April 5 What do we do now? It’s Friday but Sunday is coming!

Luke 24:1-12 Selected Verses (NIV) Jesus Has Risen
24 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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…..  “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ”……

 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

So what just happened? Just hours ago, it looked like all our hopes and dreams were over! The One who was to redeem Israel was put to death by the Romans. The dream had just died along with Him. Now what?

Jesus had died on Friday and the religious authorities wanted His body down off the cross before sundown when the Sabbath began. Joseph of Arimathia had removed Jesus body, prepared it hastily and placed it in his own tomb. Now, on Sunday (the third day), after the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them came to the tomb to complete the task and give Jesus a proper burial. They were shocked at what they found or didn’t find. Jesus was not in the tomb. Two angels told them Jesus was risen. In fact, they asked why the ladies were looking for the living among the dead. The two reminded them of what Jesus had said that he would rise on the third day. And now he has! He is risen!

The women went to tell the other the good news but no one believed them. Or did they? Peter decided to go look for himself. He wondered what had happened. He needed time to process all this and figure it out. It was too much to grasp at first. Could Jesus really have been raised from the dead? God is faithful. He did say He would rebuild His Temple in 3 days. Jesus was that Temple. God has decided to go one step beyond living among His people. He had now decided to live within His people. Peter, who had denied Jesus three times, now considered the thought the he would face Jesus again. What would he say? How would he tell Jesus that he had denied his Master three times? How can we face Jesus and explain how often we have denied Him?

Most times, we live our lives according to our own desires without consulting God. We make decisions and then ask God to bless them. Wouldn’t it be better to invite God into the decision making process so He can lead us to the blessings He wants for us? He gave up everything to redeem us. That shows how valuable we are to Him. Who are we that He is mindful of us? We are His children.

You have got to go through death to get to resurrection. Jesus went through an awful death. Once you pass from death to eternal life, you have overcome death. That is what Jesus did for us. He brought us from life through death and back to life again! Only this life is eternal. It has no end. Jesus stands ready to forgive our denials and other shortcomings. He knows how we are made and that we cannot manage without Him. He is with us now and will carry us through to life eternal. He is risen that you might rise!

Lord, we thank You that You are mindful of us and that You care so much for us. Thank you for opening the way for us to spend eternity with You in paradise! You have given everything that we might have life and have it to the full. Help us to live as redeemed people reflecting Your glory to a hurting world. In Jesus name we pray! Amen!

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