The Awesome Message of the Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-8
What must it have felt like for the disciples when Jesus died? They had left everything for this man, followed Him for three years, and built all of their hopes and dreams on His ideas.
Not only that, but they had heard all the incredible things He said. He told them that He “was” even before Abraham lived. He said that He and the Father were one. He declared He was the only way to God. He had told them such amazing things, but now, there He was, hanging on a cross, dead. How could this be?
The disciples were confused, scared, mournful, and completely distraught. Only one thing could have turned them around. Only one thing could have breathed new life into their downtrodden spirits. Praise God, that one vital thing came in the cry of an excited friend running toward them, shouting, “He’s alive! He’s alive!” Jesus had beaten death.
Believers often take this news for granted. It seems so commonplace today to speak of the Resurrection of Jesus. Our familiarity, however, must never lessen the impact of the declaration, “He’s alive!”
For mankind, death had always been the final word, the inescapable end. By achieving victory over death, Jesus proved that He was who He claimed to be. By demonstrating that He had power over mankind’s greatest fear, He showed Himself to be mankind’s greatest friend, Savior, and Lord.
Does your heart leap when you hear the proclamation of the living Lord? Remove the clouded church lenses from your eyes and see the story fresh and new: Jesus is alive!
Daily Devotions with Dr. Charles Stanlley, InTouch Ministries