Today we are reading John chapter 20.
Take some time today to read this chapter of Jesus and His resurrection. How special to be reading this chapter and be reminded of what Jesus has done for us just before we Celebrate Easter two weeks from today!
What is your favorite dream gift? If you could have any gift you dreamed of wrapped in a box with the perfect bow on top, what would you dream of? A new car? Jewelry? Myself, at this stage of my life, is a dream vacation on the beach. I would love if someone wrapped up this vacation in a box and gave it to me. But, what if I was given the box, un-tied the bow, lifted the lid, and…the box was empty?? I would feel let down and pretty disappointed.
In Verse 2 we find Mary Magdalene going to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.
John 20:1&2
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”
When Mary was going to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body, a couple of days after he had been crucified, she was not happy with what she found. The tomb was empty. Jesus’ body was nowhere to be found and she became very distressed as to where it could have been.
Yet, the empty tomb was the best present she could ever receive. The empty tomb meant that Jesus had risen from the dead and that even death could not overpower the strength of God.
Sometimes we look at our lives and it all feels like empty boxes – disappointment, pain, grief. And yet we worship a God who is stronger than anything we have to go through. When we have faith in God, He can turn the devastation of an empty tomb into the best gift anyone could ever desire.
What are you facing in your life today? The power of Jesus’ resurrection is the power to take your disappointments and devastations and transform them with His resurrection power.
I love how this song speaks to me about the Power of Christ! Especially the verse that sings about the tomb being empty!
“Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave he rose again! And as He stands in Victory, sins curse has lost its grip on me, for I am His and He is Mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ.”