THE APPEARANCES (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”

Matthew 28:8-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The tomb was empty. Jesus was not there, an announcement made by supernatural messengers. He had risen just as He said He would, they said.

But risen where? Would He ever be seen again by anyone? If we do see Him, will He depart again?

I’m sure these questions and many more were rushing through the minds of the women at the tomb and others who Jesus appeared to after His resurrection and we’re going to look at six such appearances in this series bearing that name.

First, we go to Matthew’s Gospel and in his account, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” are the women at the tomb when a great earthquake shook the ground as an angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone that blocked the tomb entrance. The angel looked like lightning, sharply alit wearing clothes that were white as snow. The scene was so incredible and more than a little intimidating and scary, so much so that the guards at the tomb were absolutely paralyzed by their fear. The angel first puts the women at ease, telling them to not be afraid before explaining that Jesus was gone, risen just as He said would happen. The angel then invited the women to look inside the tomb themselves to see that it was indeed empty before giving them these orders:

“…go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

And with that, the women started to run from the tomb towards where the Eleven were in hiding, armed with the message from the angel. Matthew tells us they didn’t get far before they got to see for themselves that their Lord was alive and well. Look again at today’s passage:

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”  Matthew 28:8-10

Fresh off receiving the news that Jesus was no longer dead but very much alive, we read where they ran away with mixed emotions, fear intermingled with joy while hurrying to carry out the angel’s tasking. And then in a blink of an eye, there Jesus was, greeting them. They no longer had to rely on the angel’s word about their Savior and Master. They could see and touch Him themselves.

Imagine the moment and place yourself in the place of the women disciples. They had gone through deep sorrow for the past three days, first watching Jesus brutally tortured and crucified to death before His dead body was placed within the tomb. They prepared to anoint His body in the waning hours of Preparation Day and then at through what had to be a sorrow-filled Sabbath rest before they set out at first dawn to pay respects to their Lord and care for His corpse. I’m sure there were more than a few tears shed and the march to the tomb in the early morning hours of the first day of the week following the crucifixion had to be a solemn one, drenched in sadness and gloom.

But now, in a matter of mere moments, their despair had been immediately converted to bliss. Their Savior was alive and lost in the absolute joy of the moment, we find them expressing their complete, utter gladness by going to Him and clasping His feet as if they never wanted to lose Him ever again. And then, they worshiped Him, bring the deepest level of devotion and reverence for their Lord. Once believed lost, Jesus was now found again.

It was quite a moment but one that we see Jesus not wanting to get soaked up in. For we see that He has much for the women to do, like getting back to what the angel had commanded and go to the Eleven to make report of what they had witnessed. Jesus added some guidance Himself, telling the women to have the disciples go to Galilee where they would see Him one final time before He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God who had placed Him in full authority over everything in heaven and on earth.

And so the women, fresh off their Jesus appearance, did what Jesus told them to do, ever obedient to His word and will.

Through this account, we see how all believers should respond when we encounter Jesus in our own lives.

First, we should be filled with absolute, unmitigated joy over the salvation we gain through Him.

Second, we should hold onto Jesus and never let go. When we are connected to Him, we don’t leave room for sin to gain a foothold in our lives. When we stray from Him and rely on our own devices, then we can be assured we are heading down the wrong road and destined for trouble.

Third, we should worship Jesus with every fiber of our being because He is worthy of our fullest honor and praise. Whether by word or song, our first and foremost tribute should be to our Lord for His goodness, grace, mercy, and love.

Finally, we should do as He tells us to do in obedience. He is our Savior but He is also in complete authority over us and so when He tells us to do something, it’s not optional. We are required to carry it out.

And with this, devotion number one in this series is complete. I hope join me again tomorrow for the second appearance message. Be blessed!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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