Easter, April 17, 2022
Watch that Stone Roll Away
Easter
is much more than an annual day on the calendar. It’s a remarkable experience.
It’s a celebration of God’s victory over evil. You can do more than read about
it. You can turn off your cell phone and go stand in front of that stone-sealed
tomb. There you can watch God at work.
You
feel the earth shaking beneath your feet. Your eyes are fastened on the angel
who suddenly appears in dazzling white clothes. You hear the crunching sound of
that huge stone rolling aside when the angel touches it. You see the fear in
the eyes of the Roman guards as they fall to the ground like dead men.
You hear someone running and
turning, you see Peter and John rush up to the open tomb. John hesitates. Peter
walks right in. Curious, you peer inside and see what Peter sees. The body of
Jesus is not there, only the linens and the cloth that had been on his head. You
say nothing as Peter and John walk away in stunned amazement.
You
hear someone crying. It’s Mary and other women arriving. Your can hardly
believe what you see before you as the women enter the tomb. Two mighty angels
suddenly appear. And with a voice like none you ever heard before, one angel
says to the women, “Do not fear. I know you are looking for Jesus. He is not
here; he has risen, just as he said.” The women stop weeping but are
speechless. Then the angel tells the women, “Go quickly and tell his disciples
he has risen from the dead and will meet you in Galilee.”
You
stand there, amazed at the change in the women. Though still fearful, they now
seemed filled with joy. Then as the women hurry away to obey the angel, your
knees buckle as Jesus, alive and well, suddenly appears before you and the
women. You recognize him immediately although Mary thinks Jesus is the
gardener. But when Jesus quietly says, “Mary,” she realizes it is Jesus
speaking to her. Her despair turns into
joy as Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to meet me in
Galilee.”
What
happened to Mary can happen to you when you believe what you have witnessed on
that resurrection morning. Mary was convinced Jesus was alive, so convinced
that she said breathlessly to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”
Standing there, before that
empty tomb, you too can believe God raised Jesus from the dead. And once you
believe that, you will soon see evidence daily that he is still alive and
changing people like he changed Mary and the disciples back then. The most
telling evidence, however, will be the change he makes in you when he turns
your despair into gladness and fills you with such joy that you feel compelled
to tell others, “I too have seen the Lord!”
He is Risen! Hallelujah! + + +