He Is Not Here

Day 118: Luke 23:44-56, 24:1-12

"He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee." - Luke 24:6 ESV

What is most striking in our reading today is the fact that Jesus' most faithful followers seemingly had no clue that He was going to raise from the dead. They thought that the movement was over. Perhaps they said, "Well, we had a good run. I guess He really wasn't the Messiah. Wow, He had us fooled."

This was even after Jesus had repeatedly laid out the plan for them.

So when the women came bursting in with news of an empty tomb and their angelic encounter, you can see why it sounded like an "idle tale" to them. They really weren't in the mood to get their hopes up.

Yet Peter rose and ran (along with John) to see for himself. He hadn't had the closure he desired. He didn't want his last eye contact with Jesus to be after he had just denied Him three times. If there was even a chance of these women telling the truth, he had to see for himself.

How about you? Is this the kind of redemption you seek? Do you wake up every day with a renewed sense that God's kingdom work is going to be even more realized in your life, even though you've failed before?

Jesus is alive and waiting.

"This is the last chapter in the gospel of Luke, and is the culmination of the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth. This is the resurrection chapter, the record of an event that turned the world upside down. The earliest creed of the Christian Church was simply ‘He is Risen,’ and there is a sense in which the entire impact of Christianity stands or falls with the truth of this message." - Sproul, R. C. (1999). A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (p. 417)