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The first dayMonday, April 17, 2006
Matthew 28:8-13 The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. The chief priests gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'"
There are powerful arguments for the physical resurrection of Jesus, notably advanced in "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell and "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. The question that I have to answer first, though is this: Do I want to believe this story about Jesus? Because if I believe his story, then I also have to believe in him. He is who he says he is. He is "the resurrection and the life ... the way ... the truth." No one comes to God except through him. His presence in my life, manifested through the Holy Spirit sent when he left earth, matters more to me than any food, any shelter, any comfort, any healing. He is everything to me. God gives many gifts, but none of them matters without the Giver himself. I thank him for his gifts, when I get them. I ask him for his gifts, when I need them. I cry out in sorrow when they are taken from me. Sometimes I become angry and demanding, and think God is angry, or punishing, or hateful, or just plain wrong if he doesn't give me what I need. I am determined to believe in Jesus, not in what he gives me. Day after day I live the life I've been given. I cherish the confidence of Paul when he writes, "I have learned the secret of being content in every situation" (Philippians 4:12). I know at the center of this secret is the presence of Jesus. Create in me a clean heart, o Lord. Let me delight in you. |
Most of us wouldn't believe the stories of others who had seen Jesus. Thomas didn't, and Jesus presented his hands so Thomas could feel the wounds in his flesh. But Jesus doesn't present himself in the flesh to us anymore.