Matthew 28:6-"He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”

 What a roller coaster of emotions the disciples had been through in the last couple of days.

As they came into Jerusalem for the Passover celebration a parade of sorts came together honoring and praising Jesus as King.  There must have been a sense of elation and joy, a sense of work finally beginning to pay off.  A few short days later, Jesus hung on a cross.  He was being crucified as a criminal of the worst kind.

The disciple’s hearts and minds must have been reeling.  I imagine they were asking themselves what to do now?  Where do they go from here?  The last few years of their lives had been completely devoted to this man of God and now he was gone.

Now they receive a message from the women; they receive a message from an angel of God – “He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said”.

As I ponder the resurrection story this morning, I cannot begin to understand what the disciples must have thought or felt when they heard this new message.  I do not what I think and feel when I read this message today.  Christ the Lord has risen today; Hallelujah!

The chains of sin lay broken at the foot of the cross and there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God anymore.  I join in the songs of nature; I join in the praises of people around the world as we celebrate the risen Christ and the joy of our salvation through our risen Lord.

Christ is risen; He is raised indeed!

 

Lord,

I praise your holy name and I lift my heart in celebration for the precious gift of your salvation to me and to all.  I pray that many souls will come to know you through this celebration of your resurrection and that like the disciples in the gospel, we will be encouraged to go and tell others this incredible, amazing story.  To your glory and honor I pray.  Amen.