Day 39
Start with Posture of Silence and Solitude (2 minutes)
Read Scripture: Luke 24:1-12 Jesus Has Risen
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Devotional:
The women who followed Jesus’ body to the tomb knew the tomb’s location so they could come back to the tomb after the Sabbath and better prepare the body. Such activity was not permitted under Jewish during the Sabbath.
When they returned, the tomb was empty.
The resurrection of Jesus is THE CENTRAL fact of Christian history. On it, the church is built; without it, there is no church to build. Jesus’ resurrection is unique because when Jesus was raised from the dead, the kingdom of heaven became part of earth’s history. The resurrection gives authority to the church’s witness in the world and helps us to find meaning even in tragedy, as we too will be raised from the dead.
Believers can look very different from one another and can hold a wide variety of beliefs about many issues including theology, but the ONE central belief that unites us all is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Questions to ponder:
- If the Gospel is such good news, why are we sometimes reluctant to share with others?
- What gets in the way for some of not believing the truth of the gospel?
- Given this passage, what is the best way for you to pray today?
End with Posture of Silence and Solitude (2 minutes)
