Memorize: News of Jesus’ resurrection
Key Verses: 1, 6, 10, 27, 32, 45, 51
The women come to the tomb to finish what they could not do because of the haste of the burial and the Sabbath day restrictions. When they arrive the tomb is open. The two heavenly beings who greet them speak the most hope-filled words in the human language: He is not here; he is risen. This is the difference between Jesus and every other religious figure in history. Jesus’ tomb is empty because death had no power over Him. You can’t kill God!
I love that women are the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. Only Peter and John respond by running to the tomb to check it out for themselves. Jesus appears to two as they walk away, probably returning home after the Feast. Jesus is not known until they begin to eat together. He took time to explain the Scriptures more carefully and how they related to Him and the events of the preceding days. Something about what Jesus said made their hearts burn. We too can experience that burning as we listen to Jesus. They return to the eleven (Judas having left) and relate their experience. Jesus shows up and eats with them.
It takes an opening of the mind by the Holy Spirit for someone to understand the Gospel in a way that leads to faith. They knew these things, but it only made sense when Jesus opened their minds. Our modern minds have been closed by the evolutionary gospel preached by our world, a gospel that excludes God from the mix. I am appalled the gymnastic mind games that must be played in order to believe the humanistic worldview that is propagated by our educational systems.
But Jesus is able to open our minds, to clear away the clutter, and teach us to think thoughts in line with His thinking. He knows it all, so it makes sense to model our thinking after His. Jesus came from heaven, returned to heaven and will come again from heaven to earth to take us to heaven for eternity. Since we will spend eternity with Him, let’s begin now to think like Him. These early disciples spend time worshipping and learning. We should do the same.
The Arnold Journey 