As today the entire world is celebrating Easter. This holy day is celebrated in commemoration of resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, on third day after his death on the cross on Good Friday.The Hoy Bible refers this event in John 20:1-9
"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone has been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him!".
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead)
We learn from the Scripture that Jesus, at many times had been talking to His disciples about his sufferings and the death to accomplish the Scripture.(Mat 16:21). In Mat 26, when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, after finding His disciples sleeping even after being warned to keep alert, He scolded them.The disciples were the best witnesses of the miracles He did perform all the time. After being asked by Jesus to Simon Peter before all the disciples, Peter confessed boldly that He is the Christ, the son of Living God. (Mat16:13-16)
On the day next to Good Friday, the Chief Priests an the Pharisees Went to the Roman Governor Pilate, pleading him to allow them to guard the tomb tightly where the Jesus was berried. They expressed their fear that His disciples will steal the body of dead Jesus and afterwards will claim that He has risen from the dead and deceive the people. They were knowing the fact that Jesus had claimed that after His death He will rise again on third day. They thoroughly remembered the words of Jesus and therefore acted upon accordingly just to counteract their fear. (Mat27:62-65). The Pilate also ordered them to take a guard and accordingly the grave, where Jesus was buried, was covered with a huge stone with a seal and protected by engaging a guard.
But on the day of Sabbath when Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved much (he was John, the young and most loved amongst all disciples by Jesus) and other two ladies went to the tomb, they did not go because they had that much faith about what Jesus had told them that He will rise again on the third day. Even they might have forgotten this . (John20:2) Mary was astonished to see that the stone on the grave was removed. She did not take pains to peep inside but ran to Peter and alleged the body of Jesus being stolen by guards. As per Mat27:60-61, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the witnesses of the tomb that was covered with a big stone. On third day when they reached to the tomb and after seeing the stone removed they ought to have realized and confessed the resurrection of Jesus as was told repeatedly by Him to His disciples. Afterwards the other disciple (John) and Simon Peter also visited the tomb but they even did not remember the Lord's words. Nobody could confess the resurrection at that very instance of time. That time was really precious in their lives. The living God, who wandered with them for about 3 years and gave them a divine teaching from time to time. He even confessed the truth and purpose of His death and rising again. But the disciples and the ladies could not really remember the teaching of the Lord Jesus.
Many times in our lives even after being spiritual and best into the prayers, ignore the Lord's teaching. We, living in materialistic world, become more busy and don't want to believe whatever the Word of the Lord means to us. In short, we confess many times about our salvation and Jesus being our Savior. But when the time of mislead or temptation arrives, we forget that Jesus is warrior for all our battles. We ourselves want to fight out our materialistic battle and get into a great loss. As the disciples sleeping in the night near the Garden of Gethsemane, we sometimes forget to be alert and guard our soul. Satan is a great cheater. He has tried to cheat Adam an Eve in the Garden of Eden. For the sin that has committed by them out of this cheating of Satan, Jesus had to sacrifice His life. He shed His Holy Blood on the cross for you and me. As the guards and Sadducees remembered what Jesus had spoken and acted upon. But the disciples ignored and forgot the words of the Lord.
Today the vacant tomb, where Jesus was kept, can be the witness for non believers in Christ. But for we believers the power of resurrected Jesus is the witness for Christ.
Thomas, one of the disciples of Christ had urged not to believe His Resurrection until he checks up Jesus in his own manner. (John20:24-28). This is another kind of stubborn disbelief. This character is much peculiar in today's world. We, in the era of science, don't want to believe the things until we realize it in our own way. This is because we more want to trust in the things of our mind and understanding. For a Christian, the life is much easier when we fully depend on the Word of God. There is an answer given in the Holy Bible to every question of this world. We, as trustees of Heavenly Kingdom, need to find it out in the word of God. But we forget that and try to accommodate the things in a manner we like them.This attitude is against the principle of Resurrected Life. As Jesus allowed Thomas to check up His wounds in a manner he wanted to do. But Thomas believed prior to that. In the verse 29, Jesus told to them that as they have believed Him after seeing Him. But blessed are they who have believed Him even they did not see Him.
Paul had never seen Jesus in his life span. He always used to persecute the believers of Jesus. But when Jesus, after making him realized while he was on his way to Damascus, Paul was completely changed and turned a great witness for Jesus, a witness more than any other disciples who actually had seen Him.
My dear friends, we are amongst them who has believed Christ even after not seeing Him personally. We have to witness not the empty tomb but a resurrected Jesus.
It is not because the tomb is vacant therefore Jesus is alive. But it is because Jesus is alive the tomb is vacant.
As the verse in Gen 1:27 says that the man is created in the image of God and verse Mat 3:17 says that Jesus is the son of the God, we as believers of God need to owe the power of resurrected Jesus. The truth of the death of Jesus on the cross is as factual as His Resurrection from the death. He has the power to conquer over the death. We can not forget that Jesus has died for our sins and He wants to give us a victorious life hereafter. He wants us to let all our sins die on the cross and let us resurrect again from our sins along with Him. That is the victory and power of Resurrected Jesus. There will be no more death now. There will be no more sin now. There will be no more ignorance now. As the Satan advances towards us we need to hide behind the cross and let Jesus to fight the battle. For this we all need to relise and remember the pains that Jesus bore on the cross as well as we have to believe and confess that the Lord Jesus has resurrected again. This merely is our power.
