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His Promise
And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
~1 John 2:25
I never get tired of this beautiful love story. How Jesus came to us, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, living and teaching amongst us. The hard part is how He was yet eventually rejected, scourged, spat on and ridiculed; hung on a cross, crucified on our behalf! He hung there, suffering the sins of the world. And yet even when He arose from the dead and stood before men, His very own disciples, He had to prove who He was.
In delving deeper, before that, we find through His teachings in John, chapter 3, how He explained to Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish council, how to be born again; how to see the Kingdom of God. And He told him, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” I am so thankful for this lesson. He shared His promise, through verses 1-16, and went on to explain why God sent His son into the world from verses 17-21.
In John, chapter 8, He explains, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” And in chapter 14, He teaches us through His words to the disciple Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Later on, He had to show this same Thomas the scars on his wrists and side in order for him to truly believe He had risen from the dead.)
So many loving promises. So much we have been endowed with by believing. And then comes that comforting promise Jesus left us right before His ascension into Heaven. This promise sent from the Father is the gift of the Holy Spirit. And by faith, you receive it. You can commune with God without any intercessory. I love the poetry and symbolism in this verse that tells it all for me:
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom
~Matthew 27:51a
His Sacrifice
This Easter has been different for so many. We aren’t able to meet in a church building to celebrate His resurrection. We’ve been instructed to not congregate in crowds. We must keep our “social distancing”. It is a very dangerous time we are living in. The entire world has been affected by this pandemic taking place. And although it’s not the first time plagues and disasters have fallen on this earth, it will not be the last either. And the sacrifices we have all had to endure because of it are immense. The lack of socializing personally. The loss of jobs. The financial impact that has stricken on most of us. The mental distress and anxiety it has brought on many. The loss of so many lives.
But Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice when He chose to die on that cross for us. Didn’t He? John 3:16 tells it all. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus was crucified, in order for you and for me to be saved. It doesn’t get any clearer than that.
His Empty Tomb
Just imagine for a moment that you are Mary Magdalene. You have loved Jesus with all your heart. He has cast out seven demons from your body and you have been freed of all your past, present and future sins. You owe Him everything and your love for Him has no bounds.
And one day, you have to watch Him be beaten and mocked. You watch Him hung from a cross. You witness the torment He endures. You watch Him die. You cannot be consoled. You want so much to honor Him and so you gather up spices to embalm Him, along with His mother Mary and another. But it’s the Sabbath. You must go home first and await for the Sabbath to end.
You mourn and you cry out for Him and are missing Him so much. It is almost more than you can bear. But, you remember what He has just born and although this does not console you much, you hang on to the time you will be able to go and see Him again. Even if it’s in a tomb. Even if it’s to anoint his body with precious spices and oils. This you will do to express your love and gratitude. The sacrifices He made for your life.
All the while, as you are hurrying to get there, you and the others are wondering, how will you roll back the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb? How will you get inside? But of course, this does not stop you. So, you arrive at the tomb with the others and you are shocked to see the stone has been turned back from the opening.
You rush in and find only the “grave clothes”. You are frantic. You cannot understand why someone would steal His body away. You rush to the others and exclaim your concerns and they rush in to find the same thing. And what do they do? All but the two women with you; they leave! They go back to their homes. But not you. Not Mary Magdalene. You stay. You want answers. And you get them.
His Big Reveal
I find this next part so precious. Mary Magdalene, who had once been overwhelmed with her sins, was washed clean and completely forgiven by Jesus. And He rewarded her commitment and her faith in a profound way. He knew her anguish at His death. He understood that she loved Him. And so she was the first person to see Him after He had risen! Can you possibly imagine her saying these words that were written in a hymn? I can. It was remade into a praise song by Casting Crowns.
“One day the grave could conceal him no longer; One day the stone rolled away from the door; Then He arose, over death He had conquered; Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore; Death could not hold Him, The grave could not keep Him from rising again.”
~Oh Glorious Day!
His Ascension
After Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, He also appeared to two others, yet they didn’t know it was Him. He shared with them all the scriptures about Him. Can you envision that? What a powerful message He relayed to them on their travels down that road to Emmaus. Now they would be fully equipped to preach the Gospel. They were so moved by His company that they invited Him to stay with them as it was evening. And when He broke bread with them, they suddenly knew! He then left them for a while. And they discussed amongst themselves how their hearts had burned within them while He was speaking.
They shared the good news with the others. And once again, He returned to them. And amazingly, He opened their understanding of the scriptures so they could spread the gospel. And thankfully, to this day, we are blessed by it.
Today we can celebrate that empty tomb with a new found appreciation. We have confidence that this virus will go away. We don’t know when. But it will. We know this affliction is momentary. And just as we believe there was an empty tomb, we also believe He ascended into Heaven where He now sits on the right hand of God.
His Blessing
I do hope that whatever fears you are experiencing right now because of this virus that has spread across the world. Whatever anxiety it brings you. I pray it is momentary. I pray that you will be encouraged by the great joy and consequent blessing those disciples felt when they witnessed Him ascending into Heaven.
I hope you will experience the wonder and discovery of that Empty Tomb. I pray you know Jesus as your personal savior. And I pray the image of that empty tomb brings you great elation. And I pray that, in turn, brings you comfort and peace. ~Dale
