Tag: Resurrection

Bible Studies

Come, See, Go, and Tell that Jesus is Risen  

Loring Schultz

“……. Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.” Matthew 28:5-7 KJV

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Matthew’s account of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave agree with the other gospel writers with the women first to arrive at the tomb that first Easter morning. They came in the very early morning hours with spices to prepare Jesus’ body for permanent burial. Jesus’ death was on the day before the Sabbath, the day in which no work is to be done. With evening approaching, Joseph of Arimathea, a very wealthy man, asked Pilate for Jesus’ body wrapping it in clean linen laid it in his own tomb. The burial was incomplete due to the late hour. The women came to anoint Jesus’ body with the spices they had prepared as soon as the Sabbath was over as time would not allow them to do on Friday evening. But the unexpected happened.

There was a great earthquake as Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James the less, arrived at the tomb. Matthew describes it; “for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. (Mt. 28:2 kjv) Enormous fear must have come upon them for the angel told them to fear not! Matthew records even the guards of the tomb became as dead men due to fright. (Mt. 28:4) The angel proceeded to give the women news not only to calm their fear but give them great joy. “I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.” (Mt. 28:5-7 kjv)

The angel’s news along with further instructions to the women that morning is just as valid for us today, as if we witnessed the events along with Mary Magdalene and Mary, James’ mother. We serve a living savior. Our Lord is not to be memorialized with flowers of remembrance this Easter. He is alive and is to be worshiped. We do not come to tomb to remember and with respect as the women did that morning but rejoice with them that He is not there to be remembered, He is risen. All of us are invited to follow the angel’s instructions to ‘come’ and ‘see’ that He is not in the tomb. We are invited with the women to ‘go’ and ‘tell’ everyone that He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Read: Matthew 28:1-10 KJV – In the end of the sabbath, as it began – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

Compassion of Christ

Loring Schultz

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 NIV

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The shortest verse in the Bible speaks volumes of the compassion of Jesus. At the gravesite of His beloved friend Lazarus, scripture records that “Jesus wept.” The Greek word that is used here indicates a quiet weeping, the shedding of tears, a solemn approach to the grief He felt. Grief is undeniable to those who lost loved ones and friends in death. Individuals grieve in different ways, cope with it in different ways, and each one is on their own timetable in the various stages of grieving. But there is one commonality with them all, Jesus grieves with each one of them.

Jesus’s compassion for the grieving is rooted in the realization that death occurs to each of us due to our sin nature. We are born with a sinful nature.  David writes in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (niv) The separation and sorrow cause by death is the direct result of sin in our lives; for this Jesus wept. There is no escaping physical death in this world, but the good news is that we can escape the judgement of the spiritual second death. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” (niv) Jesus’s compassion for each of us is such that He willingly laid down His life to redeem us from the eternal judgment of the second death, eternal separation from Him and the heavenly Father.

As Easter, Resurrection Sunday, is fast approaching, we are reminded of Jesus’s words to Martha, Lazarus’s sister, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11:25-26 niv) If we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we will never face the second death, but will live eternally with Him.

What compassion Jesus has for us in our grief. What compassion He has for our eternal souls in sacrificing His life to save us who trust in Him for eternal life. Jesus absolutely rose from the grave that first Easter morning and is alive today to bring us continuing comfort and peace in our season of grieving.

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (Jn.14:27 niv)

FYI, Jesus did raise Lazarus from the dead.

Read the story: John 11:17-44 NIV – Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

I am the Resurrection and the Life

Loring Schultz

“Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.’” John 11:25 NLT

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The story is told of another miracle perform by Jesus in the eleventh chapter of the gospel of John. This particular one is perhaps the greatest of them all. Jesus raised a person from the dead, one who had been dead four days. The person was Lazarus, a very close and personal friend along with Lazarus’s sisters Mary and Martha. When Jesus heard that his friend Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was before he left in response to the news. (Jn. 11:6) The question immediately comes to mind, why? Why did he wait two days?

Some have suggested that Jesus knew that Lazarus was already dead when the messenger’s arrived to tell Him that His friend was sick. Perhaps so, but there seems to be a deeper explanation. For those present at Lazarus’s resurrection and for those of us in our day, it is a matter of trust (or faith) in Jesus Christ. Do we believe the He is in control, that He is never late, that He loves us unconditionally, that He is God the Son, and that nothing is impossible for Him to do?

Raising Lazarus from the dead was not impossible for Jesus to do, He is the resurrection and the life. Jesus also said, “Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” We are assured of a place in heaven and eternal life if we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son, who said, “I am the resurrection and the life.

Read: John 11:1-44 NLT – The Raising of Lazarus – A man named – Bible Gateway