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When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’" (Mark 16:1-7)
When the 2 Marys and Salome got up that Sunday morning to anoint Jesus’ body, their main concern was how to roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb. But when they got there, the stone had been rolled away already, they saw a young man dressed in white sitting there and they found the tomb empty. There was nobody inside the tomb, there was no body inside the tomb! As the angel said: ‘He has risen! He is not here!’ Later that day, they saw Him, their precious Lord! Crucified and buried on Good Friday, alive on Easter Sunday!
There was something else the angel said to the women: ‘Go, tell his disciples and Peter!’
The Message of the Risen Christ is for all Followers
‘Go, tell his disciples’, the wonderful message that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead is a timely message for all followers of Jesus today, too! The message passed on by the women has also been passed on to us. We too, have opportunity to be followers of Jesus and to tell others the message.
The Message of the Risen Christ is for all Failures
Note that the instruction of the angel to the women was to "Go tell His disciples and Peter." Yes, this was a message for all followers, but also for Peter and anyone else who felt they were a failure. The women must be sure to tell Peter. Jesus of course knew of the torment Peter was experiencing, his sorrow for his sin of denying His master.
If the angel had only said, "Go tell His Disciples." Peter might have thought that the joy of this good news must not belong to him. Three times he denied Him, three times he disowned Him and may have felt that he deserved to be disowned by his Lord." This special message is to be given to Peter by name. Tell him that he shall be as welcome as the rest of the disciples to see Jesus in Galilee.
The message of the risen Christ is for all follower of Jesus. The message of the risen Christ is for all failures. The Resurrection changed failures into true followers two thousand years ago and has the power to do the same for us today.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor Bert |