DAY 10 - I TOLD YOU SO
Jesus’ death and resurrection give us life.
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
OUR DEVOTIONAL
In these verses, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. When she found the stone no longer blocked the tomb’s entrance, she didn’t understand. She ran to Peter and the other disciple, telling them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” They thought His dead body was stolen.
Previously, Jesus told them in Matthew 17:22-23 that “’The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.’ And the disciples were filled with grief,’” (NLT). They didn’t understand—maybe they thought that Jesus had some kind of figurative meaning. But in fact, Jesus was being serious and quite literal.
They saw the empty tomb on the third day, but didn’t yet understand (or remember?) Jesus’ words to them that He must die, but that He would rise again after three days. They had lost all hope of Jesus being the Christ, the Messiah when He was crucified. They were not able to see that an empty tomb meant Jesus rose from the dead and that it was a victory! He had told them what would happen and then it happened!
We, on the other hand, have all of the scriptures, and we can see the whole story, from beginning to end. Jesus’ resurrection is what make Christianity different than all other religions. Jesus Christ is the only person to ever claim to be God and to say He would die and come back to life—and then do it.
We celebrate His death and resurrection as the final and perfect sacrifice for our sins. He willingly became the sacrifice, paying the price of our redemption. Because He died and rose again, we can live with Him here on earth and forever in heaven. We have life because of what He did for us!
Praise God! What a Savior Jesus is! He came to earth knowing He would die because His life was the only perfect sacrifice for our sins, but He rose to life so we could live!
FAMILY MOMENT
Disappointment can be hard at any age. Can you remember something you planned to do and how disappointed you were when you didn’t get to do it? Maybe going to the playground after school or a family outing? How did you feel? Do you think Mary and the disciples felt something like this?
Can you remember a time when that disappointment was replaced with even greater joy than the original plan? Was there something you got to do that was even better than the cancelled thing?
PRAYER & REFLECTION
Take time to think about what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean to you. Praise and thank Him for this and Who He is.