May God bless u all.
Wishing u all a happy, meaningful and power filled Easter.
Umesh
.
"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone has been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him!".
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead)
We learn from the Scripture that Jesus, at many times had been talking to His disciples about his sufferings and the death to accomplish the Scripture.(Mat 16:21). In Mat 26, when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, after finding His disciples sleeping even after being warned to keep alert, He scolded them.The disciples were the best witnesses of the miracles He did perform all the time. After being asked by Jesus to Simon Peter before all the disciples, Peter confessed boldly that He is the Christ, the son of Living God. (Mat16:13-16)
On the day next to Good Friday, the Chief Priests an the Pharisees Went to the Roman Governor Pilate, pleading him to allow them to guard the tomb tightly where the Jesus was berried. They expressed their fear that His disciples will steal the body of dead Jesus and afterwards will claim that He has risen from the dead and deceive the people. They were knowing the fact that Jesus had claimed that after His death He will rise again on third day. They thoroughly remembered the words of Jesus and therefore acted upon accordingly just to counteract their fear. (Mat27:62-65). The Pilate also ordered them to take a guard and accordingly the grave, where Jesus was buried, was covered with a huge stone with a seal and protected by engaging a guard.
But on the day of Sabbath when Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved much (he was John, the young and most loved amongst all disciples by Jesus) and other two ladies went to the tomb, they did not go because they had that much faith about what Jesus had told them that He will rise again on the third day. Even they might have forgotten this . (John20:2) Mary was astonished to see that the stone on the grave was removed. She did not take pains to peep inside but ran to Peter and alleged the body of Jesus being stolen by guards. As per Mat27:60-61, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the witnesses of the tomb that was covered with a big stone. On third day when they reached to the tomb and after seeing the stone removed they ought to have realized and confessed the resurrection of Jesus as was told repeatedly by Him to His disciples. Afterwards the other disciple (John) and Simon Peter also visited the tomb but they even did not remember the Lord's words. Nobody could confess the resurrection at that very instance of time. That time was really precious in their lives. The living God, who wandered with them for about 3 years and gave them a divine teaching from time to time. He even confessed the truth and purpose of His death and rising again. But the disciples and the ladies could not really remember the teaching of the Lord Jesus.
Many times in our lives even after being spiritual and best into the prayers, ignore the Lord's teaching. We, living in materialistic world, become more busy and don't want to believe whatever the Word of the Lord means to us. In short, we confess many times about our salvation and Jesus being our Savior. But when the time of mislead or temptation arrives, we forget that Jesus is warrior for all our battles. We ourselves want to fight out our materialistic battle and get into a great loss. As the disciples sleeping in the night near the Garden of Gethsemane, we sometimes forget to be alert and guard our soul. Satan is a great cheater. He has tried to cheat Adam an Eve in the Garden of Eden. For the sin that has committed by them out of this cheating of Satan, Jesus had to sacrifice His life. He shed His Holy Blood on the cross for you and me. As the guards and Sadducees remembered what Jesus had spoken and acted upon. But the disciples ignored and forgot the words of the Lord.
Today the vacant tomb, where Jesus was kept, can be the witness for non believers in Christ. But for we believers the power of resurrected Jesus is the witness for Christ.
Thomas, one of the disciples of Christ had urged not to believe His Resurrection until he checks up Jesus in his own manner. (John20:24-28). This is another kind of stubborn disbelief. This character is much peculiar in today's world. We, in the era of science, don't want to believe the things until we realize it in our own way. This is because we more want to trust in the things of our mind and understanding. For a Christian, the life is much easier when we fully depend on the Word of God. There is an answer given in the Holy Bible to every question of this world. We, as trustees of Heavenly Kingdom, need to find it out in the word of God. But we forget that and try to accommodate the things in a manner we like them.This attitude is against the principle of Resurrected Life. As Jesus allowed Thomas to check up His wounds in a manner he wanted to do. But Thomas believed prior to that. In the verse 29, Jesus told to them that as they have believed Him after seeing Him. But blessed are they who have believed Him even they did not see Him.
Paul had never seen Jesus in his life span. He always used to persecute the believers of Jesus. But when Jesus, after making him realized while he was on his way to Damascus, Paul was completely changed and turned a great witness for Jesus, a witness more than any other disciples who actually had seen Him.
My dear friends, we are amongst them who has believed Christ even after not seeing Him personally. We have to witness not the empty tomb but a resurrected Jesus.
It is not because the tomb is vacant therefore Jesus is alive. But it is because Jesus is alive the tomb is vacant.
As the verse in Gen 1:27 says that the man is created in the image of God and verse Mat 3:17 says that Jesus is the son of the God, we as believers of God need to owe the power of resurrected Jesus. The truth of the death of Jesus on the cross is as factual as His Resurrection from the death. He has the power to conquer over the death. We can not forget that Jesus has died for our sins and He wants to give us a victorious life hereafter. He wants us to let all our sins die on the cross and let us resurrect again from our sins along with Him. That is the victory and power of Resurrected Jesus. There will be no more death now. There will be no more sin now. There will be no more ignorance now. As the Satan advances towards us we need to hide behind the cross and let Jesus to fight the battle. For this we all need to relise and remember the pains that Jesus bore on the cross as well as we have to believe and confess that the Lord Jesus has resurrected again. This merely is our power.
May God bless u all.
Wishing u all a happy, meaningful and power filled Easter.
Umesh
.
