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"But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
(Matthew 25:5-6)
For the first time in the history of Christianity, Easter was widely observed not in churches, but online. Both our Good Friday and Easter worship services at GHBC were broadcast on multiple social media platforms. It was just me and our media pastor in the large, empty sanctuary at Great Hills Baptist Church. It was quite odd. The church is not the building or steeple, though; it is much more: the church is the people.
Like many churches across the world, we have seen our church grow tremendously in these challenging days. In fact, we have quintupled in size. I call it God's mathematics. Many people are hurting and faced with their limitations and mortality more than any other time in their lives. It is our time (in Greek, it would be a kairos time) when the Church of Jesus Christ stands boldly in the onslaught of these torrential rains and howling winds. How can we do that? We only have to look at our verse for today's devotion when it says, "for He is risen". Praise God for the Son has risen indeed! We stand with much hope and confidence, because as Alfred Henry Ackley timelessly wrote in the hymn, "He Lives":
I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him, He's always near
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
Followers of Jesus Christ all over the world can say with security and great joy that we know the tomb is empty because our hearts are full. They are full of peace and not dread, hope and not hopelessness, faith and not doubt, security and not insecurity. Christ-followers are not exempt from the travails and vicissitudes of life. The sun shines and the rain falls on us all. In Matthew 5:45 Jesus taught: "That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
I have been to Jerusalem, and by far my favorite part of the old city is the Garden Tomb, the place where Jesus' body lay for a short three days. The tomb is just as empty today as it was when Jesus walked out of it nearly 2,000 years ago. The tomb of Jesus is equally empty this Monday as it was yesterday on Resurrection Sunday. This historical, verifiable fact should bring you great joy today, no matter what your circumstances are. If God can create the world in six days and raise His Son from the dead, He can save and deliver you.
Let us praise God for eternal life given to us because of the work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. Let us be faithful messengers of this great Gospel and go and tell as many people as we can that Jesus is alive, and He saves!
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