Mar 16:1-7
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. 3 They worried out loud to each other, "Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?" 4 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back-- it was a huge stone-- and walked right in. 5 They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished. 6 He said, "Don't be afraid. I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He's been raised up; he's here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. 7 Now-- on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there, exactly as he said."
Food for the thought
In the Bible, whenever God has to make an announcement of extreme importance, He sends that message through an angel. Ex. The conception of Jesus, or the birth of Jesus, were all announced by an angel. Tonight, another angel announces unbelievable news: Jesus who died, now he's risen; was crucified, he has risen, he is not in the tomb. On that first Easter morning, as dawn was breaking, this special message was delivered by a special angel to the women. Unbelievable!!
Note this: Jesus is not risen because the tomb is empty (grave robbers may have stolen the body); the tomb is empty because Jesus is risen.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He immediately disappears and appears very busy: "He is going before you to Galilee." Jesus is risen and Jesus is busy.
The angel ended his message to these women by reminding them of the Lord’s promise. They would see him again: "you will see him". This message must have lifted their hearts. They had come to the tomb that morning expecting to see a dead body, they left it with the promise that they would see the living Jesus again.
Death is not the end of the story. There is one more chapter to our story. This is the most important chapter because, as the saying goes, they who laugh last laugh best; it is the most important chapter because it is endless. And in the last chapter of the story of Jesus we see ours too; yes there's one more chapter to life.
It means that just as life does not begin at birth, but before birth, life does not end at death; it continues beyond death. It means that just as life does not begin in the womb, but goes through the womb, so too life does not end in the tomb; life goes through the tomb; just as life has to know birth, so too life has to know death. Just as we did not live in the womb for ever; some day, we came out. We don't live forever on this earth; some day we shall leave it; the same with death, we shall not stay in the tomb for ever, we shall come out on the other side of life, called heaven. Yes, we shall overcome, someday.
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. 3 They worried out loud to each other, "Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?" 4 Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back-- it was a huge stone-- and walked right in. 5 They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished. 6 He said, "Don't be afraid. I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He's been raised up; he's here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. 7 Now-- on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there, exactly as he said."
Food for the thought
In the Bible, whenever God has to make an announcement of extreme importance, He sends that message through an angel. Ex. The conception of Jesus, or the birth of Jesus, were all announced by an angel. Tonight, another angel announces unbelievable news: Jesus who died, now he's risen; was crucified, he has risen, he is not in the tomb. On that first Easter morning, as dawn was breaking, this special message was delivered by a special angel to the women. Unbelievable!!
Note this: Jesus is not risen because the tomb is empty (grave robbers may have stolen the body); the tomb is empty because Jesus is risen.
After Jesus rose from the dead, He immediately disappears and appears very busy: "He is going before you to Galilee." Jesus is risen and Jesus is busy.
The angel ended his message to these women by reminding them of the Lord’s promise. They would see him again: "you will see him". This message must have lifted their hearts. They had come to the tomb that morning expecting to see a dead body, they left it with the promise that they would see the living Jesus again.
Death is not the end of the story. There is one more chapter to our story. This is the most important chapter because, as the saying goes, they who laugh last laugh best; it is the most important chapter because it is endless. And in the last chapter of the story of Jesus we see ours too; yes there's one more chapter to life.
It means that just as life does not begin at birth, but before birth, life does not end at death; it continues beyond death. It means that just as life does not begin in the womb, but goes through the womb, so too life does not end in the tomb; life goes through the tomb; just as life has to know birth, so too life has to know death. Just as we did not live in the womb for ever; some day, we came out. We don't live forever on this earth; some day we shall leave it; the same with death, we shall not stay in the tomb for ever, we shall come out on the other side of life, called heaven. Yes, we shall overcome, someday.
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