The Wonder of It All!

This is known as Passion Week, the week leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It began with Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey (fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9— "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey."). This is known as Palm Sunday.

The week was filled with all sorts of intrigue, from the people laying branches in His path on Sunday as He entered Jerusalem amid a lot of pomp and circumstance, and much rejoicing. As the week progresses, we encounter Jesus cleansing the Temple of merchants, teaching His disciples, and going back and forth with the Jewish leaders over various topics. It all culminates with Jesus sharing the Passover meal with His disciples, instituting the Lord's Supper, being arrested later in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then being crucified and buried the next day (Good Friday).

That brings us to Sunday morning. Jesus was buried hurriedly because the Sabbath was fast approaching. The women waited until after the Sabbath to finish preparing His body for burial. So first thing Sunday morning they made their way to His tomb, where they found things had changed greatly. Let's pick up the story there: "They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again"'" (Luke 24:2-7).

The two men at the tomb surprised the women, and their dazzling appearance frightened them. The women bowed before them in humble fear and respect (vv. 4-5a), not in worship (angels would not have accepted any form of worship). One angel spoke, asking an obvious question: "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" (v. 5b).Yes, why? Jesus promised to rise from the dead (v. 7), so why did they come to the tomb expecting to find Him? Then the angel spoke the words that should thrill the hearts of everyone right up to today: "He is not here, but is risen!" (v. 6a).

Oh, the wonder of it all! When people first hear about the resurrection of Jesus, they may need a little space, a little time to absorb it all and to contemplate the wonder of it all. They may at first think it a mere fairy tale. Then they may think it through a little more and do a little investigating, checking out the facts. Only when they encounter Jesus in a personal way will they accept the fact of the resurrection. When they commit their lives to Jesus and trust Him as their Lord and Savior, they will begin to realize the reality of His presence. If this is you, take the time to wonder, to think about the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection. Oh, the wonder of it all. Amen.