April 8: Jesus Lives for Us

Our personal salvation hinges on the simple fact that Jesus died for our sins. Without His death there could be no forgiveness of sins, no payment for its penalty to make us right with God. On the other hand, without His being raised from the dead the fact of Christianity as a belief system falls flat. In other words if Christ be not risen from the dead, we are of all people most miserable and our doctrines are false. John's description of the resurrection of Jesus is both informative and inspiring.

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

• The story begins with the visit to the empty grave by a faithful woman (vv. 1-2). Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons (Mk. 16:9), came to the tomb with some other women to anoint the body of Jesus with embalming spices. Seeing the stone had been rolled away, the other women probably left the area to inform the disciples of what they had seen. Mary Magdalene hurried to tell Simon Peter and John that the tomb was empty. The woman suspected someone had stolen the body. It is obvious that the women had no inkling about the resurrection of Jesus.

•The scene then shifts to the unbelieving disciples (vv. 3- 10). At the report of the women about the empty tomb, Peter and another disciple, undoubtedly John, got into a footrace to the tomb. The "other disciple" outran Peter and got to the tomb first. He looked into the tomb and saw the undisturbed burial shroud. The head wrapping was in a separate place by itself. The other disciple, seemingly emboldened by Peter's action, also entered the tomb. The Bible then said he "believed," but it specifically states they did not yet understand what the Scriptures taught about the resurrection. They must have been confused because some of the women surely repeated accounts of their encounter with a man (the angel) who rolled back the stone (Mt. 28:2, 5-7; Lk. 24:1-9). Nevertheless the disciples stood in the tomb completely unaware that the resurrection had taken place.

•The Holy Spirit used the confusion surrounding the disciples to present Mary Magdalene with a beautiful image (vv. 11-13). After the disciples left, Mary remained outside the tomb, weeping. Through her tears, she peered into the tomb, shocked at what she saw. Two angels in white sat there, one at the head and the other at the foot. Our thoughts go back to the Ark of the Covenant constructed by Moses. On the lid of the Ark was a cherub at each end, covering the Mercy Seat. Jesus is the fulfillment of the sacrificial lamb, but He is also the Mercy Seat, according to Hebrews (9:5). The angels in the tomb on Resurrection morning standing guard over the empty grave clothes signified the acceptance of the offering on the place where sin is atoned.

•We close this wonderful presentation with Jesus commissioning Mary Magdalene to be the first evangelist (vv. 14- 20). After Jesus identified Himself to Mary outside the tomb, He told her not to cling to Him. Yet, His disciples held His feet without rebuke (Matt. 28:9). In Mary's case, delivering His words was urgent, but to whom? John says his brethren did not believe in Him (John 7:5, 10). Further this "brethren" appeared in the upper room, a group distinguished from His disciples (Acts 1:13 with 14). Probably, then, Jesus commissioned her to deliver a theological message to His siblings. His God was their God. They believed.