Hebrews 13:20-21
New International Version (NIV)
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I would like to linger at Resurrection Day a while longer. It seems to me that Jesus being raised from the dead is just a little too big of an event to move on from so quickly!
The scripture in John Chapter 20 tells of the first encounter someone had with Jesus after He arose. It was with a woman! Think about that fact for a minute. It was the women who were concerned enough to go to the tomb early in the morning after Passover to…embalm Jesus. They brought perfumes and spices to pour over the body to give it some preservation. Did they wonder how they would roll the stone away? If they did they did not need to…the stone was already rolled away. Of course, this caused them more distress-where did they put his body?
They ran back t tell Peter and John. Both ran back to the tomb to see for themselves. Once they saw the empty tomb, they returned home to ponder this puzzler. Mary, did not leave. Because of her dedication, she was rewarded with the very first word from the risen Jesus-“Woman, why are you crying?” Mary was distraut, she did not know where they took her Lord. Then He said..”.Mary!” At the sound of his voice, the tone, the resonance, the inflection while he said her name…Mary! That was all she needed to hear. She ran to him, but he instructed her not to hold on to him, yet.
Later that day when he appeared to the disciples who were gathered behind locked doors, Jesus appeared in their midst. “Peace be with you”, was his greeting. They were overjoyed to see him, then he gave them these instructions;
John 20:21 New International Version (NIV) 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Wait, what? He was sending us somewhere? Where? Why? Was he coming? They had more questions for the Savior. Then he breathed on them and said; “Receive the Holy Spirit, if you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”.
What did all this mean? We know these days how important breathing on someone can be! If they have corona-it could be very dangerous for us. So, we cough in our elbows, and wear masks. But this breath was the breath of God! It was God imparting the third part of the Godhead to his disciples. This rag-tag group of common folk now had the power from God, as well as the authority from God, to forgive sin.
I wonder if they really knew the power they held in their own feeble bodies. It does seem tlike it took those concepts some time, and several more encounters with Jesus before it really sunk into their spirit. But, when it finally did, they set the world ablaze with their teachings about Jesus, and then the Holy Spirit.
Let me ask you; have you ‘caught’ what Jesus has imparted to all of us as his followers? If you are feeling like you need more power, read the book of Acts, Chapter 2. This power is for you!
Leave a Reply