Easter is over. The tomb is still empty. But this is not the end of the story. I am finding myself thinking “now what?” So today I want to share with you what to remember after Easter.
You Can’t Have The Resurrection Without The Cross
I remember back to a flight I was on a few years ago. Everyone that knows me, and that has read my blog before knows my fear of flying. But it is so like God to give me opportunities to share about the hope that I have during some of my travels.
On this one flight, I got int a conversation about Jesus with a man, and his religion taught Him that Jesus wasn’t the promised One that would come, because He didn’t save Himself when on the cross.
I have always been thankful for the cross. Because to me the cross means love. In an act of power, Jesus could have taken Himself off the cross. He also could have called on legions of angels to come and save Him, just as an angel came to Him in the garden to strengthen Him, as He was agonizing over what was to come.
That is not what He did though. He took the punishment that was ours. The physical pain. The weight of our sin, He took all of it.
The promise was never that He would be saved from the cross. The promise was that because of the ultimate sacrifice of the spotless Lamb, we would not be abandoned to the grave. Jesus would suffer to the point of death, but then in 3 days He would rise.
Without the cross, the promise of the resurrection would have never come to pass. You can’t have a resurrection without first being in the grave. And this shows how deep His love is, and how powerful His love is, to overcome even death.
All Of His Promises Are Good, And They Will Come To Pass
I have noticed a couple things recently when people pray. The first thing I notice is that sometimes we pray for God’s promises, like they are changeable. We pray “God, I pray that you go before me”, “Please be with me with what is ahead.”, or even “please work this out for Your glory and my good.”
And I hear others pray “Thank you that you go before us, and that you work all things together for Your glory, and our good.”
Do you see the difference? We need to remember that His promises are unchangeable, unshakable, and fixed in heaven. We don’t have to pray for His promises, because His promises are unquestionable. May this remind us that we can approach His throne of grace with confidence, and thank Him for those good promises.
What Are Some Of God’s Promises?
We get a perfect picture that His promises will come to pass by keeping our eyes on Jesus, and remembering the cross, and then celebrating the empty grave. We can look back and thank God for His promises. That He does go before us, and is with us, His joy is our strength, and He has good purposes for our lives. That the same spirit that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us, and He does make everything beautiful in His time. His hope does not disappoint, and His hope is an anchor for our souls. He is preparing a place for us, and He will return one day, and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or grieve, or tears.
With God, There Is Always A Way
I remember a story that I had reflected on last year. On the morning we now know as Easter, there were women who went to anoint Jesus body with spices. But Mark 16:2 says that they wondered how the stone would be removed from the entrance of the grave. The stone was sealed, and too heavy for them to remove on their own. There were guards there by the entrance.
In my mind that seems like an impossible situation. But even with the impossibilities in front of them, they went to the garden that the tomb was in.
And we see so beautifully here, as these women went to what may have seemed like an impossible situation, that God always makes a way.
An angel didn’t come in and rescue Jesus from the cross. But an angel of the Lord had come down, and removed the sealed stone, leaving the guards so afraid they were like dead men. This angel sat on the stone that it had rolled away, and told the women they need not be afraid, because Jesus had risen, just as He said he He would. And instructed the women to quickly go and tell His disciples.
No longer in grief, they joyfully ran to tell the disciples.
What To Remember After Easter…
As move forward from Easter celebrations, may we always remember these timeless truths. You can’t have resurrection before the grave, we can come before God with thanks for His promises, and His way will always leave us with joy for what He has done.
