And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said to them, Why seek you the living among the dead? Luke 24: 5
I will share with you the story of two women: they witnessed the horrors of Friday, they endured the wait on Saturday and they came bearing spices and perfumes very early Sunday morning.
The Sabbath’s tradition kept them away from the tomb on Saturday. Burial rites and traditions brought them running to the tomb of Christ on Sunday morning. They didn’t come to see the resurrected King. They came to see the one who was violently murdered on Friday. They came with spices and perfumes to contain an already smelly situation. They came to patch up the body of the wounded King. They came looking for the living among the dead.
The wait on Saturday taught them to accept the horror of Friday. They have taken solace in the very first calm after a violent storm. The men have gone fishing, they have accepted the last 3 years of their lives as a waste.
Did they at least yearn for a miracle? Did they have any clue whatsoever of the coming grandeur on Sunday? Did they even believe the words of Christ when he said he will rise on the third day?
On Sunday morning as they entered the tomb, it was empty. They came face to face with the fulfillment of the scriptures, but they can’t see it. They encountered the supernatural, but they didn’t know it. They couldn’t just move past the agony of Friday.
So they yelled to the angel that rolled away the stone, give us his body so we can put spices on it. But what hope does that bring to a mourning mother? What comfort does that bring to a friend in agony? Yet that was all they craved on Sunday morning.
It is Sunday morning, the angel said. Why are you seeking the living among the dead? Did he not tell you that he will arise on the third day? At the angel’s words, they ran to the city bearing the news of his resurrection. The men left their fishing nets, remembering Christ called them to be fishers of men.
Even with the empty tomb, some of the men could not move past the agony of Friday. Thomas swore he will only believe if he felt the hole in his palm.
It may seem hard to witness the crucifixion on Friday and embrace the resurrection on Sunday.
Are you still looking for Christ on the cross? Are you still seeking the living among the dead? Then I must tell you that the stone has been rolled, Christ has risen and hope is alive.
We must all move past the agony of Friday in other to experience in full the victory Christ achieved through his death and resurrection.
To put your hope in anything other than the completed work of Christ is to seek the living among the dead. To trust in money, power, self-righteousness and many other things that will not satisfy is to seek the living among the dead.
Christ Jesus came so that you can have abundant life. Don’t you settle for anything less than the completed work of Christ? Don’t settle for the horror of Friday. Don’t get lost in the wait on Saturday. Sunday is here, why not embrace it? The power that raised Christ from the dead is still at work. It is more than capable of bringing hope to all hopeless situations. It is more than capable of rolling the stone from all forms of graves.
Christ did not come to patch the work of sin. He has given you complete victory over sin.
Christ did not come to be shamed on the cross. He came to shame the powers of darkness and strip them of their authority.
Christ did not come to be finished on the cross. He came to finish all that concerns you.
The narrative of Jesus Christ on earth ( the story of our redemption) never ended with his death. His resurrection opened a new chapter.
Christ has risen! Hope awakes!
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