This week’s reading: Matthew 28:1-20
Hi Friends,
What an unexpected and amazing outcome to the life of our Jesus, huh? Even though Jesus had told his disciples what was going to happen, how could they possibly understand what their Teacher was talking about? Like all humans, their eyes were firmly fixed in this world. They thought that the Messiah would reign in this world, would release them from their current enemies, would fix the problems of this life. Oh, but God has such a greater plan in mind. It is nice to be freed from temporary problems here, but to be eternally free? This is what Jesus came to do, to set the captives free. Free from self, free from sin, free from being separated from God and all that is truly good. And just in case we are not sure that He accomplished His mission, God raises Jesus from the dead. Our Conquering Hero killed our sin and eliminated the need for anyone to experience eternal death…all we have to do now is believe. Listen to these glorious words:
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” Now I have told you.’ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them, ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’” Mt 28: 5-10 NIV
Do not be afraid. How lovely that these are the first words both the angel, and Jesus, tell these very baffled and shocked women. These are women who most likely saw Jesus breathe His last breath. They followed Joseph and Nicodemus and saw the place where Jesus was buried. And because of this, they are bringing spices with which to anoint His dead body. They even talked amongst each other wondering who would roll the stone away from the tomb, so they may honor His fallen corpse. These women knew Jesus had died. So imagine their surprise as they approach that faithful spot! First, there is a violent earthquake as they make their way towards the grave. Then they watch as the guards securing the area, abandon their post and run away in absolute fear. Lastly, they see the stone already moved. What would we think? They rush forward only to see the Empty Tomb and an angel who speaks with them? Wouldn’t we be terrified? Wouldn’t we be stunned? Wouldn’t we, if we are women like them whose testimonies are not taken very seriously, question whether we should say anything at all? The Gospel of Mark says, “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” (Mk 16:8) Seems like a logical reaction I might have too…and so Jesus appears to these women, to reassure them that they have indeed witnessed the Greatest Miracle that could ever be granted. God took what was dead and gone and regenerated it so it would live forevermore. This is what God does for you and me too, my Friends. We were dead in our transgressions, St Paul says, but because of His great Love for us, God made us alive in Christ! It is by Grace that we are saved, through Faith in this King of kings. (please read Eph 2:1-10) And what do we place our Faith in? Faith in His Incarnation. Faith in His earthly life of perfect obedience. Faith in His sacrificial death. And hallelujah, Faith in His Resurrection! God gave us His Son to pay for the penalty of sin, which you and I could never do. These women are the first to see it, and the first to be given the Great Commission of sharing it with the disciples of Jesus. My Friends, if you have been granted this Eternal Life in Christ, won’t you do the same? Won’t you seek to share this Greatest Miracle with those God leads you to bless? Do not be afraid. God will give you the words to say. All we have to do is give Him a willing and compassionate heart through which to say them. Then we let God bring about the results, as He works on their hearts. Meanwhile, we need not be afraid.
The women worship Jesus. As these women struggle with what they just saw and whether they should say anything about it, Jesus appears to them. Immediately they run to Him and clasp His feet. I would fall to the ground too if I saw my Jesus right in front of my eyes. They bowed out of humility. They bowed out of gratitude. And they bowed out of reverence. The Bible clearly tells us that we are to worship no one but God alone. (for example check these verses: Ex 20:3-5; Dt 6:13; Mt 4:10) We read in the Book of Acts how Peter corrected Cornelius as he began to bow down in reverence of Peter by saying, “Stand up, I am only a man myself.” (see Act 10:25-26) We also read in the Book of Revelation, when John the Apostle tries to bow down before an angel, he was told, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” (see Rev 22:8-9) So we are not to bow down to other humans, and no bowing down to angels either. We are to worship God and God alone. So please do not miss that these women worship Jesus, and Jesus does not stop them. This is only one instance in the Bible that clearly shows us the Deity of Jesus. He is not only the Son of God, but He is God the Son. The Holy Trinity is something that makes many humans stumble, but who ever said we would completely understand all the things of God? This is why Faith is key. We are to understand the things that we humans can understand, but the rest? We walk by Faith. (see 2Co 5:7) God is one AND God is Three Persons. The best way I attempt to grasp this Truth is by thinking about humans. We are made in the Image of God, and so, we too are one human AND three distinct persons within. We are spiritual. We are soulful. And we are physical. God is spiritual as the Holy Spirit. God is soulful as the Father. And God is physical as the Incarnate Jesus. Not convinced? Then let’s think about water, shall we? H2O is the formula; 2 hydrogen atoms bonded together with one oxygen particle. These three bound atoms make up the one water molecule, but is water always liquid? No. It can be a block of ice. It can be a vapor of mist. And it can be the fluid. Three states of being, but only one molecule of H2O. Three Persons but only one God…and Jesus is the solid Rock on which you and I can stand, in this life and in the next, forevermore! Let’s also bow down before Him out of whole-hearted humility, sincere gratitude and deep-rooted reverence! Worship Jesus.
