And entering into the sepulcher they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
And he said to them, “Be not affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified He is risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him…
Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom He had cast seven devils.
And she went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not…
Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen.” (Mark 16:1-14)
They had been mourning and weeping over the incident. The Lord had several times explained to them that, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).
On the Third day not one of the disciples but the women who had been serving Him came to the tomb worrying about the stone at the entrance. But the stone had already been rolled away and the angel of the Lord gave them the Good News that Jesus had risen. That's right. Our Lord is risen and is alive. In the power of His resurrection all the stones; all the barriers in our loves have been dealt with and removed. because He is alive, we are victorious over all our troubles. No matter how big the stone or the problem you are facing is, it has already been rolled away and removed. Do not fear what the future holds or what man can do to you. Jesus IS alive and He is with us. His love has already covered you and no harm shall come to you. Just stand still and know that He is God. There is no fear in the perfect love of God. (1 John 4:18).
After that Jesus revealed Himself to at least 500 people in 40 days before “being received up into heaven and sit on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19).
His death and resurrection are Historical facts, which cannot be denied. Indeed Jesus was born of a virgin, ministered to the people in love and power of God, died on the cross to bear our iniquities upon Himself and rose again.
By His death He gave us the power and authority over death, sin, every sickness and disease and curse. He was victorious but He came to give us the victory over the powers of darkness.
By His resurrection, He sealed His redemptive work on the cross. It is by His resurrection that He fulfilled the task He had come for, gave us the right to be God’s children and be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (Col. 1:12).
God is Alive! He is risen from the dead. And it is by our faith in the Living God that we can come into a mutual relationship with God our creator Himself and be able to live unto God and be received in His glory. He has put an end to our mourning and weeping. By the power of His resurrection He shall roll away every great stone in your life.
Some days ago, a lady -who did not believe in anything- came to visit me. I could not believe my ears as she spoke about Christians who worshipped the space, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and finally Catholics. She had been exposed to several wrong images of Christianity.
I explained that none of those were True Christianity. Then she said, “I can’t believe that a person who has died on the cross can be God. He looks so helpless and miserable on the cross.” The image she had of God was the one that some so-called Christians hang on the wall with a so-called Jesus on a wooden or metallic cross!
The word of God very clearly forbids “Making any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:3,4). By God’s grace she was convinced and wanted to know more about Christianity.
The fact is that even as the craftsmen admitted, “by this craft (silver shrines for Diana) we have their wealth” (Acts 19:25), so do many others have their wealth by making images of Jesus on the cross or that of Mary and likewise.
Satan is at work by giving the wrong images of Christianity to God’s own creation. It is time that true Christians who have met the Risen Christ and are born of water and Spirit, to stand against any false images of Christianity. And with much prayer and wisdom from above take up our sword of the Spirit -The Word of God- and with our life style, present the true Jesus to the world.
Our living God who was, is and is to come shall hear our prayers when we call upon His name.God must live in our hearts and dwell in and through us:
“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection:
Knowing this that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For He that is dead is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with Him.
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hadth no more dominion over Him:
For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:5-11).
Knowing the living God in a personal way on a daily basis, shall change your life inside out even as the disciples and those who believed in Him experienced.
His Loving kindness is better than Life, (Psalm 63:3) and now the risen Lord is calling you:
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28).
By: Esther Eisa Khani