Easter Series

Do not be fooled by the culture!

Our God is not the the same as the Muslim, Indian, Buddhist or the Spiritualist. Jesus is not passe.

The idea of a Savior who redeems is not a fairytale.

God’s Word is not unreasonable.

God’s love is not debatable.

Believing in Jesus has changed and continues to change everything.

The story we read every Easter is the Good News because it tells of the beginning of the greatest transformation ever. The scriptures describe it so we can place ourselves in the middle of the event.

The mood is so clear in my mind. It’s been a couple of days. The grief is still lingering from the events of the past Friday. The disciples and the entourage are hanging around in shock. Everything they thought they knew has been turned upside down. Jesus who was the messiah was dead and in the ground. What now? The ladies couldn’t take it so they took the long walk to the tomb to take care of the body. They all knew Jesus personally and yet, they hadn’t fully grasped the storyline they are playing a part in.

Take a listen from John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

I really love John letting us know he one the race to the tomb. It tells us a little about their rivalry but also about their state of mind. They were as befuddled as any new believer on Easter morning. What is happening? Who did this? How will this affect me or us? What should we do now?

By just heading back to the Bed and Breakfast, we see their struggle in processing the event. They like so many, when our truth is challenged by God's truth, return to safety hoping to find answers.

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.