"And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, Who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him...."
(Mark 16:2-6)
A few years ago I remember arriving at church and fellowshipping in the lobby area before Good Friday Services began. As a sister in Christ approached me with a huge smile on her face, my spontaneous greeting to her was, "He is risen!" She looked at me for a moment and then leaning in towards me, said in hushed tones , "But Cathie, it is only Friday, He does not rise until Sunday." I tilted my head to the side and said, "Really? But I was just talking to Him!" It only took her a moment, and then she too began to laugh as we linked arms and walked into the sanctuary to continue our mutual worship of our
already and forever, risen Lord.
Keeping the above verses in mind, I wonder how often we come to visit the 'tomb' when the Son has already risen. How often do we, in our minds, or even physically, visit dark and cold places of death, prepared to mourn, when the Son has already conquered both death and the grave? Sometimes we too, just like the disciples, are inclined to go visit that dark place, prepared to mourn, and when we arrive, we actually begin looking around for others to help us in the removing of that 'extremely large stone from the entrance of the tomb', so that we can re-examine, or pay homage to that dead thing... notice it was only when they
looked up that they were then able to see that the stone had
already been rolled away and that death itself had been
conquered in the Risen Lord.
She (Mary Magdalene) went and reported to those who had been with Him,
while they were mourning and weeping.
And when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her,
they refused to believe it."
Sometimes, grief over death can be so overwhelming as to keep the eyes down, causing them to refuse to look up. It can be the death of a loved one, a death of a dream, a death of an ideal. It can even be the fear of death or the threat of death or the anguish of watching someone in abuse or sin heading ever closer towards death - it can even be just living in that dark place that speaks of death.
When the eyes are cast down, even the witness and testimony of others, others that have been in the presence of Jesus and have walked with him, seem to have no effect.
And after that, He (the Risen Lord Jesus) appeared in a different form to two of them,
while they were walking on their way to the country.
And they went away and reported it to the others,
but they did not believe them either.
(Mark 16:12-13)
There is nothing wrong with looking into the tomb, it's just that we are not meant to linger there. Isn't it wonderful that while at the tomb, the women were invited to go ahead and look in for themselves, to see that Jesus is not to be found among the things of death - He is Living! and so their next instruction was to go and tell others that Jesus had risen! - that they would indeed see Him again, and they were reminded that Jesus Himself had already told them these things!
How often, when confronted with the dark things of this world, we forget what God has spoken to us through His Son.
We need to remember what He has spoken to us. That He will never leave us, nor forsake us. That He now works in us, with us, for us, and through us by the power of His Holy Spirit.
For those who belong to Him, who have turned from darkness to Light, the birth, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord is always and profoundly with us.
The cross of Christ speaks to our greatest need and the resurrection of Christ speaks of new Life in Him. May the power of His resurrection speak afresh to you today (Ephesians 1:18-21)... I pray this over you and your family today, just as I pray it for myself and over mine.
Now, let's link arms and together, as sisters, walk boldly forward into the Day, continuing in our mutual worship of our already and forever, risen Lord and God!
Blessed Easter Sunday to you!
