Week 45 Devotions

November 5 - - Jesus made no secret about the fact that he would bodily resurrect on the third day after being placed in a tomb (Luke 9:22; 24:5-8; Matthew 16:21; 28:6; Mark 8:31). His disciples knew it. The women who followed him knew it. Even the Jewish religious leaders knew it. In order to make sure that no one stole Jesus’ dead body and then tried to lie and others that he had resurrected from the grave, the religious leaders had a request for Pilate. “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will be raised from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life!” (Matt.27:63&64). So, Pilate placed some of his guards at the disposal of the religious leaders to be posted at the tomb and prevent such an event from happening. But, when God proposes to do something, there is nothing man can do to prevent it. When an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled the stone away, these brave, highly-trained, very-powerful soldiers “shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint” (Matt.28:4). When the women came to the tomb early on the first day of the week to finish embalming Jesus, “they found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:2&3). While they were trying to imagine what could have possibly happened to Jesus’ body, two angels appeared to them and asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead!” (Lk.24:4&5: Mk.16:5&6; Matt.28:5&6). The fact that Jesus had bodily risen from the tomb seemed too good to be true when it first happened. When the apostles first heard it from the women, they didn’t believe it because the story sounded like nonsense (Luke 24:10&11; Mark 16:10&11). Even after the disciples saw Jesus alive for themselves, they still had questions. The same is true for us today. We have not had the privilege of actually seeing Jesus alive following his death and burial, as Jesus’ disciples did. Thomas didn’t believe the other disciples when they told him they had seen Jesus alive. And Thomas said he wouldn’t believe their story unless he saw Jesus for himself (John 20:25). To be sure, when Jesus did appear to Thomas, the doubting disciple proclaimed Jesus as Lord (20:28). But, as Jesus said to Thomas, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway” (20:29). Like Thomas, we have not had the privilege of seeing Jesus alive. But, we have seen his resurrection power at work in our lives (Philippians 3:10). There have been miraculous answers to our prayers, unexplainable changes in our lives and the lives of others, and unusual occurrences in our lives that have all confirmed a power greater than we can understand at work. The question for us, is, will we live our lives expecting Christ’s resurrection power to show up on a regular basis? Or, will we continue in our skepticism to downplay that truth and the power of Christ’s resurrection? The choice is ours, but so are the consequences. November 9 - - The Bible tells us, “But, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand” (Acts 7:55). As the song, “I Can Only Imagine” asks, “Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing ‘hallelujah’, will I be able to speak at all?” When Andrew met Jesus, he was compelled by his experience to bring his brother, Simon, to see Jesus, as well (John 1:41&42). When Philip met Jesus, he was compelled by his experience to bring his friend, Nathaniel, to see Jesus, as well (John 1:45&46). Later, some curious Gentiles approached Philip with a request to see Jesus (John 12:20-22). It seems that everyone who sees or meets Jesus Christ, is forever changed by that experience. Our knowledge of Jesus Christ is only a partial glimpse of all there is to know about him. But, what we do know of him and what we have seen of him should be more than sufficient for us to want to know more and see more of the One, who is called the Christ. The Bible promises that those who put their faith in him now, will see him and know him fully in heaven. “Now we see things imperfectly, as though looking in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now” (I Corinthians 13:12) John adds this magnificent hope: “Yes, dear friends, we are God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (I John 3:2). What will that be like? We can only imagine. No, it is in truth, beyond our imagination (I Corinthians 2:9).