False stories. In our reading, we also hear about the deception devised by the religious when the guards came running to them. These guards are not even sure what happened, but they relay the events as best they could. Instead of stopping and questioning themselves, instead of giving glory to God, instead of humbling themselves, these religious choose to pay off the guards. They come up with a plausible story, about how the disciples of Jesus came and took His dead body away while the guards were sleeping on the job. They even tell these soldiers not to worry because they would smooth things over with Pilate should he hear about their lack of responsibility in securing the tomb. “So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.” (Mt 28:15) There will always be naysayers. There will always be those who lean on their own understanding, instead of trusting God. (Pr 3:5-6) There will always be those who come up with elaborate explanations as to why we believers are wrong. Will we bow down to them or will we stand up for our Faith? My Friends, this world is, and will continue to become, more and more hostile towards the Christian Faith. And why? Because The enemy knows, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) We must learn to connect with Jesus and fight the true enemy. It is not the orthodoxy of the Jews. It is not the lost non-believers. It is not even misled atheists. The real enemy is the one behind all lies. He is the one who deceives every human into living a life of MMI. He is the one who continues to point our eyes to the pleasures of this world. He is the one who attempts to get us to live an apathetic, and then pathetic life, where we love no one but “me” and we do nothing of good and lasting value in this world. But he is also the one Jesus defeated, once and for all! False stories will be told, but the father of lies has his days numbered. Hold on to Jesus, our Risen King, and you will know the Truth. Then the lies of the real enemy will not trip you up. You will know the Truth and He will set you free! (Jn 8:32) Read your Bible, place your Faith in God and you won’t listen to false stories.
Witnessing His Victory. Jesus appears to His disciples several times: first to Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9-11, Jn 20:10-18), then to two disciples on their journey to Emmaus (Mk 16:12-13; Lk 24:13-35), then to Peter (Lk 24:34; 1Co 15:5) and then to the rest of His disciples. (Mk 16:14; Lk 24:36-49; Jn 20:19-31) I am giving you the Scriptures in this article, so you can read them sequentially, and experience these impossible encounters too. But let me point out some highlights. Mary Magdalene is so overcome with grief and confusion that she does not recognize her Beloved when He stands behind her. As she cries over not seeing His dead body in the tomb, Jesus calls her by name, and that changes everything. The grace-filled voice of Jesus whispering, “Mary,” is all it took to clear her vision and help her see what her heart longed to behold. As incredible as it was, there was her Jesus, alive and victorious! Have you ever heard Jesus call you by name? It changes everything! Cleopas and his companion walk away from Jerusalem toward Emmaus, heart broken and bewildered by the death of Jesus. They had hoped He would be the one who would redeem Israel and free them from the oppressive Romans. Jesus walks by their side and opens their eyes to a greater, higher freedom. When Jesus breaks bread with them, their eyes are opened to Who Jesus truly is, the one Who, can not only free the Jews, but Who will offer Freedom to the whole world. Have you ever sat with Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to Scripture? It will give you greater and longer lasting Freedom. Ten of the Apostles and some disciples gather together, behind bolted doors in fear of the Jews. In spite of those locked doors, Jesus greets them with a heartfelt, “Shalom.” He breathes on them to receive the Holy Spirit, but for whatever reason, Thomas is not there. The others tell him about physically seeing their Lord, but Thomas doubts. Yet Jesus is not hindered by our doubt, my Friends. Jesus comes back when Thomas is among the group and specifically reaches out to him. Thomas the doubter, quickly becomes Thomas the Proclaimer, as he cries out, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28) Again note how Jesus does not correct or rebuke Thomas here. He is our Lord and our God. Jesus is our Sovereign King of kings. Jesus is in complete and utter control of everything and everyone, including the real enemy. Do we sometimes doubt this too? Do we still think we can be the boss of our lives, and maybe that of others around us too? Do we still think that we can do whatever we want, whenever we feel like it, however we think is appropriate? My Friends, Jesus will specifically reach out to each of us. Our part? Stop doubting and start proclaiming! Then we too can be witnesses of His Victory.
The Great Commission. Jesus came to set us, the captives, free from self, sin and death. Jesus came to open up the doors of Heaven, so we may live forevermore with God in Paradise. Jesus came so we may have the authority and power to spread the news. Will we? The Great Commission is for every believer. There are many opportunities to simply share a story about how Jesus has affected your life for the good. Just talk to people about your life, in the light of Christ being in the midst of it all. Every time I tell Beckie’s story, every time I talk about the healing God has provided, every time I share my reason for Hope, I am fulfilling this Great Commission, all because God has given me the Greatest Miracle. I was dead and now I live…and will live forever. And as a result, I am not afraid. I am free to worship Him. I can discern false stories and delete them from my life. I become a witness of, and for His Victory! And my life? It is abundantly full of peace and joy and love and grace and…and filled to the overflow with my Jesus. Want that? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
