What is Easter?/ "He is not here."

Can we imagine for a moment the sadness that most likely overtook the friends of Jesus when he died? What must it have been like for them? Did they really take him at his word and know without even the tiniest doubt that he was going come out of that tomb alive?

The women had prepared spices and they took them to the tomb. But they found the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. And then all of a sudden they were in the presence of two angels. They knew why the women had come. And they asked them why they are looking for the living among the dead. "He is not here, he has risen!" they explained.

So off they go back and told what they had seen. The apostles did not believe them. They thought it was all just about nonsense. I can imagine their thought process. Maybe they were thinking, "Silly women. They are just too emotional..." or something like that.

However, there was one that ran to the tomb to see for himself. It was Peter who had denied Jesus the night of his arrest. He wanted to see if these women really were correct. He found the tomb empty and the strips of cloth that had been around Jesus were lying there. And even seeing for himself, he seemed to be scratching his head, just not sure of what to think.

The high priest, chief priests, all of the Sanhedrin, and Jesus closet friends did not get what was really happening. There had been doubt in their minds. And probably confusion.

The story of Christ's resurrection does not end here, of course. His life on earth went on for a few weeks as he made his appearance known. What must people have thought? What were their reactions? What about those that arrested him and had actually put him on the cross? What did they think?? Perhaps we will find out in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, these people had been a part of a miracle and they didn't even realize it yet. They were witnessing an event that would go down in history for all time. What a privilege that was for them. Can they be criticized for not really believing Jesus was going to rise out of his tomb? No. They were human. You and I would probably have been skeptical too if we had been there.


Because we didn't actually see what had happened, we are just called to "believe."
By faith, we know that God sent his Son Jesus into the world to save us from our sin. That he walked the earth for some 33 years preaching the good news, He was then crucified and died a horribly painful death. After which, he was put into a tomb.

0n the third day, he came out from it! Halejuhia1 He has risen! "He is not here."

And that is what Easter is really all about! It isn't about Easter bunnies, candy, and dinners after church. It is about the Ressurection of Jesus Christ. Those other things, candy, bunnies, etc. They are fun. Some times a spiritual meaning can be applied to help children understand better about what Christ had done for us. But at the end of the day, it really is not about anything less than his Ressurection.
Today's references: Luke 24:1-12

April 14, 2019, Easter reading: Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one that believes in me will live, though they die.

Hi Friends. Thanks for coming. Thank God we don't have to see Jesus crucified to have his promise of eternal life. All we have to do is admit we are sinners and ask him to come into our hearts. If you have not done that, Easter is a wonderful time to do it. Or even to recommit your life to the Lord. Don't put it off until it is too late.

God Bless

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