(part 3 of 3)
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! “
Luke 24 1-6
As I meditated on this passage I identified a couple marks of a resurrected life that I believe are relevant for every born again child of God! The first thing that I perceived was that Jesus, after His resurrection, refused to stay among the dead! The angel asked the women… “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen!” Resurrected people don’t live in cemeteries. Although we lived among the dead at one time, God has called us by His grace out of that old life:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.”
Paul goes on to say in Ephesians that God has raised us up with Christ and seated us in heavenly places! You can’t live in heavenly places if you are still trying to live among the dead! As you move away from that dead way of life you can be certain that there will be those to whom news of your “resurrection” will seem like nonsense:
“When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”
Luke 24: 9-11
It isn’t characteristic of a “dead person” to leave their tomb! That is why Peter upon hearing their words ran to the tomb. Gazing inside he saw all the things associated with a dead man… the stone, the slab, the linens, but the dead man was gone. Scripture tells us that Peter left the tomb “wondering”. You see, a resurrected life is one marked by uncharacteristic changes. A dead man is lifeless, stationary, lacks creativity and is unable to reproduce. A resurrected life looks different and acts different. A resurrected life is full of life, hope, and passion. After Jesus’ death, the disciples were locked behind closed doors when Jesus appeared to them. Luke 24:37 tells us:
“They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.”
The last picture they had of him was beaten, bloodied and hanging on a cross. They didn’t recognize him…ALIVE! Likewise, there will be lots of folks to whom news of your resurrection is going to seem like nonsense, because they only remember you as being “dead in sin”. They won’t immediately recognize the changes in you. Like Jesus, you will carry around the scars of your past life, but you will also carry with you the life that is in Him too!
Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment