Week 48
Luke 24:5, 6 “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; He is risen.”
Death did not destroy the love of these women who loved Jesus and followed Him. They did what they could with what they had, as they had opportunity, to express to Jesus their deep and abiding faith and continuing loyalty. Death had not destroyed their love.
But death had come! Death’s stab robbed Jesus of His life, and the tomb claimed the fruit of death. Would the tomb be the end of all their hopes that they had in Jesus? Would the tomb forever seal what death had done? NO, not at all!
The evil one through death did his worst to Jesus, and Jesus absorbed the righteous and just wrath of God the Father for the sins of His people. The cross is shown to be not just the instrument of torture and death, but it has become the place forever where salvation for God’s people had taken place. The cross was the pinnacle of God’s redemptive promise and the victory of the Son of God, the Savior.
But the cross is not the final word for Jesus. The cross was the battle, but the resurrection of Jesus was the victory. This victory, this resurrection victory, is His victory for all eternity, and it is the victory which He gives to His people who trust in Him with saving faith.
Through being in Christ, because of His cross and resurrection, we are forgiven of our sins, we are cleansed from all iniquity, we are made right with God, we are adopted into the family of God, we are promised God’s abiding presence and providence, and we have the hope of heaven itself when we die. All of these riches are ours in Christ because of the cross and the resurrection.
The women who came to Christ’s tomb early Sunday morning may have come because of loyalty and love, but they needed to know that the message of the empty tomb would transform their perception of life, trials, sufferings, and death itself. They would be different people from that day onward.
You and I probably won’t see angels or hear messages from angels today, but we can know the same message that these women knew. We can know through the Bible that Jesus died for our sins, that He rose again the third day, and through faith in Him we have life eternal and abundant that overcomes every obstacle to our joy. Let us face the challenge of today and the threats of tomorrow with the confidence that comes from knowing that our Lord and Savior is risen from the grave, and we are more than conquerors through Him.
Prayer: Dear risen Lord, thank You for dying for me on the cross. Thank You for Your victory won over death, Satan, and sin when You rose from the grave. Help me, please, to live the life of faith and dependence upon You, trusting in Your power and grace for each day and its needs. Amen.