In the time Jesus spent on earth, He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38). He gave sight to the blind, speech to the mute, hearing to the deaf, new bodies to the crippled, and life to the dead.
He did nothing wrong, yet He was tried, pronounced guilty, and condemned to die.
Jesus was paraded through the streets of Jerusalem while crowds jeered and shouted at Him. On those same streets a few days earlier, the crowds had honored Him by putting their coats down in front of Him as He rode upon a donkey. They had waved their palm branches and shouted, "Hosanna!"
Then just a few days later, Jesus walked those streets with a cross upon His back, His innocent blood flowing. Instead of "Hosanna," the people shouted, "Crucify Him!"
The soldiers took Jesus to a place called Golgotha—the Place of the Skull. They laid Him on the cross, drove nails into the hands and feet of the Son of God, and then raised the cross upright. As Jesus hung on the cross, the soldiers gathered below Him, gambling for His clothes.
As the sky grew dark, Jesus uttered the words, "It is finished," and He gave up His spirit. His followers and family knelt at the cross and wept.
Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body from the cross, wrapped it in burial clothes, and laid it in a tomb, which the soldiers then sealed with a large stone.
The day Jesus was crucified was the darkest moment in history, but three days later, the darkest moment was turned into the brightest.
The Stone Was Rolled Away
When Mary, the mother of James and others went to visit the tomb, they found the stone had been rolled away. An angel said to them:
He [Jesus] is not here: for He is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.From the darkest day in history came the brightest day, because He who once was dead now lives forevermore!
(Matt. 28:6-7)
Notice the angel said, "Come and see the place where the Lord lay." It's important to realize that the stone wasn't rolled away to let Jesus out. The stone was rolled away so that people might come and see the empty tomb!
If you were to visit the graves of Mohammed, Buddha, and the deceased leaders of other religions, you would see that their graves are still there. But you can go to Jerusalem and see an empty tomb! Thank God, Jesus is alive!
The "Stones" In Your Life
Today, do you have a "stone" in your life that you want God to roll away? If you will let Him, God will roll away the stone of depression, worry, and anguish from your life. He will replace that stone with His peace. He said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you...."
If you are sealed in a tomb of your own making, and you want to be set free, then let God roll the stone away! When the stone—whatever is hindering you in your life—is rolled away, you will be free and able to receive all that God desires to give you.
God desires that you be His child, and, as His child, His heir, and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. Romans 8:14 says, "For as many are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Verse 17 says, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
When you became a Christian, you were adopted into God's family, and you became a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. We are adopted into God's family through a blood covenant—through the blood that Jesus shed on the cross.
But, remember, Jesus didn't stay on the cross. And He didn't stay in the tomb, either! He ascended on High and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.
As His joint-heir, you, too, have been raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4) and are now seated with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6)!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications