Where are you looking?
This is my 12th year of teaching Sunday school to teenagers. My 12th year of Easter lessons. My 12th time to dig deeply into God's Word about THE most important thing that ever happened in history.
The Easter lesson never gets old.
Not because I don't know it; I mean, I've been in church for 37 years. But because God loves the Easter story, and it seems He is more than willing to bring it alive to use every year. All of Scripture--literally--points to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If there is any one thing that we need to know and believe and stake our identity in, it's the Easter lesson.
I was studying Luke 23-24, which is Luke's version of the crucifixion and the resurrection. I'm always a little partial to this part of the Easter story because of the prominent role the women play in it. Though men (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) take Jesus' body down from the cross and place it in a tomb, a small group of women (including Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and Salome, who may have been the mother of James and John) watched the spot where they put Him.
Not just because they were curious, but because they had a plan.
The men had prepared Jesus' body according to Jewish burial customs (John 19:40). But the women obviously wanted to do more. I like to think of it as a woman's touch. They bought their own spices and waited for the end of Sabbath, which lasted from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. At first light on Sunday morning, they headed to the tomb.
This is where it gets good. They knew there was a huge stone that had been put in place to cover the tomb. They knew they had no upper body strength. (Just like me.) But they knew that they wanted to anoint Jesus' body in a particular way. So "very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, 'Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?'" (Mark 16:2-3).
This is absolutely hilarious to me because it sounds just like something I would do with a couple other women. Three women together are bulletproof. Invincible. And just a little crazy. "We don't know how we're going to move that stone, but we'll think of something when we get there." I want to be friends with these girls.
You know the story. When they got to the tomb, they didn't need to roll away the stone; it was moved already. "There had been a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it," (Matthew 28:2). CAN YOU IMAGINE?!?!?! The power of this angelic messenger's entrance into the visible world had caused an earthquake. Now, don't be confused as to think this angel actually raised Jesus; He was already alive. The angel was just there to clear up the confusion.
[Actually, Luke reports there were 2 angels, while Matthew talks about only one. That's not contradiction; Luke was very specific and methodical in his retelling while Matthew talked just about the angel who spoke. Anyway, the angel wasn't the focus of the story; the living Christ was!]
The women were, of course, confused at why the stone was moved and especially at the fact that Jesus wasn't in the tomb. And when they saw the angels, they "bowed down with their faces to the ground," (Luke 24:5). This scene was more than they could handle. They were expecting a dead body and a time alone to grieve with the One who had showed given them love and salvation.
Imagine their fragile emotional state. Imagine their confusion. Imagine their distress. (They easily could have thought someone stole the body.) Imagine their helplessness.
But this is when it gets good: The angel says to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5).
Other translations say it this way:
"Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive?" (CEV)
"Why are you looking for a living person here? This is a place for dead people," (ERV)
"Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive?" (TLB)
The angels knew Jesus was alive. They knew as He died that He would live again. His resurrection didn't surprise them, because Jesus had said many, many times that He would die and rise again. The women had heard it (Luke 24:8) but until this point they either didn't understand, didn't believe, or were just too overwhelmed with grief to think clearly. (I lean toward #3.)
Those sweet women were at the tomb to show love and appreciation to Jesus the only way they knew how: by caring for His dead body. It would have been disgusting, illegal, and unclean. But they had set out to do it. And for that very reason, they were rewarded with being the first to hear that Jesus was alive.
AWESOME.
So I ask you the same thing today: Are you looking for the living among the dead?
Are you trying to live your own life and do your own thing without accessing the power of the Holy Spirit?
Are you confused about why your boyfriend doesn't treat you right when you know he has no relationship with God?
Are you hanging out with people who have no God in their lives and wondering why you don't hear His voice?
Are you going about your day without any Scripture or prayer or worship? Do you feel empty inside?
Why are you seeking the living among the dead?
This Easter, change everything. Re-commit not just your Sundays but all your days--now and forever--to the risen Lord Jesus. Know you have access to the power that raised Him from the dead. Immerse your mind in His Word. LIVE WHAT YOU LEARN IN IT. Get a mentor and a home church and a group of friends who LOVE JESUS.
Analyze who you follow on Instagram and Twitter. Find an accountability partner. Take discipleship (prayer, fasting, Bible Study, worship, etc.) seriously. JESUS IS ALIVE.
You can be, too.
But when you're hanging out among the dead, you don't feel alive. You don't act alive. You may even wonder if you are alive.
So get among the living.
Come to church with me Sunday. I'll be a 9:00 worship in the balcony and 10:30 Sunday School. If that doesn't work, go to church with somebody, believing that God loves the Easter story. He loves life. He loves you.
