After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Matthew 28:1
Again, it is the women* who do not hold back from showing their devotion to Jesus—they had been present at His burial and so were among the last of Christ’s followers to see His body being placed in the tomb—and, on the dawn of His resurrection, they are the first to visit the tomb. Their dedication to Jesus was evident.
On that morning, simply by being faithful and available, these women were blessed to be the first people to see the resurrected Christ!
What blessings do we miss by failing to be faithful and available to our Lord? Let’s spend the last moments of each day, and the first moments of the next, expressing our devotion for God and see what He does in, through, and around us!
Lord, help me to remain faithful and available to You today and always. I ask for the blessing of seeing You at work.
Praying for you—
Jim Barker
*see Pastor Mark’s entry on Monday, February 9 entitled “Extravagant Worship”
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Another earthquake shook the earth as the angel rolled back the stone covering the tomb. Three days before the earth shook and the curtain in the Temple exposed the Holy of Holies. Today the earth shook and God’s act of redemption is revealed. Those without faith saw the angel and shook with fear. Those with faith saw the angel and were told not to fear but to take a message back to Jesus’ disciples: “He is risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.” Fear, joy and obedience gripped them as they ran to tell His disciples. Then Jesus appears to them. Fear, joy, obedience now gave way to faith renewed, joy, worship and obedience. An encounter with Jesus can change a life forever. When the soldiers reported the story of the resurrection, they were offered money to keep their mouths shut. In the camp of evil, deception, self-seeking, lying and closed minds abound. The eleven disciples went to Galilee and met with Jesus. The next phrase disturbs me: “...but some doubted.” How could some still doubt? Jesus tells them that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. With that, He gives them a commission to make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that He had commanded. The command I hear now is, “Love one another.” The transcending promise of His presence with them always is throughout eternity. What they had witnessed and could not speak before to others is now released. Under the authority of Jesus and assurance always of His presence with them, they are to make disciples. To all Believers, the promise still stands and so does the commission. And so ends Matthew’s account of the life, ministry and message of Jesus.
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