RESURRECTION

The resurrection of Jesus three days after His crucifixion is the pinnacle of our faith! In the last few years, I have come to realize even more the sacredness of the resurrection. Living in the time we do, we have the advantage of the bigger picture to help our understanding of the saving power of Jesus.

The Bible and historical documents provide us with eyewitnesses who saw Jesus being put to death on a cross and being buried and wrote these things down. Jesus is the only person in all of history who has risen from the dead three days later. Eyewitnesses, including the disciples and some women like Mary Magdalene, shared time with the Risen Jesus for another fifty days after they found the tomb empty! It was then that Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, His and our Father. Isn’t it incredible to reflect on that giving your faith a big boost?

 

Photo courtesy of Vicki DeLoach under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.  Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home. –John 20:1-10 (NLT)

The eyewitnesses shared the detail that “the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head was still lying in its place.” I believe this detail was given to us so that we indeed know that Jesus resurrected from the dead. If someone had stolen Jesus’ body from the tomb, most likely the cloth would not have been folded up in the same spot.

I read a commentary that shared an interesting Hebrew tradition from Jesus’ day. The servant set the table for their master and hid just out of sight while the master was eating. When the master finished eating, he would wad up his napkin and throw it on the table, meaning “I’m finished.” If the master got up from the table and folded the napkin, returning it next to his plate, it meant “I’m coming back.” What a beautiful parallel with Jesus leaving us a folded cloth in the empty tomb!

REFLECTION:

 

 

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in.  She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.  “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message. –John 20:11-18 (NLT)

Mary Magdalene became a devout follower of Jesus after He healed her of seven demons. She was also present at Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, as well as being the first person to discover the empty tomb. At the tomb, Mary Magdalene thinks she is talking with the gardener, but as soon as Jesus says, “Mary,” she recognizes that it is Jesus in His resurrected state. There is truth in the sheep recognizing their shepherd’s voice. Jesus met Mary right where she was that day when she was seeking to find Him.

REFLECTION:

 

 

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!  Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” –John 20:19-23 (NLT)

God chose to have Jesus’ resurrected state be such that His wounds remained. I find that powerful to once again show the validity of the resurrection. In their fear, Jesus appears for the first time to His disciples, bringing them and ultimately us peace. Jesus does not give a spirit of fear but rather one of peace and joy, even in difficult circumstances. I think it was a powerful act that Jesus breathed on them, sharing the gift of the Holy Spirit He promised them. The first time man received the breath of God was in Genesis, when God made man.

REFLECTION:

 

Be encouraged this week to…

…share the resurrected Jesus with others.

…listen to Jesus calling your name and guiding you.

…let go of fear, letting the Risen Jesus fill you with peace and joy.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Martin LaBar under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0)

 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”  –John 14:27  (NLT)