We are all familiar with the Resurrection Story, to the
point that we can tell it by heart. Like the Christmas story, it has almost
become rote. So much of what is supposed to inspire us has faded with the
everyday chores, and events of life. We have read the accounts of Jesus’s
resurrection from all four gospels so many times that they all sort of meld
together on Easter Sunday. So as I reread each account from the four gospels, I
prayed to God to reveal more about Himself and as usual He was happy to oblige
me.
Luke 24: 1-10
On the first day of the
week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had
prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found
the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when
they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While
they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like
lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright
the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them,
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He
is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with
you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be
delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be
raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his
words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told
all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It
was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with
them who told this to the apostles.
“Then they remembered His words.”
What does God want you to remember today?
As these women went to the tomb, they were doing the normal
activities for the preparation of the burial of a dead body. It was
traditional, it was expected and it was considered necessary. All of it an indicator
that their lives were returning to way they were before Jesus came.
We have all had events in our lives that have changed us,
and altered our paths in one direction or another. But over time, the sadness,
or happiness, the euphoria, or excitement has a tendency to wear off.
As those women stood there looking at the empty tomb, and
the huge stone that had been rolled away, being blinded by the brilliance of
the two men before them they were reminded and remembered that Jesus had
foretold his death and resurrection. Everything he has told them about it had
happened, yet in the midst of all their grief and sorrow, they had forgotten.
They had forgotten the words of the teacher and had returned to those
traditional, expected and necessary tasks of the day.
Vs 8 says “then they
remembered His words.” I bet they remembered a lot of Jesus words at that
moment. Other declarations, instructions, and promises. And as they remembered
it and saw the proof before them, their lives changed. The events that HAD
happened previously and what they experienced at the tomb that day would change
them and the direction of their lives forever.
And after they returned to the upper room and shared with
the 11 those people’s lives would change forever too. And in time what Jesus had done would change
the entire world.
Remember.
Sometimes we all need to be reminded of how the Resurrection
of Jesus changed each of our lives; our worlds.
Paul reminds us in Eph 1:3-14.
As a follower of Christ, who believes that he DID die on a
cross, and rose again on the third day, you have been:
Forgiven – of your sins
Redeemed – through Christ’s blood
Accepted – by God
Chosen – before the foundations of the world
Holy – because God sees you through the blood of Christ shed
on the cross
Adopted – by God and children of God
Heirs – of an eternal kingdom
Sealed - the Holy Spirit
Blessed – with every Spiritual blessing.
The list is actually endless of the blessing and gifts and
promises that are ours through what happened on Easter.
So I ask you today? What do YOU need to remember as you
stand here watching the sun rise on this Easter Morning.
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God
did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because
they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!
