Can
you remember a time when you had to wait for something? As a kid
waiting for Christmas, a young person waiting for your wedding day,
waiting for the birth of a child ... these are times of great
anticipation and excitement with a longing for the day to arrive. Now
imagine you are a disciple of Jesus Christ in the 1st century. As a
people, you have been waiting in silence for 400 years for the Messiah.
You had clung tightly to the promises of Isaiah (7:14; 9:6-7; 35:4-6; 53:1-12) and now He had finally come!
You
had followed him for 3 whole years and your life has been dramatically
altered ... and then Good Friday ... we call it Good Friday as we look
back on it but for the disciples, on that day, it was the worst day they
could have imagined. All that anticipation is swallowed up by the death
of the Messiah. Like waking up on Christmas morning to a house fire,
being left at the alter, or hearing the word "complications" from your
obstetrician ... all those days of waiting are shattered in a moment.
The days following Friday would have been excruciatingly dark and filled with questions, doubts, fear and hopelessness.
Then came Easter Sunday morning!
As Mary and others went to the tomb they were greeted by an angel saying, "Why
do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of
Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and
on the third day rise."
Easter
had come! The Messiah had not just delivered them from an oppressive
government but He delivered them from an oppressor they could not be
freed from without His sacrifice! Jesus had come, lived, died to pay
our penalty and has now been raised again to free us from sin, Satan,
ourselves and from the wrath of God that we deserved. It is the
greatest news ever!!
So
as this week moves along may we feel that anticipation ... the joy of
looking forward to coming together to celebrate the greatest day in
history.
Looking
forward to seeing you all on Easter Sunday! There are no other people I
would want to celebrate this day more than with you all ... my Harvest
family!
You are most definitely loved,
Kaj