Approaching the Tomb with Joy
After a heartbreaking Friday and a sorrowful Saturday, a small group of women awoke early on Sunday. The first rays of the morning sun were just beginning to light the sky when they set out toward the tomb—the tomb where they had left Jesus’ body just two days prior. Each of the gospels tells the story for a slightly different purpose and from a slightly different perspective, but as we align the accounts we see that Mary Magdalene was there, probably as the leader of the little group. So was Mary the mother of James and two other women named Joanna and Salome. These were some of Jesus’ most committed followers—women who had cared for him and traveled with him from place to place. For the duration of his ministry they had loved him and served him. And now this morning they set out to love him and to serve him one last time.
As Luke transitions begins describing Sunday’s events, he says this: “On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb.” He also describes what they were carrying in their hands, and there is something strangely fascinating in this little detail—something worth considering.
Jesus had spent three-and-a-half years teaching the people who he was and what he had come to accomplish. One thing he had taught them was that, though he would die on Friday, he would rise on Sunday. He had told them that he would be delivered over to the people who hated him and that they would put him to death, but also that three days later he would rise. These women had heard all of this. They knew it. But somehow it didn’t sink it. Somehow they didn’t believe it.
How do we know? Because of what was in their hands. As they went to the tomb, they carried jars filled with spices and ointments—the kind used to anoint and prepare a body for its final burial. They were going to the tomb fully expecting to find a dead, decaying body.
Of course from our vantage point in history we know that they would not find a dead, decaying body. In fact, they did not find a body at all! They found a rolled-away stone, angel guardians, and an empty tomb. They found their minds shocked, overwhelmed, and bewildered—shocked, overwhelmed, and bewildered even though Jesus had told them exactly what they should expect. Jesus had said, “On the third day I will rise.” The women said, “On the third day let’s go and complete his burial.” Jesus had said “On Sunday I will be alive.” The women said, “On Sunday let’s care for his corpse.” They didn’t believe it. They didn’t believe his promise.
And just as these women failed to take God at his word, so can we. In our deepest sorrows we can neglect his promises, in our darkest valleys we can ignore his assurances. He promises he will never leave us nor forsake us, yet somehow we can be shocked when he does not desert us but instead stays close beside us. He promises he will work all things for good, yet somehow we can be surprised when we see him bringing blessings through our sorrows. He promises he does not break a bruised reed or snuff a smoldering wick, yet somehow we can still be baffled when he carefully tends to our wounds and lovingly dries our tears. Somehow we are surprised when God does precisely what he has promised he will do.
In that vein it is worth asking: What should these women have brought with them on Sunday morning? Not spices! Not ointments! Not the stuff of mourning and death and burial! They should have brought food and streamers and instruments and all the stuff of celebration! They should have approached that tomb with faith, with confidence, with expectation. They should have approached it with belief that it would be empty, with faith that Jesus was going to do exactly what Jesus had said he would do.
And what was true in their lives is true in ours. What was true in their sorrow is true in ours. What was true in their bewilderment is true in ours. We live best when we live with the assurance that God will do nothing more, and nothing less, than what he has said he will do—just as he did on Easter.
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A La Carte (September 12)
May the God of love and peace be with you today.
What Does It Mean to Own Your Sin?
What does it mean to own your sin? This article explains.
Faith Is Not Certainty
I appreciate Aubrynn’s ongoing writing about Christians who deal with scrupulosity and some of the specific challenges they face with their faith.
Let Suffering Lead to Gentleness, Not Bitterness
“As we suffer, and our bodies and hearts finally begin to recover from the richeting and shaking we’ve received, bitterness settles in easily as if it had always lived there inside us. Without any effort, our words are slightly sharpened to an edge from the cracks we’ve endured.”
Another commentary on Romans?
