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NOT HERE BUT RISEN
SATURDAY, MARCH 26
Mark 16:1-8

Luke 24:4-8

 

“…he is risen; he is not here…”

 

NOT HERE BUT RISEN
 
It has been about 39 hours since Jesus died and was buried. On Sunday morning, at sunrise, the women hurried to the tomb with their aromatic spices to anoint the Lord’s body. But God would not allow His Holy One to see corruption (Ps 16:10). Christ would not remain dead for long. As predicted, on the third day, He rose from the dead.
 
God sent an angel to announce this great event. When the angel came down and stepped on the earth, the earth quaked, and the stone was rolled away. Now the stone was rolled away not for Jesus to walk out, but for His disciples to go in, and see for themselves that “He is not here: for he is risen” (Matt 28:6). The glistening angel confronted the Roman soldiers who guarded the tomb. One would have expected these battlehardened soldiers to fight, but instead they were scared stiff. The ground was shaking greatly, but they were shaking themselves no less.
 
The women who went to the tomb were worried about moving the heavy stone that covered the entrance. The Lord already knew their need, and had sent the angel to move the stone for them. Mary Magdalene entered the tomb first, and found it empty. She panicked. Without waiting for the rest, she ran as quickly as she could to tell Peter and John about the missing body.
 
When the rest of the women reached the tomb, they found the entrance opened. While wondering what had happened, two angels in their shining robes appeared and announced to them that Jesus has risen from the dead. They should thus not be seeking for the living among the dead. When they entered the tomb, indeed it was empty. The resurrection should not have taken the women by surprise. Jesus, while He was yet alive, spoke often about His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection (Matt 16:21; 17:22,23; 20:17-19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 9:22,44; 18:31-34). The angels jolted their memory, and they remembered the Lord’s predictions. They now understood.
 
THOUGHT: No resurrection, no Christianity.

PRAYER: (Praise the Lord Jesus who is the resurrection and the life.)

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