Text:John 20; Is. 1; Mark 13
Today is the pinnacle day of the Christians faith. All of our beliefs and the scripture, the very Word of God, is anchored in the resurrection of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If Jesus would not have been brutally and unjustly murdered, we would never have forgiveness of sin. If Christ would not have risen from the grave, he would not have been God and this would have nullified the sacrifice of God. It would also mean we would have no hope of eternal life and no power over the flesh.
When we look at the resurrection of Christ, we see many events and significant items. First, the ladies must have split up and Mary Magdalene finds Peter and John while the others find the other 9 disciples. Peter and John race towards the tomb to find it empty just as they were told. Inside though we see the grave clothes just in a pile. Of course Jesus had no need for them any more as He had just risen from the dead. Also, the head napkin was folded and placed in a different place. This is not by accident of course. Jesus Christ was letting them all know that He was coming back. Traditionally, this is what you would do when you left the dinner table and were coming back.
On that note, Christ is coming back one day. He will set up His kingdom and rule on this earth. The question is, what are you and I doing about it? We must live for the kingdom and not ourselves, Is. 1. Israel was wasting what God had given them and polluting the whole spiritual system. God does not want more sacrifices and offerings, He desires obedience and our surrender to Him and the Father’s will.
It is time that the church of God wake up, Mark 13. In the sermon on the mount during the holy week, Christ tells His disciples that God’s judgement and His kingdom is coming one day. There will be signs and God will reveal it in His time. We must be on the guard and watch! This word carries the idea of waking up. Too many christians today are asleep and refuse to see what is going on. The other idea of this word is to give strict attention to. May we not only wake up, but heed our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!