He is not here!
Matthew 28: 1-10
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
In the scriptures of Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20, we see a glimpse of the followers of Christ between his death and when he reveals himself again. It is a moment where those who know Jesus are confronted by the natural limitations of the human mind.
Jesus had performed many miracles before his followers. However, here we are after the crucifiction and he isn’t here. The women in these scriptures went to the tomb to pay respects to Christ’s death. They went to honor what had died, and grieve over the loss. Most commonly, the death of Christ is associated with our death to sin and selfish desires of the flesh. However, it represented so much more than the old life and what was in the past to these disciples. Christ was a representation of Hope and Love. He was their connection to healing, council, and provision. When Christ died, it represented not just what had changed in their old life, but what they were living for in the future. Limited by human understanding, they returned to pay respects to what ended in the tomb.
We as people who know God, often find ourselves in a place of loss in life. It doesn’t work the way we imagined. We sometimes watch our hope and everything we live for be brutally crushed and seemingly destroyed. It is in these times we can head toward the tomb of loss and memorialize what was and what could have been. In confusion caused by our earthly view, we can turn towards sorrow and hopelessness. Grieving we can often go to a place where Jesus isn’t at.
They angel at the tomb, told them “he is not here.” He went on to remind them, Jesus had already spoken about this moment. The angel quoted, “for he has risen as he said.” Jesus wasn’t in what was seemingly lost. He wasn’t in hopelessness and crushed dreams. He had promised there was something greater to come, and he had followed through on his part. We have to remind ourselves, no matter what we see and even if we do not understand, we can always know Jesus is moving on to something far greater. We cannot go back and grieve over what we seemingly lost, as much as it seems to be the only thing to do. We must cling to hope and the promises of God. He will never leave us nor forsake us. His words are always true. God isn’t in the past, or your mistakes, or the tomb of your crushed dreams. It is simply what he used for you to access something greater.
Prayer: God help me not to lean to mine own understanding. Help me not to go back and mourn over what I feel like has ended and is passed away. Help me to look forward and find You through my faith and hope in the promises of your word. Help me to resist the temptation to look through my limits and instead look through your limitless power.