Day 2611 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge. Matthew 28:6. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. NIV
There’s a problem with promises in our world today. We’ve grown accustomed to them being taken lightly to the point of never really being sure if we can count on them. We’re used to being let down and disappointed by promises that we thought we could lean on. It’s a really unfortunate thing when the whole idea of a promise now comes with this hint of doubt because we’ve been burned in the past and we know that that same disappointment can happen again.
So it’s no wonder that when people outside of our faith or even those who are maybe not quite sure what they believe don’t really know if this whole Easter story can possibly be true. As humans, we have this innate doubt built into our hearts that typically keeps us at a bit of a distance from fully letting go and trusting anyone because of those who have failed to uphold their word. Even those back in Christ’s day weren’t quite sure. So they got up early in the morning and went to His grave to find out just how truthful this Jesus guy really is.
That’s the truly beautiful part of what we celebrate this Easter Sunday. He is faithful. He is truthful. He is reliable. He is a promise keeper. He is who He claims to be. He is risen! So not only is He someone that we can fully trust and put our faith in, but He is in every possible way more than we can possibly understand or imagine. We don’t have to doubt. We don’t have to wonder if He will let us down. We don’t have to approach our faith with this hesitation in the form of worrying that we’ll be let down or that He will in some way fail us.
Jesus cannot possibly let us down because He is more than we could ever hope for, more than we’ll ever need. And yet, He knew that we would instinctually doubt because of our human condition. So He came to this earth to help us see that we can lean on Him. He came to prove that He is everything He claims to be. He came to prove that even death cannot change who He is or what He has planned and promised. He came to show us that He really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And that even the very worst of what this world can do cannot take that life from Him.
And when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, that new life that we celebrate today is ours as well. We share not only in His death and burial. We share not only in the misery and sorrow of the crucifixion of Good Friday. We also share in the opportunity to walk out of the grave. We share in the chance to leave the old behind, buried in that tomb, and step into this new creation that He literally gave everything to give us.
Friends, Easter isn’t just another holiday where some stores close down and people gather with their families. It’s not just some dyed eggs and fuzzy rabbits. It isn’t just a story of something that happened long ago that we have no connection to. Easter is a story that each of us can live for ourselves. It’s a story that involves all of us. It’s the story of the fulfillment of a promise that none of us deserve given by a God who has no reason to do anything for us other than that He simply loves us even when we don’t deserve it.
When Christ left that tomb empty, He proved to that He is big enough to take on whatever we’ve been carrying and help us start again. He proved that what was once dead can be made alive again. He proved that although the power of sin that leads to death may seem inescapable, that even the death that our old choices has earned can’t stop what He has planned and promised to those who have faith in His salvation. His forgiveness is real because He is real because He is has proven Himself in every way imaginable.
Today is the promise that everything before has led to. Today is the fulfillment of who God said He is. Today is the victory over death and the shameful lives that we’ve lived in the past. Today is the realization that Christ is enough. Don’t let doubt keep you at a distance anymore. Don’t let this human fear of being let down keep you from giving Christ a chance. Don’t let anything prevent you from accepting the gift that we celebrate Him fulfilling today.
It may seem impossible and in the realm of human understanding, it is. But God isn’t limited by what we think is possible. Trust Him. Have faith in His promises. There is absolutely nothing that He can’t do, and that empty tomb proves it!
Happy Resurrection Sunday my friends! The tomb is empty, death overcome, and our Savior reigns!