It's the perfect way to celebrate Easter.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com (PLEASE subscribe if you haven't!)
The Easter lesson never gets old.
Not because I don't know it; I mean, I've been in church for 37 years. But because God loves the Easter story, and it seems He is more than willing to bring it alive to use every year. All of Scripture--literally--points to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If there is any one thing that we need to know and believe and stake our identity in, it's the Easter lesson.
I was studying Luke 23-24, which is Luke's version of the crucifixion and the resurrection. I'm always a little partial to this part of the Easter story because of the prominent role the women play in it. Though men (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) take Jesus' body down from the cross and place it in a tomb, a small group of women (including Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and Salome, who may have been the mother of James and John) watched the spot where they put Him.
Not just because they were curious, but because they had a plan.
The men had prepared Jesus' body according to Jewish burial customs (John 19:40). But the women obviously wanted to do more. I like to think of it as a woman's touch. They bought their own spices and waited for the end of Sabbath, which lasted from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. At first light on Sunday morning, they headed to the tomb.
This is where it gets good. They knew there was a huge stone that had been put in place to cover the tomb. They knew they had no upper body strength. (Just like me.) But they knew that they wanted to anoint Jesus' body in a particular way. So "very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, 'Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?'" (Mark 16:2-3).
This is absolutely hilarious to me because it sounds just like something I would do with a couple other women. Three women together are bulletproof. Invincible. And just a little crazy. "We don't know how we're going to move that stone, but we'll think of something when we get there." I want to be friends with these girls.
You know the story. When they got to the tomb, they didn't need to roll away the stone; it was moved already. "There had been a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it," (Matthew 28:2). CAN YOU IMAGINE?!?!?! The power of this angelic messenger's entrance into the visible world had caused an earthquake. Now, don't be confused as to think this angel actually raised Jesus; He was already alive. The angel was just there to clear up the confusion.
[Actually, Luke reports there were 2 angels, while Matthew talks about only one. That's not contradiction; Luke was very specific and methodical in his retelling while Matthew talked just about the angel who spoke. Anyway, the angel wasn't the focus of the story; the living Christ was!]
The women were, of course, confused at why the stone was moved and especially at the fact that Jesus wasn't in the tomb. And when they saw the angels, they "bowed down with their faces to the ground," (Luke 24:5). This scene was more than they could handle. They were expecting a dead body and a time alone to grieve with the One who had showed given them love and salvation.
Imagine their fragile emotional state. Imagine their confusion. Imagine their distress. (They easily could have thought someone stole the body.) Imagine their helplessness.
But this is when it gets good: The angel says to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5).
Other translations say it this way:
"Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive?" (CEV)
"Why are you looking for a living person here? This is a place for dead people," (ERV)
"Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive?" (TLB)
The angels knew Jesus was alive. They knew as He died that He would live again. His resurrection didn't surprise them, because Jesus had said many, many times that He would die and rise again. The women had heard it (Luke 24:8) but until this point they either didn't understand, didn't believe, or were just too overwhelmed with grief to think clearly. (I lean toward #3.)
Those sweet women were at the tomb to show love and appreciation to Jesus the only way they knew how: by caring for His dead body. It would have been disgusting, illegal, and unclean. But they had set out to do it. And for that very reason, they were rewarded with being the first to hear that Jesus was alive.
AWESOME.
So I ask you the same thing today: Are you looking for the living among the dead?
Are you trying to live your own life and do your own thing without accessing the power of the Holy Spirit?
Are you confused about why your boyfriend doesn't treat you right when you know he has no relationship with God?
Are you hanging out with people who have no God in their lives and wondering why you don't hear His voice?
Are you going about your day without any Scripture or prayer or worship? Do you feel empty inside?
Why are you seeking the living among the dead?
This Easter, change everything. Re-commit not just your Sundays but all your days--now and forever--to the risen Lord Jesus. Know you have access to the power that raised Him from the dead. Immerse your mind in His Word. LIVE WHAT YOU LEARN IN IT. Get a mentor and a home church and a group of friends who LOVE JESUS.
Analyze who you follow on Instagram and Twitter. Find an accountability partner. Take discipleship (prayer, fasting, Bible Study, worship, etc.) seriously. JESUS IS ALIVE.
You can be, too.
But when you're hanging out among the dead, you don't feel alive. You don't act alive. You may even wonder if you are alive.
So get among the living.
Come to church with me Sunday. I'll be a 9:00 worship in the balcony and 10:30 Sunday School. If that doesn't work, go to church with somebody, believing that God loves the Easter story. He loves life. He loves you.
It's the perfect way to celebrate Easter.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com (PLEASE subscribe if you haven't!)
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