If I had been there
If I had been there... I would have been going to the tomb with all the Marys to minister to my Lord, conversing in hushed tones about what each one would do. Mary had fresh wrappings, Mary Magdalene had fresh herbs, and I perhaps carrying my alabaster jar tightly in my hands to crack its expensive perfume which I had reserved for my own burial, but I wanted to pour my perfume as my last gift to the Lord who had changed my life. He had come to my life when I was fifteen and ministered Love to me when no one else could. I was a rebellious young woman with a horrible inferiority complex, feeling unloved and unwanted. No one knew it since I always had a good humor but when I went to sleep, doubts and pain gripped my heart. Then he showed up and he lead me to the temple to learn that he was the answer to all my needs and that He was in fact, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," and that if i opened my heart to Him, to invite him to come in, "He would sup with me" and "never leave me nor forsake me." It didn't seem to make much sense but I believed him and I found peace in him. Then here I was on the path to the tomb, thinking should I do this? Yeshua is dead, "he will not feel or even smell this." Perhaps, but he once said that God was "the God of the Living and not of the dead!" Yeshua, in some way would know what I was doing for him.." So there, it was clear now, I would go with my jar of myrrh and pour it over my lord and take a last look at this man who was like a brother who I adored. How will we get in the tomb? I heard they had rolled a large stone over the entrance. How will we manage that? But before I could even figure that out, the earth trembled and we all fell down. Mary turned the corner and screamed. There before us was an angel, sitting above the tomb and the Roman guards fainted all around. Still in awe, he told us “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." How strange! We had to see for ourselves and we ran inside the tomb. There were two angels there and one of them said “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then we remembered his words.
His wrappings were still there, that is true, neatly folded as if someone had evaporated out of them. That word again, Living. Yet where was he? The angels told us to tell the disciples, so we all went on our way, except Mary Magdelene, who had stayed back trying to get a hold of herself and perhaps find out where the Lord was. She saw a man whom she thought was the gardener bending down in a corner with his back turned to her, and she asked if he knew where they had placed him. They said he was alive but where was he? Perhaps the gardener knew and then he stood up and turned around. It was Yeshua! He was alive like the angels had said. She grabbed ahold of him and didn't want to let go but he told her he needed to go to the Father! To think that the Father allowed her to be the first one to see him alive. A woman just like myself. I am still amazed each time I hear her say it! So she was to run and tell his disciples that he was no longer dead! She was so thrilled she ran right past us! So got to the disciples and told them all we had seen and heard. They found it hard to believe so Peter and John ran to the tomb themselves. They encountered angels and confirmed everything we had seen. Jesus was alive!! We had nothing else to talk about except every single thing we had seen and felt. We each told what we had experienced to all the excited friends who rushed to hear the good news. It did not stop there.
About an hour later two other men, returned panting after almost running all the way back to Jerusalem after having an incredible encounter on the road to Emmaus. I'll never forget the smiles on their faces. They were walking along when a man joined them. It was still dark and man dressed in his typical tunic, sandals, with his prayer shawl wrapped around him, walked ahead of them and listening to their sad conversation asked them what was the matter. Was it that they were absorbed in their pain, or perhaps the fact that he asked innocently what concerned them, or was it his gentle voice that they found themselves unburdening their hearts to him. Hadn't he heard what had happened since Passover? Yeshua, that many thought was the Messiah, had been jailed, judged, and crucified! He wasn't any man, but their best friend and greatest hope for Israelites. In fact a few days before he had entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a small colt! He who had made the blind see, the lepers well, the lame to run, and the deaf to hear, was dead. They were baffled and ashamed that before they had had a chance to rescue him, he had been shuttled back and forth between the courts, beaten, slapped, whipped 39 times and judged in a mock trial only to be traded for a rebel and a despicable killer! Barrabas!
