Mark 16:1-8

Be Still:  Jesus, I want to see you today as the risen Lord and take in the reality of your resurrection. Amen

Read: Mark 16:1-8

And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here.……But go, tell his disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee.’ (vv 6-7)

Encounter: Perplexity.

‘He has risen’. Three words with earth-shattering importance, mind-blowing significance, and world-changing consequence! So simple. Not complicated with explanations or detail. He (Jesus) has risen …. ‘He is not here’. Amazing. 

Perhaps we should not be surprised that Jesus' followers were so slow to grasp what had happened. The three women visiting the tomb ‘were alarmed’ and ‘fled ……. for trembling and astonishment had seized them’ …… ‘they were afraid’. No doubt they were suffering from shock. 

Does the resurrection story have the same impact for us, today? Can we grasp that within three days, sin and death is utterly defeated (1 Cor 15:54-57)? Our faith depends entirely on the reality of the physical resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that ‘if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain’ (1 Cor 15:14). It happened, it is real, He is risen (present tense). Hallelujah!

It is significant that the women were told to tell Peter that Jesus would go before them to Galilee. Peter was devastated that he had denied Jesus three times, despite promising to die with him, and Jesus knew that it would take his intervention and personal support to pick Peter up from his guilt and dismay. So ‘tell Peter’, at this momentous time, is such a significant and compassionate word and demonstrates our Saviour’s personal understanding and care for each one of us, especially when we are at our lowest ebb.

Apply: Paul wrote to Timothy, his friend and protégé, and said ‘remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead….. (2 Tim 2:8). This may seem like an unnecessary exhortation, given that Timothy was leading a church and discipling others, but Paul was saying – remember now and every day that he is risen, alive, and active within you by his Holy Spirit. 

Let us remember and live every day on the foundation of this wonderful truth.

Devote: Thank you Lord for your personal interest in me and my life, I want to walk with you and live out your life today and every day.