different views of a single event. Likewise, visualization helps us to discern what God speaks through dreams. We often do not hear the full message the first time and must hear it again through other dreams. The process involves carefully inspecting dreams, relating them to Scripture, and setting aside opinions, unbelief, and personal biases that hinder hearing.
Jesus’ Resurrection Story demonstrates that the Lord wants everyone to understand and believe.
Would you like to fulfill a personal goal of understanding your dreams? We can help you with that process. We teach how to view dreams from a heavenly and Scriptural perspective and offer one-on-one tutoring to bolster your confidence. Check out our free course or book (#ad). Please subscribe to our mailing list to be notified of more training opportunities and live group training.
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