Resurrected

The Promise Fulfilled

John 20:1–10 NIV

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had 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 came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, 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.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Since the very moment that man disobeyed God and became separated from Him, the Lord put into motion His plan to reconcile His people to Himself. All through the pages of the Old Testament, we read the ground work being laid for this amazing promise that the Lord would fulfill through Jesus. Every promise, every law, every moment of intervention foreshadowed the work that Christ would bring to completion as He rises from the dead.

It is early in the morning after the Sabbath. It was customary to go a visit the body of the deceased on the third day. It was believed that the spirit hovered over the body for three days while it was still recognizable. To visit the body on the third day was to show honor and respect and love to the deceased. As Mary and the other women had gone to the tomb to pay their respects. As they draw near, they notice that the stone has been rolled away.

It was Jewish burial custom to roll a stone in front of the tomb in order to keep the stench from spreading and to protect the dead from animals. Matthew states in his gospel that the Roman authorities had the tomb sealed and posted guards to make sure that Jesus’ body was not taken. As they see that the tomb has been opened and the body of Jesus is no longer in the tomb, the women run tot he disciples and tell them what they have seen.

Upon hearing this, John and Peter go sprinting to the tomb and find it just as the women have described. Now if someone had taken the body of Jesus, they would not have left the wrappings. Here though, the wrappings are not only still present, but they are in such a manner as to have their folds. In other words, they looked as if they had not been disturbed. It is in this moment, John remembers that Jesus said he would raise from the dead and he believed.

Our faith hinders on this truth, Jesus rose from the dead. If Jesus did not raise from the dead, then our faith is meaningless.

1 Cor 15:

1 Corinthians 15:14–19 NIV

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Paul states that if Jesus did not rise then our faith is meaningless and that we should be pitied more than any other.

The Promise Lived Out

John 20:11–18 NIV

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

While the other disciples have left trying to make sense of what has just occurred, Mary is still overwhelmed in her grief. She is convinced that someone has taken Jesus’ body.

Why are you crying? Both the angels and Jesus ask Mary this same question. Mary had no basis for her tears outside of her perspective. Had she only looked at what was happening around her, her tears would have quickly dried as she would have seen the angels and her savior.

When our perspective is faith that God will work out his promises to their fullest, there is no mourning. The grief, worry, dismay that we endure in this life come from our desire to hold onto our perspective of reality. The Lord on the other hand preaches to our hearts to have faith in him. Our faith though is not blind optimism. Our faith is founded on the work of the Lord throughout our life and the lives of those who have come before us.

Since Jesus has risen from the dead, we can have a restored relationships with God. We can face tomorrow knowing that we are no longer dead, but we are alive. We can face tomorrow knowing that God indwells us, we are never alone. We can face tomorrow knowing that our story is God’s story. We can face tomorrow knowing that no matter our sin, we have been redeemed. We can face tomorrow knowing that the worst the enemy can throw at us has already been overcome.

This is what life in Christ looks like. It is life lived with renewed purpose. Our lives now have meaning. Before Christ, our lives were destined to a meaningless pursuit of temporary things before death overtook us. Now we are alive. Our lives now have been redeemed to tell the greatest story very written, an eternal story ad our lives now have eternal ramifications. Jesus tells Mary to not hold on to him because there is work to be done.

We have to stop holding onto the temporary. If this moment is where your comfort lies, what will you do the next moment? This is the dilemma of death, but we are no longer bound to this cycle. We have been made alive. Let us live as people who are alive.