He is not here

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. – Matthew 28.6

While the story of the crucifixion stirs me in one way, the story of the resurrection stirs me in quite another. This was the changing moment for all of history. From now on nothing would be the same.

Imagine how you would have felt if you have been one the disciples. Despite all the times Jesus had talked about His death and resurrection now He had actually died. Plus the disciples had to deal with the fact that they had abandoned Him. Peter had denied Him. We only have the record of John and Mary being at the cross. I can’t imagine how it was trying to sleep that Passover weekend. They had all apparently missed the part where Jesus said He would rise from the dead – in fact the only ones who were concerned about that were the authorities who had extra guards placed at the grave.

When the Sabbath was over it was time for the difficult task of properly sorting out Jesus’ body. The women set out to the task early on Sunday morning. The bulk of the work had been done at His burial when they wrapped His body in the grave clothes, but there was some final work to be accomplished.

As they approached the tomb they knew something was not right. The entrance stone was rolled away and an angel sat at the opening.

‘Don’t be afraid. I know you are looking for the crucified Jesus. He is not here, for He is risen.’ In another account the angel continues with the phrase ‘just as He said.’

There is so much packed into the words ‘He is risen.’ Death was well and truly beaten. Unlike any other religious leader in history there is no place to go see the grave where Jesus was buried. Because Jesus was risen His followers can rest in the fact that we too have nothing to fear in death. Death has lost its sting; the grave has lost its victory!

No matter how dark the day, no matter how bad the news, no matter how discouraging the events we still have ‘He is not here – He is risen’ to encourage us along our way.