Easter Luke 24
Easter 2019
Someone asked me what Easter means to me in one word . I said " Resurrection-new life". It was not hard to distill it down into what Easter is about as I thought about it . It is the hope of eternal life in this world and the next, the promise that those who have died we will see again. Now they live in our memories and soon we will see eye to eye with our new bodies in heaven. That is what Easter is and to any Christian as well certainly.
On that first Easter , at the break of day, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary, the mother of James came to the tomb. They had already prepared spices resting on their Sabbath, that is Saturday, after Jesus died on the Cross on Good Friday. They were serving Him even in His death. They came to the tomb, the stone was already rolled away, and they went into the tomb, " and found not the body of the Lord Jesus." 24:3 They were met by two men in dazzling light. They are told, " He is not here, but is risen."
They told the Apostles . Here is the response, " And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them." 24:11 Nonsense in other words. The Apostles did not believe them. How could this happen? It happens all the time. We have family members and friends who respond this way. It is not about resurrection and eternal life. It's about festival and celebration and other thing that go with that at Easter. I like those things, but that is not what Easter is. It is as the two men in the tomb said to the women, " Why see ye the living among the dead?" vs.5
2. The two men reminded the women in tomb and we need this reminder too, " Remember how he spoke unto when He was yet in Galilee saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." AND THEY REMEMBERED HIS WORDS.
The words Jesus said I speak are the words of eternal life. We need to remember His Words written in the Scriptures when we are doubtful, troubled or fearful. They were affrighted it says in vs. 5
We have the Scriptures that witness to us of the Resurrection and the sayings of Jesus which we should remember to give us encouragement in times of loss, doubt and despair. We all go through these things.
3. "Then Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in , He seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and He departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass" vs. 12
He was " astonished out of his senses", awestruck, regarded with amazement, and with a suggestion of beginning to speculate on the matter. Biblehub.com
In other words he was beginning to believe.
Do we have belief in Him? Or are we seeing this all as nonsense, idle tales. We should remember His words, read them for ourselves in the Holy Scriptures of eternal life and as we believe this is possible we can have eternal life too .
If you are not there may God send people , ( two men in dazzling apparel) to you so that you may be encouraged to know as it says it 2 Timothy 2: 24, " And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing , in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will."
He is risen. The Lord is risen indeed.
Someone asked me what Easter means to me in one word . I said " Resurrection-new life". It was not hard to distill it down into what Easter is about as I thought about it . It is the hope of eternal life in this world and the next, the promise that those who have died we will see again. Now they live in our memories and soon we will see eye to eye with our new bodies in heaven. That is what Easter is and to any Christian as well certainly.
On that first Easter , at the break of day, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary, the mother of James came to the tomb. They had already prepared spices resting on their Sabbath, that is Saturday, after Jesus died on the Cross on Good Friday. They were serving Him even in His death. They came to the tomb, the stone was already rolled away, and they went into the tomb, " and found not the body of the Lord Jesus." 24:3 They were met by two men in dazzling light. They are told, " He is not here, but is risen."
They told the Apostles . Here is the response, " And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them." 24:11 Nonsense in other words. The Apostles did not believe them. How could this happen? It happens all the time. We have family members and friends who respond this way. It is not about resurrection and eternal life. It's about festival and celebration and other thing that go with that at Easter. I like those things, but that is not what Easter is. It is as the two men in the tomb said to the women, " Why see ye the living among the dead?" vs.5
2. The two men reminded the women in tomb and we need this reminder too, " Remember how he spoke unto when He was yet in Galilee saying that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." AND THEY REMEMBERED HIS WORDS.
The words Jesus said I speak are the words of eternal life. We need to remember His Words written in the Scriptures when we are doubtful, troubled or fearful. They were affrighted it says in vs. 5
We have the Scriptures that witness to us of the Resurrection and the sayings of Jesus which we should remember to give us encouragement in times of loss, doubt and despair. We all go through these things.
3. "Then Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in , He seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and He departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass" vs. 12
He was " astonished out of his senses", awestruck, regarded with amazement, and with a suggestion of beginning to speculate on the matter. Biblehub.com
In other words he was beginning to believe.
Do we have belief in Him? Or are we seeing this all as nonsense, idle tales. We should remember His words, read them for ourselves in the Holy Scriptures of eternal life and as we believe this is possible we can have eternal life too .
If you are not there may God send people , ( two men in dazzling apparel) to you so that you may be encouraged to know as it says it 2 Timothy 2: 24, " And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing , in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will."
He is risen. The Lord is risen indeed.
Comments
Post a Comment