Monday, May 5, 2014
Matthew 28:5-6 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay."
MORE TIME TO SPEND WITH JESUS
Jesus' closest friends had their time with Him cut tragically short. His disciples had walked with Him for three years and then had heard Him say, "The Passover is two days away-- and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
Then in the last few hours they had with Jesus, they wound up spending it fast asleep while He prayed in agony, one of them denying that He ever knew the Man, and another so scared that he simply ran away from Jesus, leaving even his garment behind. We might say the disciples wasted their final precious minutes with the Lord.
It must have been hard for them knowing that their last moments with Christ had been stained by such sin and failure. If only now they could have more time with Jesus! More time to speak with Him again and confess their guilt. More time to hear Him say, "Fear not. I do not hold it against you." If only they had more time to walk with Him and be comforted by Him again.
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, that opportunity came. For the tomb was found empty. The Lord had risen from the dead.
What did it mean? It meant there would be more time to be with Jesus! For the disciples it meant that those last embarrassing moments spent with the Lord would not be the last moments they would ever spend with Him! They would hear their Master's comforting voice again. They would recall His gracious words that they knew so well. Words like: "Your sins are forgiven," "I am the resurrection and the life, whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
For us today too, Easter gives us more time with Jesus. More time to pour out our hearts to Him in confession. More time to listen to His gracious words of forgiveness and love. More time to fall before Him in prayer and worship.
