Jesus' Resurrection

 Friday's awful events have passed.  That Friday when Jesus was raked over the coals of jealousy and hatred in the Sanhedrin camp, followed by His trial in front of Pilate and then Herod.  Then His sentencing back at Pilate's; His crucifixion; the suffering on behalf of all mankind -- taking the consequences of their sin -- the punishment meted out from God's hand and wrath; His burial by kind and caring men in the likes of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemas (they must be mentioned); and then the sight of the heart broken women, who had been watching.  They too had wanted to show their love and devotion by preparing spices and perfumes for Jesus' body -- just in the nick of time before the Sabbath set in when it was forbidden in our Jewish law, to do any work.

The Sabbath came.  

All rested.

How curious to note, Jesus was silent in the tomb.  What an eerie anti-climax.  Yet, He rested.  His purpose in coming to Earth, complete.  His work was done and so "He rested".

Doesn't that sound like the first Sabbath when God rested from His work of creation?  Here He is resting again.  His work of salvation accomplished to satisfaction.  What a Savior.

Early on the first day of the week, the day folks now term, "Easter Sunday" or "Resurrection Sunday," Jesus had risen.  This had been the third day and He had risen as He had said He would.

The women who had been watching, came to Jesus' tomb bearing their spices and perfumes.  They had been so passionate about doing this service for Jesus, they'd gotten up and out and over to the tomb while it was still dark out.

So they arrived at the tomb and what a shock they got.  The stone that had sealed the tomb, and that they had been wondering how they'd get it opened and  rolled back, was already rolled away.  They looked in but the tomb was empty except for Jesus' grave clothes.  Where was Jesus?!

Another heart-stopper...two angels appeared with earth shattering news.  "Jesus is risen.   Jesus is alive!! Go tell the apostles."

Go, go, go!  

Go tell this message!

Off they scuttled, hardly able to contain themselves, and being "full of fear" at seeing the angels, hearts pounding in hope within their breasts at this strange message, they rushed to deliver the news to the apostles.  Surely, they will be glad to hear this.

Alas, the apostles think the women speak nonsense.  On the off chance though, Peter (and John) venture forth to the tomb.  Wonder of wonders, they too, found  the tomb empty except for the grave clothes.

Amazed and dazed, Peter went home.  That's it -- dead end!  How perplexing!  What could it all mean?

To backtrack, the angels had admonished the women:  Mary Magdala, Mary the mother of James; Joanna, and other women who likely had followed Jesus up from Galilee to Jerusalem, to remember the message Jesus Himself had told them of what would happen to Him.  Remember that He had told them He would die a criminal death but would rise again on the third day -- a glorious resurrection!

"Don't you remember?" the angels queried.

Hark, what does this 'remember' encompass?  This is more than just recalling what Jesus had declared.

Look at three things here...

A person had to have understanding & insight about the message (do you really know what it is about in the inner sanctums of your mind and heart and soul?).  Do you "get it"?  If you do, then the person needs to have a proper response.  Think of what that could mean.  A proper response would be to believe the message; faith is the key element.  From thence, one can proceed to the third aspect, which is to then have a message to tell and so go tell it.

These women did have the three components and with urgency they went to proclaim the message of Jesus' resurrection.

What were the results of this?

Sad to say, when you read Luke 24:11-12, you'll find disbelief.  The apostles, Jesus' very inner circle of constant companions of three years-worth of ministry, did not comprehend; they believed the women spoke hogwash.

Why should the eleven have been so skeptical of the women's message?  Ahh, therein lies the clue:  the very word, "women".

The culture of that time did not think too highly of women.  The apostles obviously were products of that society despite Jesus' many efforts to show the worth of women to be otherwise.  Women of those times were "not legally accepted as witnesses".* (SPM)

That means in a court of law it the only witness to a crime had been a woman, the alleged convict could get off scot-free of a heinous felon charge.  Ghastly, we think nowadays, yet some of that sentiment has not changed.

A second reason for the apostles skepticism  was likely due to their lack of understanding and insight to the message given, leading to their improper response.  Therefore, they had no message to tell.  The end of the road, it appeared.

However, we do know that eventually they did take hold of that message and then...

WOW!

They had so many glad tidings to tell of Jesus and His love and salvation for the "whosoever will" (John 3:16) to accept.  Thousands came to Christ through them; especially through Peter as Scripture later reveals

Praise the Lord!

Taking a slight tack away to the tangent of The Shroud of Turin.  This is a controversial topic but I mention it briefly anyway.  There are still skeptics out there, wishing to confuse the issues and turn some away from the truth, if possible.

First of all, a shroud is simply a wrap that cocoons a corpse in preparation for burial in some cultures. and past eras.  Some say the Shroud of Turin was Jesus' grave clothes, that have been kept for thousands of years.

How to tell that this is not Jesus' grave clothes?  This Shroud of Turin is all one piece of cloth.  If you read the account of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemas preparing Jesus' body for burial, you'll discover they had used linen strips.  What's more, in the empty tomb, post-resurrection, the greave clothes were left lying there and there was a piece lying separately that had been wrapped around Jesus' head.

Some say this shroud is proof that Jesus has risen.  However, we do not need it to confirm it to us.  We must always rely on God's Word and what He describes for us in it.

Also, this shroud should not be worshipped.  Only Jesus, our Savior, is the ONE to worship and adore; give thanks and praise to Him.

Come back to the women, and Peter (& the other apostles).  Look,

                                  Women               vs             Peter & company

                                 understanding              amazed but no understanding

                                       insight                                and no insight

                                  proper response                 improper response

                                   message to tell                    no message to tell        

What about the rest of us?

May the LORD grant us all understanding and insight of His message of Jesus' purpose in coming to Earth.  He endured shame, suffering and death for our souls' sake.   He freely offers salvation.   May we know that because of Jesus' resurrection, salvation has been made possible for all mankind, the world over.

We serve a LIVING God and Savior.

God's not dead.

Let's all praise Him

                        and SHOUT,

"PRAISE THE LORD AND HALLELUJAH!"

 

 "JESUS IS ALIVE!"

Yes,

"Jesus is alive!"

and

"I'm FORGIVEN!"

Will we have proper response?

WILL WE HAVE A MESSAGE TO TELL?

                                             ~ERC  November 2020~

Based on Luke 24:1-12 NIV

Luke 24 - Part 1 video

Listen to David Phelps sing, "He's Alive!"