“You’ve got to see it to believe it!” Some businesses make this proclamation when they are advertising a sale, as if our minds could not wrap themselves around the fact that mattresses can cost as low as $89. While we may be amazed at how low a price can be at some retailer, it may not be necessary for us to actually see the price to accept the fact.
When it comes to believing that a person can be deceased for three days and then be given new life, on the other hand, we may need to bear witness to the fact that the person is alive. God, in His infinite wisdom, was aware of that after Jesus was crucified and buried. Who went to the tomb? What happened when they arrived? What did the angel say?
This passage is a great account of the miracle of the resurrection – or more accurately, an account of what happened just after the resurrection. We don’t have a detailed description of Jesus having life restored to his body and rising up from the stone on which he lay. What we have are the events that took place just outside the tomb.
Mary Magdalene, a follower of Jesus, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, went to visit the tomb in the same way anyone might visit the grave of a loved one. When they arrived, however, there was a violent earthquake and an angel descended from heaven. The angel rolled back the large stone that had been set in place to seal the tomb.
Once the stone was moved the empty tomb was revealed. Jesus had already risen from the grave, left the confines of the tomb while the stone was still in place. We might ask the question – why was the stone rolled back?
Jesus did not need to have the stone moved for the resurrection to take place. He was able to live again even with the tomb intact.
The stone was removed so that the women (and others, eventually) could see inside the tomb and bear witness to the fact that the grave was empty. The stone was removed so that they might have faith.
As we consider our own faith, our own beliefs, our walk as Christians we may have our doubts and fears. We may have questions that nag us about spiritual issues. These can serve as stones in our faith that prevent us from seeing the risen Christ and having complete and devout faith.
We need to remove the stones that prevent us from having a strong faith. Once we can truly bear witness to the empty tomb we can truly see Christ in our lives.
DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to remove the doubts that hinder your faith?
