Easter 2023
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The Women
The Women
The women that followed Jesus went to the tomb to anoint his body with the spices they had prepared. The Jews did not embalm their dead like the Egyptians. In stead they anointed the body with spices to stop the stench of decay.
Typically the women would do this as a sign of love for the deceased. These ladies loved Jesus, but did not believe Jesus. Jesus had told them that He was going to be resurrected on the third day after his death. The ladies knew this according to Luke 24:8
And they remembered His words,
The women were just doing what was normal in that day to do. They did not expect the extraordinary event that Jesus told them was going to happen.
Even when they got to the tomb and saw that the body of Jesus was not there they merely wondered why it was not there. They knew that Jesus was placed there because they followed and saw where he was buried. Luke 23:55
Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
The ladies were not expecting to find what they found. The reason that they did not expect Jesus to raise from the dead was it was not normal.
We can be like the ladies
We can be like the ladies
We can be like the ladies in this regard. God makes wonderful promises in His word. We may know them, but do not expect them to happen to us because it is not normal. It is easier to believe in the normal than it is the wonderful promises of God.
Let me give you some examples of what I am talking about. When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness our natural belief is that the doctor is right and the person will not live long. Jesus is a healer and has the power to heal even terminal illnesses. We can pray and have faith in the healing power of Christ or we can just accept the diagnoses. I have seen with my own eyes how Christ has miraculously healed people on death’s door. I have also seen where God has healed people through death on the other side of life.
I have seen the miraculous hand of God give unexplainable protection to people. I have seen God supernaturally resurrect marriages that were on the brink of divorce. I have seen God miraculously provide for people in need in supernatural ways.
Christ does His best work outside of our normality! We must believe in Him and His Word.
The Angels
The Angels
The angels asked an interesting question in Luke 24:5
and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
The ladies had come to the tomb, a place where the dead reside, but Jesus is alive. Did you hear what they said? HE IS ALIVE! I say to you today that HE IS ALIVE! We do not serve a dead God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is alive!
He proved Himself to be the Son of God by being resurrected from the dead. 1 Cor. 15:20-22
1 Corinthians 15:20–22 (NASB95)
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Then the angels shared the gospel in Luke 24:7
saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Why did Jesus have to be handed over to sinful men and be crucified? To pay the sin debt that we owe to God.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The debt that we owe God for our sin is everlasting death and separation in the Lake of Fire!
Jesus is the only one who could satisfy the wrath of God for our sins. He is our sacrifice. He took our place on the cross. John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Ephesians 2:4–5 (NASB95)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
God sent Jesus to die on a cross to satisfy the punishment that was due to us for our sin.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Jesus was resurrected to prove that He is the Son of God and give everlasting life to those who put their faith in Him for salvation. John 10:17-18
John 10:17–18 (NASB95)
“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Jesus is the Son of God. He is alive and sits at the right hand of the Father. He is actively engaged in all of our lives. Heb. 1:3
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Peter and John
Peter and John
Luke records that Peter ran to the tomb after hearing the ladies say that Jesus had been resurrected. Other gospel writers mention John ran with him. The other disciples would not believe the ladies Luke 24:11
But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
So we must ask, why did Peter get up and run to the tomb? The short answer is that He wanted forgiveness for His sin! Just three days ago he denied Jesus three times. He knew that he had sinned and the only thing that could help him overcome his sin was if Jesus was resurrected. Peter knew that if Jesus was resurrected he could be forgiven of his sin. When he saw the empty tomb he marveled at what happened.
One may say well Judas betrayed Jesus and was not forgiven. Why did Jesus forgive Peter and not Judas. The answer is Peter was willing to receive forgiveness and Judas was not. Judas took his own life. His guilt and sorrow was worldly and led to death. Peter’s guilt and sorrow was conviction and led to life.
What about you? Do you want forgiveness or do you want to remain in your guilt?