Preparing For Holy Week–The Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus Christ has what the great Bible translator J. B. Phillips called “the ring of truth.” When you look at the accounts of the resurrection, they have a reasonableness to them.

Those who testified of Christ’s resurrection are credible witnesses. They are ordinary people with an extraordinary story.

Two aspects of the Gospel of Mark stand out at the beginning of the story (Mark 16:1-8). Only the women went to the tomb, and they went only to anoint the body of Jesus. Both of these are amazing facts.

The women did not expect to find a risen Lord; they did expect to find a dead body. They went to the tomb as a last act of love, devotion, and kindness toward Jesus. Their concern was not looking for a risen Savior. They wondered how they would be able to move the stone.

If the disciples made up the stories of Jesus’ resurrection, they were very poor stories. Women in that day were not considered credible witnesses. Jewish society did not take the word of women. You can see this reflected in the words and deeds of the disciples. They found it difficult to accept what the women had to say.

The disciples simply had a hard time believing anyway. Think of Thomas (John 20:24-29). Of course, we have the same difficulty. Their difficulty adds to the truthfulness of their testimony.

The women left the tomb “for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).

This plain statement leaves us questioning what happened. It calls us to a decision. Like them, we have to decide: “who is Jesus? Is He the Son of God? Is He my Lord?”

This remains the question. You are not adequately prepared for Passion Week and resurrection Sunday until you are prepared in your heart to receive Him as your Lord and your God. Only then are we ready to worship and know “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

May God bless your worship and adoration of our living Lord.

Each day this week we have looked at what Jesus did during His last week of earthly ministry. If you would like to review these, you may find the previous posts at www.waylonbailey.com on pages 1 and 2 of the website. As always, you can search previous posts by going to the search function.

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One Response

  1. The History Channel had a replay of the previous weeks yesterday. Along with the reading of Mark and Isaiah, it was a solemn time of reflection and sadness over our lack of progress in Him which tempered my Joy.

    Another opportunity to enjoy Dr. Mac Hubble’s DSM training:

    The final pages of George Simon, Jr., Ph. D.’s “In Sheep’s Clothing” painted the same concern for our society and sad frustration.

    In the past I have shared some “in house” examples, up close and personal and kept other examples private. The notion of killing the messenger persists.

    Broken hearted.

    Modern Day Greek greeting this day is: Christ has Risen, Hristos anesti
    the response is: Truly He has Risen, also translated as:
    He has Risen Indeed, or In plain sight He has Risen, Alithos anesti

    Blessings

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