The second earthquake in three days shook the Judean landscape and "an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it." (Matthew 28:2) So much for a stone, a seal, and soldiers controlling the Son of God. Jesus was not there! The angel rolled the stone away to invite the terrified women into the tomb to see for themselves.
"He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.” (Matt. 28:6-7)
Jesus lives. Through scripture we are invited to observe the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are drawn to see for ourselves that Jesus fulfilled scripture as the Messiah and inspect the evidence that he lives.
The eyewitness testimony itself is stunning. Jesus first appeared to the women, then Peter, next to his disciples over a period of 40 days, and to more than 500 people at one time (1 Corinthians 15:5-6; Acts 1:3). Scripture says, "but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31)
We have been invited ‘in’ to see for ourselves.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." (John 1:12)
There is no stone that can keep God's love from you. There is no authority that can keep His grace from you. There is no presence that can keep His Spirit from filling you. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) As you believe in your living Savior, may every dead thing in you pass away, and may the Lord resurrect your life in him.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the resurrection of Jesus! Thank you for my salvation through faith in Him. I pray for your resurrection power to remove anything that holds me back from experiencing newness of life in my Savior Christ Jesus. Amen.