Sunday, May 16
Come on in!
Scripture: 2 Samuel 1-2, Mark 16
Mark 16:6–7 “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. 7 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.’ ”
Observation
The women went to the tomb on a practical mission: to finish embalming the dead body of Jesus. Their concern was how to move the stone that sealed the tomb. “Who will roll the stone away for us?” They were astonished to find the stone already moved and the tomb empty—no body of Jesus, but a young man dressed in white who told them that Jesus was risen and was not there.
Why was the stone moved? It was not to let Jesus out. His resurrected body had passed through the graveclothes and would later pass through locked doors. It had no doubt passed through the stone walls of his tomb as well. The stone was moved not to let Jesus out, but to let His disciples in, to let them see that He was no longer there, that the tomb was empty. The stone was moved for us, not Him. He is risen!
Application
First, He is risen! That’s the message of the empty tomb—and it’s the core of the gospel. Jesus has conquered sin and death. He has brought us to God and given us eternal life! He is risen! It is not only the central fact of the gospel but the central fact of our lives, our daily existence. We live because He lives!
Second, God invites us in! The stone was moved not to let Jesus out, but to let us in. The curtain in the temple was torn not to let God out of the Holy of Holies, but to let us in. In Jesus we have access. Where we had been excluded, we are not included, invited in—all because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Live today in God’s presence!
Prayer: Lord, today I will live in the presence of Jesus, the resurrected and living Savior. Thanks for inviting me in!