JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM: SEE WHERE HE LAID

“But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”” ~ Matthew 28:5&6

Reference: 

Matthew 28:1-10

Jesus got to Jerusalem, “for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem,” (Luke 13:22) and was crucified on the cross, paying for all our sins. Hell gloated at His death, the religious leaders were happy and the disciples were distraught and scattered. Jesus was buried in a tomb…and it looked like that was the end. The journey that began days before has climaxed in His death and burial; however, it was meant to be for even a greater glory to be revealed.

Sunday morning, the two Marys came to Jesus’ tomb bringing spices to apply to His dead body. Unknown to them, a few moments before they arrived, a heavenly emissary had visited the tomb with a great earthquake and a dazzling light so bright that it ‘knocked the guards out.’ The angel then rolled the stone aside and sat upon it. Jesus did not ‘escape from jail;’ He had to stay till He satisfied the demands for God’s justice. So, heaven sent an agent with a divine permit to discharge and release Jesus. When the women got there, they met the angel who told them the good news, “HE IS RISEN!” And, as if to answer their disbelief, he added, “Come see the place where the Lord laid.” They must have peeped in and seen the grave cloths lying there.

“Come see the place where He laid.” How beautiful are these words? Jesus is no longer in the place that marked His defeat and humiliation. Yes, He died and was buried, but He overcame; He rose up from the grave, ‘for it was impossible for death to hold Him captive, or for the grave to detain Him.’ See the proof – the tomb is empty. He is risen and He has gone ahead to Galilee.

Easter is a story of victory; “I went through so and so, but I overcame. See the proof.” The word, ‘laid,’ is in the past tense. Your failure does not have to define you, it can be in the past tense. It should be said of you, ‘Come see where she failed, where he lost his job, where he got rejected, where his business went down, where friends turned against her, etc.’ Notice the past tenses. The good thing Jesus did was that He rose up, refusing to stay in the pit, and then, He went before them to Galilee. You also must decide to rise and go forward; move from the failure to success, from the broken dream to fulfillment. Let people say, “See where Stella, Charity, Aisha, Yetunde, Sam, etc., failed. But, he/she is no longer there; he/she has risen and moved forward. He/she has overcome the failure and now has a job, a home, is married and lives victoriously.”

Don’t let your place of failure be your last bus-stop. You can rise again, and your pain, failure, loss, setback, etc., will only be referred to in the past tense. God will give you present victories in areas of past failure; and because Jesus is risen, you also will rise and shine, in Jesus’ name.

PHOTO QUOTE:

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

Matthew 20:17-19, Isaiah 60:1-3 & Micah 7:8

PRAYERS:

+ Dear Lord, thank You for resurrection-power and the victory of Easter Sunday.

+ Because Jesus rose again, I shall rise from every defeat, delay, disappointment or denial. I may have experienced a cross or a grave, but from today, I will experience a resurrection.

+ Easter is victory! I seal my victory over all of life’s setbacks with the blood of Jesus.