The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Luke 24:5-6,
"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here..."
This is what the two angels told the women who went to tend to Jesus' body after it had been placed in a tomb on the previous Friday following his crucifixion. In John 20:1 we read that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early that Sunday morning, while it was still dark, saw the stone was moved from the entrance, that Jesus' body was missing and ran back to report it to Peter and John. Jesus was not there, his body was missing.
As the account continues in John, we read that Jesus then appeared to Mary after she had returned to the tomb. Not dead, but now in his resurrected body, he spoke to her of his returning to the Father, "I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." John 20:17. Later we read of the ascension of Jesus into heaven, "He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" Acts 1:9-11. He was no longer to be seen but had been taken into heaven.
I wonder if the two angels that appeared to the disciples and said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky" were the same as the two that told the women, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here…" On both occasions folks were looking for Jesus where he wasn't going to be found. Given the circumstances of each occasion, none could be faulted for doing so.
However, there are many today who will be faulted for looking in all the wrong places to find Jesus Christ or to find God the Father. The list of religions that seek to find God is endless. The theologies and religious practices that have been developed to find the Lord seem limitless. As Jesus taught, "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it." Matthew 24:26. Looking in all the wrong places won't be helpful to find the Lord. While many may claim to have found him, there is only one way. "'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'" Romans 8:8-11.
Jesus is found only through faith and Paul tells us that faith comes through hearing the gospel message, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17. That faith will never be arrived at by intellectual superiority or special spiritual insight designed only for the "gifted ones" that are revered as such by the world. Jesus taught us, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:17.
Jesus is not missing. He is at the right hand of our Father in heaven. He can be found, not by looking in the wrong places but by listening to him as he tells us how to find him: through the faith generated when his gospel is preached. All who embrace Jesus Christ in faith have found him and found a place at his table!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here..."
This is what the two angels told the women who went to tend to Jesus' body after it had been placed in a tomb on the previous Friday following his crucifixion. In John 20:1 we read that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early that Sunday morning, while it was still dark, saw the stone was moved from the entrance, that Jesus' body was missing and ran back to report it to Peter and John. Jesus was not there, his body was missing.
As the account continues in John, we read that Jesus then appeared to Mary after she had returned to the tomb. Not dead, but now in his resurrected body, he spoke to her of his returning to the Father, "I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." John 20:17. Later we read of the ascension of Jesus into heaven, "He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" Acts 1:9-11. He was no longer to be seen but had been taken into heaven.
I wonder if the two angels that appeared to the disciples and said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky" were the same as the two that told the women, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here…" On both occasions folks were looking for Jesus where he wasn't going to be found. Given the circumstances of each occasion, none could be faulted for doing so.
However, there are many today who will be faulted for looking in all the wrong places to find Jesus Christ or to find God the Father. The list of religions that seek to find God is endless. The theologies and religious practices that have been developed to find the Lord seem limitless. As Jesus taught, "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it." Matthew 24:26. Looking in all the wrong places won't be helpful to find the Lord. While many may claim to have found him, there is only one way. "'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'" Romans 8:8-11.
Jesus is found only through faith and Paul tells us that faith comes through hearing the gospel message, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17. That faith will never be arrived at by intellectual superiority or special spiritual insight designed only for the "gifted ones" that are revered as such by the world. Jesus taught us, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:17.
Jesus is not missing. He is at the right hand of our Father in heaven. He can be found, not by looking in the wrong places but by listening to him as he tells us how to find him: through the faith generated when his gospel is preached. All who embrace Jesus Christ in faith have found him and found a place at his table!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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