The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 28 April 2019 – Witnesses to the Resurrection
Click HERE to Read Previous MESSAGES
TOPIC: Witnesses to the Resurrection
READ: Luke 24:1-12 New King James Version (NKJV)
- Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
- But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
- Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
- And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
- Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
- He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
- saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
- And they remembered His words.
- Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
- It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
- And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
- But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
THE MESSAGE:
All the four gospels give accounts of the resurrection. Here we are told that the women, who obviously were devoted to their Lord, arrived with spices at the tomb, only to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty! Why was the stone rolled away? Was it to let Jesus out? No! With His glorious body He no longer needed physical openings in order to find access. He could walk through locked doors (John 20:19). So, obviously the stone was rolled away in order to let the “witnesses” (the women and the apostles) in so they could proclaim the resurrection. In verses 5 and 6, the angels gently rebuked the women for failing to remember Jesus’ predictions about His death and resurrection, which is the reason why, they were “looking for the living among the dead!”
As Mary Magdalene lingered by the tomb weeping, Jesus appeared to her and commissioned her as a witness to the resurrection (John 20:11-18). Amazingly, all the four gospels agree that women were the first to witness to the resurrection of Christ.
The Gospel of Christ must break every barrier: ethnic, gender or race. When we encounter the resurrected Christ, we must in turn become witnesses of the same to an ignorant world.
Prayer: Father, may my life bear witness to the fact that Jesus is alive.
