— Matt 28.5-6
I can’t even begin to fathom that morning. To walk to a tomb to do what you’re supposed to do (anoint the body) and find your plans thwarted in the most miraculous way – amazing. What I can’t imagine is that they actually forgot that Jesus said he was going to be raised from the dead. Granted, maybe I’m not really all that surprised that they forgot. Jesus did say some pretty outlandish things and after his death, I probably would have written the resurrection ‘bit’ off too.
But to run to the grave of the one who claimed to be God himself and not find him there – what inexpressible joy! Fear would have gripped me, yes, but knowing all too well that my faith in the miraculous was weak, that I was wrong all along, that Jesus did tell the truth, that he really did raise from the dead – I would have welcomed that shame and that humiliation from being wrong every day from that moment forth.
But I wonder why so many Christians don’t live their lives past Good Friday.
Yeah, they say that they believe he rose from the grave, they go to the church buildings and sing songs about it, but deep down on the inside they’re not fully convinced. (I realize this is a blanket statement on Christians, but bear with me.)
They’re just like the disciples and women headed to the tomb; they’ve written off the miraculous and outlandish words of Christ. And even though the Church today has encountered the risen Jesus, unlike the disciples after the fact, they still choose to write it off because they think they need it proven to them or something else ridiculous like that.
Why have we stopped believing in the power of the resurrection?
Imagine if you lived every day like resurrection Sunday, that if each morning you got out of bed you rose to new life knowing that you’ve been freed from the bondage of sin and failure. Because of Jesus’ raising, you are now a new creation clothed with the Spirit of God on high! Imagine if every Christian lived that way. We might actually live in a changed world; we might actually be a Body that could leave an impact on this globe…
