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Matthew 27:62-66 | Matthew 28:1-15

Jesus rose from the dead. But many doubted if He did. They asked how could a person who died rise again? They bullied those who believed He did rise again. So Paul challenged those who said that He did not.

“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ whom He did not raise up – in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; and you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:12-17)

Any belief will not stand if those who advance it are not strong. In the same way, Christian faith would not mean anything if its founder is weak. It would not make any impact at all. It will serve no purpose. It will die a natural death.

But Jesus, the founder of Christian faith, died and rose again. For what purpose? He was delivered over to death because of our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Rom. 4:25)

It was through His death that He could pay our sins. And it was through His resurrection that He could justify us before God. That is why He died and rose again after three days. (1 Cor. 15:4)

Those who caused Jesus’ death did not know that He would rise again. His disciples could not grasp how He would. Peter even dared say that he would keep Him from dying. The devil just laughed at the thought of Jesus coming back to life. Nobody saw it in God’s point of view. They were utterly ignorant of what God was about to do. They did not know there’s the Holy Spirit to raise Jesus from the dead. (Acts 2:24; Rom. 8:11)

Why did He need to rise again? To complete His mission to redeem us. To ensure that we are saved. To strengthen our faith. To make it valid. To give us power to rise above sin and its works. To give power to our preaching. To make us a strong witness of His love. To give our lives real meaning.

What else? To raise up from the dead those who believed on Him but had already died. He will do that at the appointed time and will give them a new body. And those who are caught up alive when He comes He will also give a glorious body. (1 Thess. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:35-49)

Our life on earth is not meant to be forever. It is not even secured. That is why Paul said to those who placed their faith in Christ, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” (1 Cor. 15:19)

Our life with Him is meant to be spent with Him. And that will happen completely where He is. He will bring us there at the right time and give us the eternal life He promised. (John 3:16)

He who died for us is alive and will never die again. It is never futile to trust Him. For He did not only have the power to lay down His life for us. He did also have the power to take it again. (John10:17). And He promised that we shall live like Him when He returns.

Now who said that He did not rise again?

Reflection:

1. Why is it hard to believe that a person came back to life?

2. What does Jesus’ resurrection have to do with your life?

Jesus defeated death when He rose from the dead.

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John 15:13

When Jesus died on the cross, He died once and for all. He completed the redemptive work for which the Father sent Him. The writer to the Hebrews or Jews explained it. He quoted Psalm 40:6-8, a prophecy which is known to the Jews.

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come – in the volume of the book it is written of Me – to do Your will, O God.’” (Heb. 10:9-10)

The passage tells of the heart-to-heart talk between God the Father and God the Son. Jesus volunteered to die for men. This time, He would fulfill what the law says on how people could be absolved from their sin. That is through His blood.

The death of Jesus Christ can be illustrated in five ways.

He took our place. He was the substitute for us. We ought to die. But it was He who died in our stead. His death became our life. (Rom 6:23)

He made amends, as for sin. He atoned for our sins. He paid them in full through His sinless blood. He knew that it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Heb. 10:4)

In the old covenant, a priest would atone for a person who sinned. Imagine how many people would sin in a day and for how many times. He would kill before the Lord a young bull and sprinkle some of its blood in front of the veil of the sanctuary as a sin offering to God. (Leviticus 4:1-7). This ceremony was done to serve as a covering for sin. It would cover the guilt of him who broke the law before the eyes of God.

Christ made a better covenant out of His death. Through Him, God will not condemn us. For if we sin and earnestly ask His forgiveness and cleansing through the blood of Christ, He will answer. He will do it. The forgiveness we can receive from God is complete. He would not inflict guilt on us because of Him who atoned for our sins. (1 John 1:9)

He appeased God. God’s wrath on us had been driven away. He was the propitiation for our sins. (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10)

He reconciled us back to God. Sin had set us apart from God. But because He died for us, we can now have fellowship with Him again. We are no longer His enemies. We have become His sons. (Rom 5:10; Col 1:20-21)

He was made a ransom for us. Sin snatched us away from God’s hands. For Him to get us back again, He should pay for it, as the law requires. Jesus on His own will offered Himself. He was made the sacrifice for us. He bought us with His blood. (Matt. 20:28; Heb. 9:22)

What Christ did is complete. We cannot add some more to it. Neither shall we need to suffer that we may be saved. He did it for us already. And He gave us the choice of faith. So that if we would believe Him, we shall be saved.

Reflection:

1. What would you feel if you know that someone had died for you? What will you do to repay that sacrifice?

2. Is it possible for a person to die for his enemy? Why or why not?

Jesus died for our soul with all readiness.

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Isaiah 55:8-13

God promised to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. But for them to have it, they have to conquer all of its cities. The walled city of Jericho was the first city they need to take over. God gave it to them in a marvelous way.

God charged Joshua to lead Israel’s men of war to march around the city of Jericho. He said they should do it once in a day. And they should do it silently for six days. On the seventh day, they should march around it for seven times. Then the priests should blow the trumpet as a signal to make a long and loud cry.

When they did it, and after those great shouts were heard, the walls of the city fell down flat. (Joshua 6)

Jericho looked so strong because of its walls. No one thought it would fall. If there were people who were watching them as they marched around, they might think of them as fools. But they are bound to be proven wrong.

The fortified walls of Jericho fell down flat by the power of God. Hence it tells us that He fulfills His promises to His people in His own way.

