As He Said!

As He Said!

‭Matthew 28:6 AMP‬

[6] He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said [He would]. Come! See the place where He was lying.

The events of the first Easter never cease to amaze. As we have already established, our hope was sealed when Jesus died and also rose again. If He did not rise, we would not have any hope of also rising with Him. Because He lives, we also know we will live. The question may also arise as to the veracity of the claim that He rose from the dead. How can anyone be sure? Today's verse tries to answer that question and even more. As we know, eyewitness testimony is still the best version of evidence to be presented in a law court. The people of the city, as well as the disciples and the women who followed Jesus saw his crucifixion, as well as His burial. It was also important that they be witnesses to His resurrection.

The burial site was prepared, a stone was set up to seal the tomb, and guards were placed to secure the site. It was good that all these were done, because it makes the fact of resurrection even more difficult to deny. When it was time for the manifestation of the power of God, an angel of the Lord came, rolled the stone away and sat on it. The women had spent the night preparing the perfume to anoint the body of Jesus, but they met the stone rolled away. The angel asked them to come in and see for themselves the place where a body once lay, but the body was no longer there. Whatever was once alive, but is now dead and buried, must receive the life of God today. 

The women could have forgotten, but Jesus always mentioned the facts that He would die, and that He would also rise again. Like all mortal men, we focus and magnify the bad news, and forget the good news. Yes, it was bad that Jesus had to die a shameful death, but it is that death that has sealed life for me. His death on the cross was His past, and the life He has secured is now my present and future. He does not leave me without hope for the present and the future. His Word can be trusted, because they come from a place of absolute power. He can back up whatever it is He has said. 

Whatever it is that has died must receive the life of God today. All the hard things that seem to bother me must have an encounter with the God who reverses the irreversible and changes the unchangeable. As the angel invited the women to come in and see the evidence of the exercise of the power of God, so does God invite us all to come and see the display of His power and splendour. Jesus is alive, and His life is now my own reality. He has also promised me a home with Him when this present earthly phase is over. If He is true about resurrection, I am assured He is also true about my eternal reward. I hold on to Him as I trust Him for the fulfilment of His promises. God's time of favour is here.