As we draw near to Resurrection Sunday, let us rejoice that we do not worship a far away God. On Easter we are given the privilege to delight in a Middle Eastern man who lived 2000 years ago, claimed to be God, and proved it when he rose from the dead. Jesus walked among us. The disciples touched him with their hands, the woman at the well sat beside him, and the 5,000 were fed by him. God entered into the story. He did not come to be served, but to serve. He lived the perfect life that each of us are incapable of living. He gave himself for us. No one took his life from him; he laid it down on his own accord.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” Isaiah 53:5
Our King died, but only for a moment in time. The darkest moment, but only a moment. You see, death could not hold him. He did not simply slip out of death’s fingers. Death could not hold Jesus anymore than a woman in labor could hold back her child. Death could not hold the Creator of Life.
And on the very first Easter morning, the soft beat of his heart sounded. He breathed. He rose from the dead. I am struck that when Jesus first revealed himself to the disciples, they were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. Their view of the Lord was too small. After witnessing many miracles and walking beside him for three years, their view of Jesus was still too small. And yet, Jesus was gentle in response.
“He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see” Luke 24:38-39
Jesus does not scoff at the disciples, the majority of whom had hidden in his darkest hour. He invites them in, giving them a front-row seat to the resurrection, righting their view of him. He reaches out a nail-scarred hand, saying, “touch me and see”. The man who had just proved himself to be God, the Holy One of Israel, Creator of the Universe, did not rise from the dead and demand to be served. God rose from the dead and offered grace upon grace to the ones he loves…us.
I have often found myself in the place of the disciples, with a view of the Lord that is too small. Wondering, does my service matter? What could I possibly have to give? However, today I see a nail-scarred hand reaching out and I hear a voice saying, “touch me and see”, righting my view of him. You see, if the tomb is empty, our God is infinitely more powerful and more personal than we could possibly imagine. He is able. It is not our job to change the world. We are simply called to step out in faith. He will do the rest.
This Easter, I pray that we would look both to the resurrection and the person of Jesus. Jesus is not a far away God. He invites us in. The more I behold Him, the more in awe I am at how cool he is. I pray that our view of Jesus would not be too small and we would not doubt that he is able. He will use our service, our tears, and our offerings of praise. After all, the tomb is empty.
Lord Jesus, help us to see you clearly. Help us to remember that your resurrection power is at work in each small step of obedience. We don’t want to miss the wonder of you, Lord. We don’t want to miss the magnitude of your resurrection. May we sit at your feet, in awe of you. Today, we rejoice that all of your promises have found their “Yes” in the resurrection. You rose, meaning we too will rise. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
By Raegan Duke
Communication and Admin Specialist
