What are you looking for? If you’re spending a day outside on a beautiful spring day and someone with you points to the cloud formation and says, “Look, it’s a dolphin,” you’ll likely look and see a dolphin.
If they hadn’t told you it’s a dolphin, you probably would have seen a frying pan. Or a little boy on a bike. Or Abraham Lincoln. It’s called influence.
Some women who had followed Jesus went to visit his grave. An angel, surprisingly stationed there, tells them two things about what they are looking for.
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay’” (Matthew 28:5,6).
First, they were looking for a corpse, a dead Jesus. Nobody like that exists. Jesus is risen and alive!
Secondly, the angel directs them to evidence that Jesus came back to life: the empty tomb.
What are you looking for? Believe in Jesus, and your tomb or grave or urn will be empty someday, too. Believe in Jesus, and you will come back from death like he did. You will live forever in heaven.
That’s it! Jesus’ resurrection means there’s something you can finally count on—your comeback from disaster, from despair, and from death. Nothing else gives you hope and victory like Jesus.
People have not gathered for 2,000 years to say, “The stock market has risen. It has risen indeed.” Or, “My social media likes and views have risen.” Or, “My salary has risen” … “The dead, frozen plants have risen” … “The walls on our church building under construction have risen” … “My fertility numbers have risen” … “My grades have risen” … “My odds of getting married have risen.”
No, but people all over the world have gathered during the Easter season to say, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” Jesus came back and his resurrection is the greatest comeback ever. Believe in him as a person. Believe in his powerful promises.
And you will come back, too.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, you came back from death and promise that all who believe in you will come back from death, too. Direct my attention and influence my faith to look and see you, my living, victorious Savior today. And forever in heaven. Amen.
FURTHER MEDITATION: Easter impact: Read Romans chapter 6 this week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Start anywhere. Slow down. Absorb. Meditate. Ask God to help you understand the meaning of his words, explaining the difference the resurrection makes for you beginning now and never ending in eternity.