Last weekend, we celebrated Easter. On Friday, we celebrated Good Friday and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by dying on the cross. He suffered a horrific beating beforehand, then had to walk through town with the cross, and finally was nailed to it and then hung to die. All while being mocked and ridiculed. Thank you,Father God, for sending Jesus to die for my sins, and thank you, Jesus for being obedient to the Father and going to the cross for me. And demonstrating the ultimate form of love.
My hubby and I watched The Passion of the Christ on Friday night. At one point, after he was beaten and bruised, I started thinking to myself about how violent it was; if it were anyone else getting whipped and shredded to pieces like that, we wouldn't be watching the movie. Hubby reminded me that this was beautiful because through this terrible treatment, He did it out of love for us. He is right, of course. I quickly reset my mind and went back to being thankful like I was at the beginning of the movie. I share that portion with you incase you ever think the same thing, we are wrong, but you are not alone in this thought.
Then on Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection, there would be no Christian faith. Jesus would simply have been a nice man and a good teacher who was killed because the religious people of the day didn’t like what He had to say. But He wasn’t and isn’t just a nice, wise man who died. He IS our Lord and Saviour. He is our connection with our Heavenly Father and our connection to eternity in Heaven one day.
John 20:1-18 was the text that our visiting evangelist preached through on Sunday morning. John 20:1-18 NKJV '1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.' 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together , and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also, and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, *Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him. "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher)."
After discovering that the tomb was empty, Peter and John went home and went on with life. But Mary went searching for Jesus. She wasn't satisfied knowing that His body had been moved; she wanted to know where it was. She asked a man, whom she thought was the gardener, where Jesus's body was. She needed to find Him. As soon as the gardener opened His mouth and said her name, Mary knew that the man was Jesus. She found Him.
Jesus did His part and faithfully went to the cross for us. Now it's time we do our part and seek Him. He isn't hiding, but He does want us to put forward effort to seek after Him and find Him. It's not enough to know that the tomb is empty; we have to search for Him and find Him. We will find Him. He wants to be found by us. But He wants us to be intentional and seek Him. We have to respond to the empty tomb by seeking after Him and building a relationship with Him. Whether you are a new believer or you have loved Him so long you don't remember life before Jesus. We have to continue to seek after Him and deepen our relationship with Him. Every day this week, God has reminded me of that. And every day I am responding and seeking after Him and deepening my relationship with Him. Was I already seeking Him before that sermon? Yes, but I am now doing it with a renewed passion.
I pray this message encourages and challenges you to respond to the empty tomb and seek after our Lord and Saviour. Hallelujah! He is risen! I pray blessings over you today, friend, as you enter into this next season of seeking after Jesus.
God Bless
~Hannah
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