Thursday within the Octave of the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Posted on April 4, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 28:1-8 (NKJV)
28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
Devotion
“You seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.”
It is the day of the Lord’s resurrection. The Marys go to His tomb, where an angel has rolled the stone away and sat on it. Do notice the tenses of the verbs: He was crucified, past tense. He is risen, present tense for a past event. He has risen, He is still risen, and He is going to stay risen, “as He said.” He told you it would be so, and now, it is so.
They are instructed to go tell His disciples the good news. They are not therefore pastors, and nowhere in the New Testament do they make any such pretense. But they are a long way from being unimportant! We can all speak that good news to others. We are all entrusted with speaking the words, “Christ is risen!”
At Christmas, we still see scenes with Jesus in a manger, but we know He is not in the manger anymore. Year round, we see crucifixes, crosses with Jesus’ body on them, but we know He is no longer on the cross. These are reminders of all the things He has done, past tense, for our salvation. Our great joy is to know and confess, “Christ is risen!”
Collect: Almighty God, Who, through Thine Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life: We humbly beseech Thee, that, as Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