We may be thinking of ways that will lead to God’s answer to our requests. But He may choose to answer in a way that we do not expect.

Often, He leaves us in great awe. We wonder how did He do it. And there are times that we do not notice that He already had answered our prayers. That is because we hold on to the mode we thought God would use to answer our prayers. Funny yet it’s true, we delay our response. We do not notice at once that He already had answered.

Take this for instance. When Herod had Peter arrested and bound in prison, the believers prayed for him to be freed. The Bible said, “constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” (Acts 12:5)

Those prayers led to Peter’s escape. An angel came to prison and woke him up. His chains fell off his hands. He went out and followed the angel. But he thought he was just seeing a vision. The iron gate that leads to the city opened to them. And when they went down one street, immediately the angel departed from him. Then Peter understood that it was an angel that helped him.

So he came to a house where many were gathered together. And there they were still praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a girl came to answer. She recognized that it was Peter’s voice that she heard. Because she was too excited, she ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. She forgot to open the door for him!

“But they said to her, ‘You are beside yourself!’ Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, ‘It is his angel.’

“Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” (vv. 15-16)

Isn’t it funny that God places in front of us the very answer to our prayers but we still fail to take notice?

One thing is sure. No matter how God answers our prayers, it should put us in awe. And we must have an eye for it. So that our joy may be complete.

Reflection:

1. God is not in a box. Explain this thought.

2. Why do you at times fail to notice God’s answers to your prayers? What happens if you did fail?

God moves in a way we find hard to imagine.

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Matthew 9:9-13

A commotion was going on. To push and hit could not be avoided either. All wanted to get the best position to see Jesus. They heard He has the power to cast out demons, make blind men see and raise the dead to life. No wonder. Everybody wants to see Him with his or her own eyes.

The power that drew them to Jesus was tremendous. They could not tell if it was just their human nature to sleuth. They could not understand His charm that pulls them to gather around Him.

Amidst the noise, the chief tax collector could not see anything. His small height made all his efforts to see Jesus futile. But he really wanted to see Him. He knew he just had to. And the unruly crowd, heat, or his height would not stop him. Then he saw a sycamore tree!

“So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.

“And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’” (Luke 19:4-5)

Could it be real? His heart was pounding very fast! Why did He single him out and call him by name? How come He knew him? How come He knew where he was? How come He wanted to dine with him in his house? Why him?

“So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.” (v. 6)

He could hear the murmurings of the crowd. They seem to be asking, “Why did He go with him? He’s a sinner!”

The Bible did not tell what happened in the house of Zacchaeus. But it went on to say that Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he is also a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” (vv. 8-10)

Today, salvation can also come into your house! We need to be like Zacchaeus if we want to be saved.

Let us desire to see Him who possesses the power to give us life. (John 3:16; John 14:6; 1John 5:12)

Let us not allow the negative circumstances to block us from seeking Him. Let us come to Him even if we abound in sin. In spite of who we are. For He is able to change us. Remember that those who seek Him and desire to welcome Him into their hearts find Him.

Let us make haste to respond when we hear Him call us. Come down from where we are. Let us humble before Him. Admit that we are nothing without Him. (John 15:5b). And let us receive Him joyfully into the “house” of our heart.

Let us correct the wrong thing that we did. Restore what we have taken in bad faith. For it is futile to say that we are saved when we do not manifest its power.

This is the power of a changed life – making amends, making right the wrong, and doing what will please our Lord and Savior. This is the evidence of a life that God has touched.

Make sure you will not let go of this day without salvation coming into your own “house!”

Reflection:

1. Will all people be saved? Why or why not?

2. What did Jesus see in Zacchaeus that He chose to come to his house? What do you think Jesus saw in you when He first came to your heart?

Only Christ can make us good people.

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Psalms 119:89-96

All things change. And the only thing that stays permanent is the word ‘change.’ But contrary to that, there are things that stay unchanged.

For instance, God’s promises do not change. The Bible scholars say that there are more than 30,000 promises of God that we can find in the Bible. Provided that we meet their conditions, not one of them will fail.

And if Christ remains the same throughout time, so do His promises. (Heb 13:8)

King Solomon can attest to that. He said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promises, which He promised through His servant Moses.” (1 Kgs 8:56)

Another thing that stays is the law of sowing and reaping. It is the principle that abides in this life. And we cannot twist it. Galatians 6:9 tells that what we sow, that we shall reap. So we better sow what is good that we may reap good things.

Jesus even said, “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Matt 10:42)

The writer of the Hebrews said, “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered unto the saints, and do minister.” (Heb 6:10)

Another thing that does not change is God’s acceptance of us. He does not show favoritism. He treats us equally. We are always accepted in Him. No matter how dark is our past. For as long as we cling to Him, He will take hold of us.

Thanks to the sacrifice Jesus made. We were redeemed because of grace, by which we were made accepted in God. (Eph 1:6)

Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37)

God does not change. (Mal 3:6). He promises to reward them that render true service. He does not play favorites. And come what may, He will remain faithful. He will not abandon those who hope in His grace.

And one thing that also stays is this – God’s invitation to all peoples on earth. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28)

Indeed, He will.

Reflection:

1. What specific promise of God that you think He always fulfil in your life?

2. If you are to look for your qualities that you should never change, what are those? What good can they do to the people around you?

When all else have changed, God stays the same.