MATTHEW 28:1-12 – “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE BEAUTY OF RESURRECTION MORNING. He is risen! He is risen indeed! The so-called gloom of that dark Friday when the Godman hung in agony on the cursed tree now is brightly overshadowed by the truth the angel proclaimed – “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
Resurrection morning. Hope is alive because He who is our hope is alive, never to die again. The stench of death banished to be forever replaced by the sweet fragrance and beauty of the Lord Jesus. Such a scene is captured by the following illustration:
An ancient legend tells of a monk who found the crown of thorns which had been pressed on the Master. On Good Friday morning he set the crown on a side altar of the cathedral. It was a cruel-looking, ghastly thing, covered with blood. The people glanced at it for a moment and then turned away. It reminded them too keenly of the ugliness and cruelty of their sins. There the crown remained until Easter morning when, with the sunrise, the monk made his way into the sanctuary. He thought that this bloody reminder of Good Friday would be out of place, and he should remove it. As he approached the altar, he detected a strange fragrance. The sun was so bright he could not at first notice what had happened. The sun had centered its rays upon the crown, and had changed the sharp thorns and the cruel twigs into roses of the rarest beauty and the most pleasing fragrance.
May we, in our union with the resurrected Christ put forth His beauty and fragrance to a needy world all around us.
PRAYER. Father, don’t allow the familiar truth of Your Son’s resurrection cause me to lose its awe factor.
REFLECTION: Jesus’ resurrection is not to be a historical fact remembered but the power for Christian living.