No Longer In The Grave
Once upon a time, a great loving King was crucified most horrifically. He was the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and He came to reconcile us back to Him through His crucifixion. He was the Lamb slain before the foundations of the earth – before He created humanity and the world we now live in (Rev. 13:8).
This great and loving King knew clearly what we, His beloved children, would do with the free will He gave us before He even created the world we live in. And yet He still created us and He still created this world, along with His plan to go through the crucifixion for us. What an awesome, loving plan this was. It demonstrates a love that is difficult for many to understand. And yet it does not change His love. It is steady and sure. He deeply loves and values us. Let Him embrace you with His love for He is awesomely devoted to you.
He came to the earth He created to redeem and restore you and everything He’d created to its original state. And He came Himself to pay the price no one else could. For no one else was worthy. This demonstrates the foreknowledge of our great and loving King. Amazing grace! Amazing love! Imagine yourself being lovingly pursued by this great & loving King.
Fast forward now to His crucifixion. Darkness covered the earth for three hours (from noon to 3 p.m.) just after Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). After Jesus cried out with a loud voice “It is finished” (John 19:30) He gave up His spirit (Mark 15:37-39) and the temple veil was “rent in twain” from the top to the bottom. The veil was massive and very heavy. It is said that it was 60 feet high by 30 feet wide and weighed 4 to 6 tons. Picture that in your mind. Who but God could have torn the veil starting from 60 feet high going down to the bottom? Now nothing would be able to keep you from having a relationship with Him if you desire to have one. Such an awesome display of passion and power.
The chief priests and Pharisees were concerned about the great and loving Kings’ disciples stealing His body and then deceiving the people by claiming that He had risen from the dead just as He had said He would in three days. They wanted to avoid this at all costs. So they appealed to Pilate to seal the tomb and secure it with guards. But Pilate told the chief priests and Pharisees to get their own guards. So they ordered their guards to seal the tomb and set a guard over it.
This was devastating to the great and loving King’s disciples: everything looked over. All their dreams, ambitions, and hopes destroyed. But the story does not end there! Hang on. For what the King planned before the foundations of the earth, no one could stop!
Suddenly, on the third day, there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord descended, broke the seal, rolled the stone away and sat down on it! This angel appeared clothed in dazzling white and what appeared to be lightning (Mt 28:2-4). Imagine that amazing sight. The power of our great and loving King was visible to even the guards, who shook in fear when they saw this. Imagine being one of these guards. What were they going to tell the chief priests and Pharisees now? Imagine being in their shoes. What a devastating day it seemed for them (Mt 27:63-66).
Yet it was the most powerful day in history! While these mighty guards shook in fear for what they saw, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” were comforted by the angel who told them not to be afraid, “for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here. For He has risen, just as He said. Come see where the place where He was lying. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead. He is going before you into Galilee there you will see Him; behold I have told you.” (Mt. 28:5-7)
Will you believe in the great and loving King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Would you like to know what His plans are? Would you like to be in a relationship with Him so that He can teach you His plans and cooperate with them? Do you believe what He says will happen?
Why is the King’s resurrection important? John 11:25-26 tells us that “He is the resurrection and the life. And He who believes in Him, though He is dead, will live. And whoever lives and believes in Him shall never die.”
When the great and loving King rose from the dead, he rose with a glorified body: a body that was no longer subject to the physical realm as it had been. He could now walk through walls and locked doors, and yet He could still be touched and eat. Imagine your glorified body someday! You will be able to do the same! It will no longer be subject to the laws of nature as we now know them.
And another interesting point to consider: The stone was rolled away so everyone could see that the King had risen! It was not rolled away so the King could get out. For the King’s glorified body could have walked right through the stone.
Before the great and loving King ascended back into heaven, He told His disciples in what’s called the Great Commission, to go and make disciples of all nations.
Yes, He is no longer in the grave! He is alive! And you have been reconciled back into relationship with Him! You are forgiven! And that crucifixion of our great and loving King happened once and for all time, over 2000 years ago.
To read more about what this great and loving King did for you, open His Word to Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20 & 25. Get a cup of tea or coffee and meditate on this important cataclysmic event.