Where was God? How had He allowed this? Then this man, this stranger on the road to Emmaus started talking to them about the Torah and the Prophets, and connected everything to the Messiah... how he was promised to Eve in the garden that a child with his heel would bruise the head of the serpent, and that the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, was promised in Isaiah 9, and later in Isaiah 61, he would bind the broken hearted and set the captives free, In Isaiah 53 it said "that by his stripes we would be healed and that the "chastisement for our peace was upon him," and his suffering on the cross were described in Psalm 22 just to mention some scriptures. His words brought them peace. So they invited this stranger to eat breakfast with them at an inn, and when he took up the bread and blessed it, they saw his scarred hands and looked into his eyes and recognized him. It was Jesus! Then he vanished.
The undeniable truth was that Jesus was alive...He had done what no one else had done. He came back to life...just as He said! What ever you call it today, Resurrection Sunday or Easter, Jesus is Alive! Still amazing us even today...Ask him if he is real, if he is alive, to reveal himself to you. I guarantee that he will do it. You only need the faith of a tiny mustard seed.
His wrappings were still there, that is true, neatly folded as if someone had evaporated out of them. That word again, Living. Yet where was he? The angels told us to tell the disciples, so we all went on our way, except Mary Magdelene, who had stayed back trying to get a hold of herself and perhaps find out where the Lord was. She saw a man whom she thought was the gardener bending down in a corner with his back turned to her, and she asked if he knew where they had placed him. They said he was alive but where was he? Perhaps the gardener knew and then he stood up and turned around. It was Yeshua! He was alive like the angels had said. She grabbed ahold of him and didn't want to let go but he told her he needed to go to the Father! To think that the Father allowed her to be the first one to see him alive. A woman just like myself. I am still amazed each time I hear her say it! So she was to run and tell his disciples that he was no longer dead! She was so thrilled she ran right past us! So got to the disciples and told them all we had seen and heard. They found it hard to believe so Peter and John ran to the tomb themselves. They encountered angels and confirmed everything we had seen. Jesus was alive!! We had nothing else to talk about except every single thing we had seen and felt. We each told what we had experienced to all the excited friends who rushed to hear the good news. It did not stop there.
About an hour later two other men, returned panting after almost running all the way back to Jerusalem after having an incredible encounter on the road to Emmaus. I'll never forget the smiles on their faces. They were walking along when a man joined them. It was still dark and man dressed in his typical tunic, sandals, with his prayer shawl wrapped around him, walked ahead of them and listening to their sad conversation asked them what was the matter. Was it that they were absorbed in their pain, or perhaps the fact that he asked innocently what concerned them, or was it his gentle voice that they found themselves unburdening their hearts to him. Hadn't he heard what had happened since Passover? Yeshua, that many thought was the Messiah, had been jailed, judged, and crucified! He wasn't any man, but their best friend and greatest hope for Israelites. In fact a few days before he had entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a small colt! He who had made the blind see, the lepers well, the lame to run, and the deaf to hear, was dead. They were baffled and ashamed that before they had had a chance to rescue him, he had been shuttled back and forth between the courts, beaten, slapped, whipped 39 times and judged in a mock trial only to be traded for a rebel and a despicable killer! Barrabas!
Where was God? How had He allowed this? Then this man, this stranger on the road to Emmaus started talking to them about the Torah and the Prophets, and connected everything to the Messiah... how he was promised to Eve in the garden that a child with his heel would bruise the head of the serpent, and that the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, was promised in Isaiah 9, and later in Isaiah 61, he would bind the broken hearted and set the captives free, In Isaiah 53 it said "that by his stripes we would be healed and that the "chastisement for our peace was upon him," and his suffering on the cross were described in Psalm 22 just to mention some scriptures. His words brought them peace. So they invited this stranger to eat breakfast with them at an inn, and when he took up the bread and blessed it, they saw his scarred hands and looked into his eyes and recognized him. It was Jesus! Then he vanished.
The undeniable truth was that Jesus was alive...He had done what no one else had done. He came back to life...just as He said! What ever you call it today, Resurrection Sunday or Easter, Jesus is Alive! Still amazing us even today...Ask him if he is real, if he is alive, to reveal himself to you. I guarantee that he will do it. You only need the faith of a tiny mustard seed.
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