“And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” John 20:12 KJV
“And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. “ John 20:12 NASB
In the instructions which God gave to Moses concerning the building of the ark, included was the detail concerning the cherubim which were to be part of the mercy seat. Moses was to make two cherubim, one at one end, and the other to be part of the opposite end of the mercy seat. Their wings were to overshadow and their eyes to be gazing down upon the very place where the blood of propitiation was to be placed (Ex 25:17-20).
When Mary came to the Garden and looked into the tomb on that resurrection morning, we are told that she saw two angels. They were sitting, one at one end and the other at the other end, where the body of the Lord Jesus had lain. Were they there through all the time that His body was in Joseph’s tomb? Or were they there to witness to the observers of the resurrection?
While speculation is as far as we can travel, we can appreciate the picture they presented: one at the head and the other at the feet, each at one end just as the cherubim on the mercy seat. Here was another mercy seat, the ultimate and final mercy seat. They were witnessing to a dead and now risen Savior Who had made propitiation, not for a nation, but for the whole world (1 John 2:2).
What tremendous truth they witnessed to that morning: a completed work, a satisfied throne of justice and righteousness, and a risen Savior!
Consider:
“Why weepest thou”? (John 20:13). While tears are the common lot of even believers, the resurrection has changed the very character of our weeping.