He Has Risen

HE HAS RISEN

a prayer to open

Open my eyes and help me to see you.

Open my heart and help me to know you.

Jesus, my Lord and my God.

Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” . . .

So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.

He said he would rise, and he did. A new day had dawned—one where life prevails over death. In God’s Kingdom, death doesn’t get its way. But how odd it must have been for Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, and Joanna to hear, “He isn’t here! He is risen” (verse 6). All the hope that had been dashed when Jesus died on the cross must have rushed back in a single moment. He had risen from the dead, just as he said he would. Unprecedented! Unheard of! He had risen from the dead!

• What would the women have been thinking and feeling as they walked from their homes to the tomb? When they first saw that Jesus’ body was not there? When they heard the news that Jesus had risen? When they were reminded of Jesus’ words that he would rise again?
• Although Jesus told his disciples several times that he would be killed and rise again (see Luke 9:21-22; 18:31-33; John 2:18-22), they did not understand and were filled with confusion and doubt when his body was not in the tomb. As you read about Jesus’ resurrection, what doubts and questions arise in you? How is your faith affected?
• What does today’s passage reveal to you about Jesus?

Father, thank you for the truth of the resurrection and for the fulfillment of all your promises in Jesus! Thank you for the reminder that Jesus rose from the grave amidst people who, like me, were filled with doubt, questions, and skepticism. Lord, fill my heart with faith and hope. Remind me that you bring life out of death and that in Jesus, you have raised me to life, adopted me into your family as a beloved child, and given me the gift of your Holy Spirit to guide and empower me to love. Amen.