Weekly Devotion no 45
9 April 2021
Bible reading – Luke 24:1-12[1]
It was very early in the morning on the
first day of the week. The women took the spices they had prepared. Then they
went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled
away from it. 3 When they entered the tomb, they
did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 They
were wondering about this. Suddenly two men in clothes as bright as lightning
stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified. They
bowed down with their faces to the ground. Then the men said to them, “Why do
you look for the living among the dead? 6 Jesus is
not here! He has risen! Remember how he told you he would rise. It was while he
was still with you in Galilee. 7 He said, ‘The Son
of Man must be handed over to sinful people. He must be nailed to a cross. On
the third day he will rise from the dead.’ ” 8 Then the women remembered Jesus’ words.
9 They came back from the tomb. They told all these things to the 11
apostles and to all the others. 10 Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them were the ones who
told the apostles. 11 But the apostles did not
believe the women. Their words didn’t make any sense to them. 12 But
Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent over and saw the strips of linen
lying by themselves. Then he went away, wondering what had happened.
Reflection
As soon as they could after the Sabbath was over, the women went to the tomb so that they could finish the burial process for Jesus that had not been able to be finished prior to the Sabbath. But Jesus’ body wasn’t there! They were looking around, wondering what could have happened when two angels appeared. The angels were quite direct, telling the women that Jesus was alive! They also reminded the women that Jesus had told them this would happen. The women had been on an emotional rollercoaster – they thought their friend was dead (they had seen him die and had been grieving) but now they found out he was alive. It was a lot to take in. But they started to recall some of the things he had told them before his death.
So they headed off
immediately to tell the apostles. But the apostles didn’t believe them. These women
had seen the empty tomb: they were witnesses. Was it because the concept seemed
too far-fetched that they were skeptical, or was it because women were deemed
unreliable witnesses in those days that they weren’t believed? We don’t know, but the apostles clearly also
didn’t remember or understand what Jesus had told them. They weren’t expecting
Jesus to be raised from the dead. Peter, ever the impetuous one, ran off
immediately to see for himself. And like the women, he ended up wondering what
had happened.
Nobody seemed to believe or grasp what had happened. We have the benefit of hindsight and already know that they subsequently saw Jesus for themselves. But for the time that is recorded in today’s passage, they were still in a state of denial. Jesus was clearly not there, but surely there must be a rational explanation. They tried to figure it out.
How often do we try to find the rational explanation to what God has done in our lives? How often do we try to limit God to that of which we ourselves are capable? But God is supernatural. He is capable of miracles. He is able to raise the dead to life. He is God. And when we accept he is God, we can believe that this incredible miracle of him raising his Son, Jesus, from the dead is completely possible.
And so, whether we’re
doing ok, or we’re in the midst of emotional turmoil like the women and the
apostles, it is still true that God raised Jesus from the dead and that he is
alive! And this changes the whole world, because it means we have hope, because
Jesus has conquered death. So, to God be the glory!
Hymn
Verse 1
Thine be the glory,
Risen, conqu'ring Son;
Endless is the victory,
Thou o'er death hast won;
Angels in bright raiment
Rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes
Where Thy body lay.
Thine be the glory,
Risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory,
Thou o'er death hast won.
Verse 2
Lo! Jesus meets us,
Risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us,
Scatters fear and gloom;
Let the church with gladness,
Hymns of triumph sing;
For her Lord now liveth,
Death hath lost its sting.
Thine be the glory,
Risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory,
Thou o'er death hast won.
Verse 3
No more we doubt Thee,
Glorious Prince of life;
Life is naught without Thee;
Aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conquerors,
Through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan
To Thy home above.
Thine be the glory,
Risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory,
Thou o'er death hast won.
Prayer
Lord of all life and power,
who, through the mighty resurrection of your
Son,
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to
you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise, honour and thanksgiving, now and for
all eternity. Amen.
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