Brian Borgman writes, “Well, if that commentary was unique in its goal, easy to use, solid in content, helpful in format, rich in application, and sprinkled with the spices of the old paths, then you don’t have just another commentary on Romans, you have Expository Outlines and Observations on Romans by Rob Ventura.” (Sponsored Link)
Spiritually Hungry? The Church Service Is Your Main Meal
Kristen Wetherell asks, “What if I told you that your main spiritual meal isn’t meant to be your private devotional time with the Lord?”
Healthy Rhythms in a Godly Marriage
I guess the point of this one is not so much to establish these healthy rhythms, but to establish some, even if they don’t look quite the same.
We Need Every Word
“Spiritually speaking, I am my young son sometimes. I want to feast on the Bible passages I love, the ones that make me feel some note of pleasure or comfort. I want the reminders that I’m loved, the encouragements to hold fast, and the songs of praise that remind me of God’s faithfulness. I don’t always want the lists or the history or the stories that don’t seem to affect me.”
Flashback: The Greatest Burden of Leadership
The burden of responsibility is light compared to the burden of insufficiency, inability, or just plain failure. If all those other weights are heavy, this is the one that threatens to be crushing.God is never surprised; never caught off guard; never frustrated by unexpected developments. God does as He pleases, and that which pleases Him is always for His glory and our good. —Jerry Bridges
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What You Can Take With You Into Eternity
We’ve all heard it said that no one has ever seen a hearse towing a trailer. We’ve all been challenged to consider that we leave this world as we entered it—with empty hands. As Job exclaimed in the depths of his misery, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” But as J.R. Miller reminds us in this old quote, there actually is one thing we can take with us.
There are virtues, fruits of character, treasures, spoils of moral conquests which men carry with them out of this world.
Someone says, “The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried, is character.” This is true. What a man is survives him. It never can be buried.
His character lingers about his home when his footsteps come there no more. It lives in the community where he was known. And that same thing—what a man is—he carries with him into the next life. Money and rank and circumstances and earthly gains, he leaves behind him, but his character, he takes with him into eternity!That being the case, perhaps you should ponder this today: How are you shaping your character? How are you shaping and forming that one thing that you will take with you into eternity?
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A La Carte (December 22)
May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
I’ve added a collection of Kindle deals that includes some general market historical titles—perhaps a good option for some holiday reading.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Collected Best Books of 2022)
Christmas Music: A Witness For Us or Against Us
This is a thought-provoking reflection on Christmas music. “While this music is everywhere during this season, how many people realize that the words on their lips are serving as a witness against them?”
The Crushing Obligation to Keep Doing More and More
Kevin DeYoung: “Surely there are many Christians who are terribly busy because they sincerely want to be obedient to God. We hear sermons that convict us for not praying more. We read books that convince us to do more for global hunger. We talk to friends who inspire us to give more and read more and witness more. The needs seem so urgent. The workers seem so few. If we don’t do something, who will? We want to be involved. We want to make a difference. We want to do what’s expected of us. But there just doesn’t seem to be the time.”
The Counterintuitive Christ
“Everything about the circumstances of the coming of Christ into the world was counterintuitive. We tend to pride ourselves on the fact that we know this. However, the more we bring the pieces together into focus, the more astonishing it all becomes. Consider…”
Does Jesus Still Sympathize with Sinners? The Compassion of the Risen Christ
Mark Jones considers Jesus’ compassion and whether he still sympathizes with us.
The Rightful Place of Suffering in the Life of the Christian
“There is a rightful place for suffering in the lives of those whom God loves. Expect it, prepare yourself for it, and be faithful through it” says Amy Hall.
Andrew Thorburn Vindicated (and before Jesus returns too!)
“If there’s one thing we know as Christians is that we won’t always get vindicated in this age.” And yet occasionally…
Flashback: No Low Too Low
He came to serve, and there is no service that was too low for him to do. His birth would provide a glimpse of his entire life, and a fitting introduction to the kind of life he would lead.God’s silences are His answers. If we only take as answers those that are visible to our senses, we are in a very elementary condition of grace. —Oswald Chambers
