“behold, I have told you”
Yesterday during class, I began as usual by sharing a devotion. We were meeting online; it was easy to see my students’ faces clearly as I read aloud God’s Word. There is something beautiful about the Word of God, a uniqueness I have experienced over and over, for each time read aloud, the Bible causes attentiveness. Since we are mere days away from Easter Sunday, it was easy to know what to share for the devotion; therefore, I settled in upon the scene at the tomb 2,000+ years ago, when Jesus arose from the grave.
“Now after the Sabbath,
(The Gospel According to Matthew 28: 1-7 NAS)
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred,
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven
and came
and rolled away the stone
and sat upon it.
And his appearance was like lightning,
and his clothing as white as snow.
The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women,
“Do not be afraid;
for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
He is not here,
for He has risen,
just as He said.
Come, see the place where He was lying.
Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead;
and behold,
He is going ahead of you into Galilee,
there you will see Him;
behold,
I have told you.”
- Nothing was left to chance.
- No detail was not planned perfectly.
- GOD orchestrated the entirety of the situation eloquently.
- The LORD was in control.
JEHOVAH GOD dictated how the events played out: from the birth of His only begotten Son—to the death on the cross—to the burial in the borrowed tomb—to the Resurrection Morning—when Jesus walked out alive!
- Imagine the great honor it must have been to be the selected angel who God sent to proclaim this Great News.
- Also, recall how the prophets proclaimed for generations this coming divine truth.
The present-day believers were in shock that their Savior was crucified, and the world was in shock, not understanding how their long-awaited King could be dead. No one fully understood, and I believe that “disbelief” may have been the emotion permeating every believer’s heart that Friday noontime when darkness covered the earth for three hours. Their day of Sabbath (the Saturday that followed the crucifixion) must have truly been a somber day of weeping, of anguish, and of unrest.
Then Sunday morning came!
- The women gathered the spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.
- The women surely must have stepped over fallen rocks, trees, and other debris because an earthquake of great magnitude had occurred.
- The women talked as they walked, discussing how they would ever move the massive stone placed in front of Jesus’ tomb.
- The women immediately felt anxiety in their chest when they saw the stone had been rolled away, & then,
The angel told those frightened women—
“Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
(The Gospel According to Matthew 28: 5-6 NAS)
He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.
Come, see the place where He was lying.”
The details were not random, nor was the event of the crucifixion one of mere chance. The entirety of Jesus coming to earth, dying upon the cross, rising again to new life—
GOD’S ULTIMATE PLAN TO REDEEM MANKIND FROM THEIR SINS!
Just hours before Jesus’ crucifixion, after the Passover meal in the upper room, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss on the cheek. The disciples with Jesus were distraught when the guards arrested Jesus, and Peter even struck off a guard’s ear with his sword. This scene must have caused the disciples to react in fear and disbelief, even though Jesus had forewarned them time and again how the events would go.
Maybe, just as the disciples, we too do not listen to the words of Jesus.
With blood coming from the guard’s ear, with Peter’s sword held tightly in his grip, we hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the One sent to redeem all men.
“Then Jesus said to him,
(The Gospel According to Matthew 26: 52-54 NAS)
“Put your sword back into its place;
for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.
Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father,
and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled,
which say that it must happen this way.”
“behold, I have told you”
With amazement, awe, honor, and praise, we should see how Jesus could have stopped the events of the crucifixion. What amazing love the Son of God has for us, that He would allow the events to proceed just as His Father planned! With assurance, Jesus gave His life so that we might believe in Him, place our faith in Him, trust in Him, & receive His free gift of Salvation.
With humility, may we walk the rest of our earthly days—obedient to His command.
- How will we celebrate the Easter season?
- Will we do as the angel commanded the women: Go & Tell?
- Will we listen to the details of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection as just a narrative told each Easter?
- Will we honor the King of kings?
- Will we honor the Creator of the universe?
Will we tell the world?
Will we invite everyone we meet to come to church with us this Easter Sunday?
If the Bible foretold of the first coming of Jesus with such astonishing accuracy, &
If the Word of God foretold of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection with such amazing detail,
- SHOULD WE NOT—ANTICIPATE WITH CERTAINTY THE SOON-TO-OCCUR RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS?
- SHOULD WE NOT—RECALL HOW GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES?
- SHOULD WE NOT—PREPARE OUR HEARTS, REALIZING HOW TODAY COULD BE THAT DAY JESUS COMES AGAIN FOR HIS CHURCH? & finally
- SHOULDN’T WE TELL THOSE WE MEET TODAY—“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.”