Easter morning this year was a special time with God for me. I woke up early & decided to read the account of the resurrection in each of the Gospels. Each of them is a little different take on the site at the tomb that first Easter morning, but all of them share the simple but profound fact that Jesus wasn’t there.
For some reason, the account in Luke really struck me this time. In Luke 24:5, the two men at the tomb presumed to be angels say “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” The women were going to the equivalent of a cemetery, but they were also performing the function of a mortician. Luke 24:1 says they were bringing spices – I assume to prepare the body of Jesus & maybe even to diminish the stench of His dead body as it decayed in the tomb.
The question is so straight forward – “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Do we really get it? HE IS ALIVE! He is not dead. Death had no power over Him. He is the God of the universe.
Make no mistake, He died.
The women believed that.
His disciples had mostly fled.
Peter even denied that he knew Jesus.
I think Peter feared the same beating, flogging & death that he saw Jesus willingly taking for us. Everyone around Jesus knew He was dead. They were in mourning & confusion.
After my reading Easter morning, I went on to have one of the most intimate times of prayer with God I’ve ever experienced. The Holy Spirit used one sentence; one part of one verse in the Bible to really get my attention.
My encouragement for you is that the Bible can do that. It can touch us & change us & give us hope. Being in God’s word is like spiritual food. Eat it up!
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”
This is the reason we worship. This is the reason we serve. This is our reason for hope.