Jesus Is Alive
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!!!’” Luke 24:1-6
Can you just imagine the disappointment all of the followers of Jesus must have been feeling as they watched their beloved Jesus die upon that cruel cross? Many of them believed that Jesus was to be their earthly salvation, freeing them from the oppression of the Roman rule. Many believed that He was the Christ, but still did not understand all that would require of Him in His earthly life. Many had been freed from sin, diseases, lives of deceit and more. And yet, to them it appeared that He could not free Himself from the entrapment on the cross. They watched Him on the cross; they watched Him breathe His last breath; they watched Him go into the tomb and the heavy stone rolled to seal the entrance.
Normally in biblical times, female friends and family would prepare the body after death to go into the burial tomb. However, the following day after Jesus’ death was the Sabbath for the Jewish community, which meant that the body was going to have to wait for another day for its preparation. Jewish people were not allowed to do any type of work on the Sabbath, and especially could not touch a dead body during the Sabbath. The day after Sabbath, several of the women took the burial spices, cloths, and other necessary items and headed towards the tomb to prepare the body of their Beloved Jesus for what they believed had been the end of His earthly existence.
My mind can conjure up so many conversations that the women must have had when they reached the tomb and saw that the stone was no longer covering the entrance and guards were not blocking their way. “Did someone else come and prepare the body?” “Where are the guards?” “Who has been here?” And then to enter the tomb! Oh, praise our Sweet Jesus! His body was no longer there. It was missing! But, where could it be? Again, my mind races with the excited whisperings that started to take place between the women. “What do you think has happened here?” “Where could His body be?” “Who would have taken our Precious Lord’s body?” “What should we do?”
Then, as if Jesus’ body missing was not quite enough for them, angelic hosts appeared and proclaimed, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He IS Risen!!!” Can someone reading this say “Hallelujah” with me? I am not quite sure what my response right then would have been – to have fallen over in complete and udder astonishment that I was speaking with angels or to start whooping and hollering because I had just heard the greatest message that any ear earth could ever hear. My precious Savior and Lord had just conquered death forever. I love the description that the gospel of Matthew records in chapter 28 verse 8, “So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell the disciples.” Even though the women were frightened by what they had just experienced, and probably still did not quite yet comprehend, they ran from the place filled with joy, to tell the disciples what they just witnessed.
My prayer for all of us today is that we share this same joy that these women felt when they heard the good news that Jesus was alive. Jesus would Himself appear before many of these women, the disciples, and many others to further prove that He indeed was alive. Jesus, through His death, burial, and resurrection, once and for all conquered sin and death for us mere mortals. He became the ultimate sacrifice so that no other sacrifice would ever be needed again. His resurrection proved that death could not contain Him and sin had no hold over Him. Satan’s days were now numbered as Jesus proved He would win in the end.
Please do not let Satan continue to win the small battles along the way. Take this joy that will overfill your heart and share it with everyone that you encounter. John 14:6 indicates that Jesus told everyone, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the Way, Precious Friend, to eternal life with our Heavenly Father. His resurrection made it possible for you and for me to enter Heaven. I hope that you will take the example of the women leaving the tomb and though you may be filled with a little fear, the joy that overflows your heart by knowing Jesus is Alive will spur you on to share this message with the world.
Pray with me: O, my Precious Lord Jesus. Everyone thought You were dead and gone until the women went to the tomb and found those angels with the most awesome message we could ever know. Praise You Lord, that You were able to conquer death and sin and were Alive once again! Oh, how that message fills my heart with joy. I love You so very much and want to share You with everyone that I possibly can. Even though I may be fearful or concerned that people might reject me, my faith in You overshadows everything else. I pray all of this in the most powerful name, the name at which every knee will one day bow, the name that is proclaimed throughout the heavens, the name above all other names, my Jesus!