Holy Week Devotional - Sunday

Matthew 28:1-10 – “1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.””

The resurrection of Jesus is, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15, the fulcrum of history.  Our faith stands or falls on whether this event happened or not.  In 1 Cor 15:17, Paul said, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”  If the resurrection did not happen, we are living a lie and it is futile and we are to be pitied.  If the resurrection DID happen, we are living the glorious, life-changing truth that impacts eternity.

There is no in-between.

Some scholars like to think that the resurrection happened in a symbolic sense, but not in a real, physical sense.  But the early Christians banked everything on the resurrection being real.  The Church would never have gotten started if not for the resurrection.  We have abundant historical evidence that the early Christians believed that Jesus really rose from the dead.  It is foundational to our faith.

But one of the most interesting aspects of the resurrection is found in this account in Matthew 28.  Notice who found the empty tomb.  Mary and Mary Magdalene.  Women.  That may seem unimportant to us today, but in that culture, that was quite noteworthy. 

You see, women had no standing in that culture.  They had no power, and their word wasn’t even good in a court of law.  If the first Christians were making up the story of the resurrection, the last thing they would have done is had women play such an integral part of the story.  They’d simply have left that out.  But they didn’t leave it out, because that’s exactly what happened, and they were committed to telling the true story. 

The resurrection really happened.  Jesus really rose from the dead, conquering sin and death.  Because of that, we too can have victory over sin and death. 

Our faith is grounded in historical reality, not wishful thinking.  That’s always good to come back to when you experience doubts.  Jesus really died on the cross and He really rose from the dead.  His tomb really is empty.  Christianity is TRUE.

When you think about Easter, yes, you think about the resurrection.  But do you think about the importance of the resurrection?  Do you think about the implications?  Do you think about how history and all of eternity changed because of what happened on Easter? 

Today, take some time to thank God for the resurrection.  Thank Him for new life.  Thank Him that it’s not a fairy tale, but a true story of the Son of God giving His life for us and rising again in victory on your behalf.  Think about someone in your life who needs to hear this amazing true story.  And then go share it with them.