When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid the body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:5-7
Easter! Within a matter of days the Christian world will be rejoicing in the news we declare once again to one another, “The tomb is empty. He is risen. Jesus is alive!” There are no words more encouraging than these. There are no words more filled with hope than those that tell us Jesus is risen from the dead. Our own promise of eternal life is tied into Jesus’ resurrection. Because he lives, so shall we!
I find the gospel passage above very interesting. Some of Jesus’ female followers go to the tomb expecting to find it empty. Jesus died; he’s been in the tomb from Friday afternoon on, and it’s now Sunday morning. These followers of Jesus arrive at the tomb, find that the stone sealing the tomb has been rolled aside, and they no doubt are greatly puzzled at what they have found. With hearts and minds full of questions they enter the tomb and are shocked! And who can blame them? They’re expecting to find Jesus, dead, but instead find an angel. The angel says, “Don’t be alarmed!” You’re kidding, right? How can they not be alarmed? This isn’t at all what they were expecting. So the angel goes on and explains to them that Jesus isn’t in the tomb. “Take a look,” the angel says. Then the angel says go and tell the others. The angel also says that in a short while they will see Jesus.
How their heads must have been spinning! I can’t imagine that these followers of Jesus who came expecting one thing, only to find something totally different, were quite able to process all they saw and heard. An angel? An empty tomb? Jesus rising from the dead? Jesus going ahead to Galilee? Go and tell others? It was a lot to comprehend, but they had trusted God this far, and they would trust what God through the angel was telling them now.
Why do we believe in the resurrection, in Easter? Not because we can process all of the circumstances related in our scripture. Believing in an angel, an empty tomb, and a resurrected savior is no less difficult for us to believe than it was for them. Rather we believe as they did because we have encountered the resurrected Christ and have a relationship with him. One of the old hymns goes like this: “he walks with me and he talks with me and tells me I am his own.” When Jesus becomes that personal to us believing isn’t difficult. And shouting “He is risen” or “Happy Easter” becomes the excited response of people who have discovered Jesus is no longer in the tomb, but is alive and well. I hope that you have had such an encounter with Jesus. I hope that Easter puts joy in your heart and peace in your soul because you have met the resurrected savior. If so, make sure to follow the angel’s instructions and go and tell others.
Happy Easter!
Pastor Jim
Easter! Within a matter of days the Christian world will be rejoicing in the news we declare once again to one another, “The tomb is empty. He is risen. Jesus is alive!” There are no words more encouraging than these. There are no words more filled with hope than those that tell us Jesus is risen from the dead. Our own promise of eternal life is tied into Jesus’ resurrection. Because he lives, so shall we!
I find the gospel passage above very interesting. Some of Jesus’ female followers go to the tomb expecting to find it empty. Jesus died; he’s been in the tomb from Friday afternoon on, and it’s now Sunday morning. These followers of Jesus arrive at the tomb, find that the stone sealing the tomb has been rolled aside, and they no doubt are greatly puzzled at what they have found. With hearts and minds full of questions they enter the tomb and are shocked! And who can blame them? They’re expecting to find Jesus, dead, but instead find an angel. The angel says, “Don’t be alarmed!” You’re kidding, right? How can they not be alarmed? This isn’t at all what they were expecting. So the angel goes on and explains to them that Jesus isn’t in the tomb. “Take a look,” the angel says. Then the angel says go and tell the others. The angel also says that in a short while they will see Jesus.
How their heads must have been spinning! I can’t imagine that these followers of Jesus who came expecting one thing, only to find something totally different, were quite able to process all they saw and heard. An angel? An empty tomb? Jesus rising from the dead? Jesus going ahead to Galilee? Go and tell others? It was a lot to comprehend, but they had trusted God this far, and they would trust what God through the angel was telling them now.
Why do we believe in the resurrection, in Easter? Not because we can process all of the circumstances related in our scripture. Believing in an angel, an empty tomb, and a resurrected savior is no less difficult for us to believe than it was for them. Rather we believe as they did because we have encountered the resurrected Christ and have a relationship with him. One of the old hymns goes like this: “he walks with me and he talks with me and tells me I am his own.” When Jesus becomes that personal to us believing isn’t difficult. And shouting “He is risen” or “Happy Easter” becomes the excited response of people who have discovered Jesus is no longer in the tomb, but is alive and well. I hope that you have had such an encounter with Jesus. I hope that Easter puts joy in your heart and peace in your soul because you have met the resurrected savior. If so, make sure to follow the angel’s instructions and go and tell others.
Happy Easter!
Pastor Jim
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