House of Hope Online

April 9, 2023

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Happy Resurrection Day to you all!  This is the day when our faith has its greatest victory!  It is the day we celebrate the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead!

But the Resurrection is more than a vindication of our faith.  There is also Resurrection power that flows from the grave and manifests in our life.  The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:11: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.”

So, there is a benefit to us, and that is life for our mortal bodies.  Because Jesus overcame death, so do we, and our pursuit going forward needs to be life and not death.  For this reason, I am always fascinated when I read the scriptural accounts of Jesus’ followers who went to the grave site to minister to the body of Jesus.  The word of God is so rich, and we can take life lessons for ourselves and for our walk of faith.

Today I want to talk a little about the questions that were asked at the grave because they are questions that we need to ask ourselves today as we walk in a broken world.  Here are the four questions that were asked:

1.  Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 

Luke 24:

 1 ¶ But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 4 And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel;

 5 and as [the women] were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, [the men] said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?

 6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,

 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”

The women went to the gravesite with spices but did not find the dead body of Jesus.  Instead, they found angels of the Lord who asked them a question that applies to our lives today.  Why do we seek life and joy and blessings from an unbelieving world?  If the world refuses to acknowledge and believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, how can we expect to find life there?  How can we expect to find life among those who believe in death?  Who believe in the grave?  The women who were followers of Jesus fell victim to that. They went to the grave expecting to find death.  They forgot that Jesus said He would be raised.  They needed to be reminded by the angels not to seek life among the dead, and so do we need to be reminded. 

Let us quit searching for life from those who believe in death.  Let us seek life from our Lord and Savior only, not from our jobs, not from our abilities, not from our government, and not from our friends and family.  If we go seeking Jesus only, the Spirit who raised Him from the dead will give us life.

2. Why are you weeping? 

John 20:

 11 ¶ But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

 12 and she *beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

 13 And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

 14 When she had said this, she turned around, and *beheld Jesus standing [there,] and did not know that it was Jesus.

 15 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

 16 Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She *turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

 17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

Mary was weeping because she could not find the body of Jesus.  She was in the flesh, looking for a dead body.  She had not yet transformed from the flesh to the Spirit.  She had not yet put into perspective what had happened – that Jesus overcame the world, that death could not hold Him, and that the world and death can no longer hold us.  So, she wept, and Jesus asked: “Why?”  He later told her in verse 17: “Stop clinging to me.”  And by that He meant their relationship had to transform to a spiritual one.  He is going to the Father, and she will then access Him by the Holy Spirit.

So, question # 2 is a question for us today – why do we weep?  Why do we focus on fleshly things and worldly matters?  Why are we disappointed when we fail or when people let us down?  Or when our enemies appear to have victory? Why do we get angry with our government leaders and politicians?  Could it be that we are in the flesh, looking at death instead of seeking life in the Spirit of God?  Remember, the Spirit who raised Him from the dead will give us life.

Like Mary, we need to transform from conformance to this world, by the renewing of our minds, as Paul wrote in Romans 12:2.

Romans 12:

 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

When our mind becomes renewed, no longer conformed to the world, we no longer weep.  We have joy and victory.

3. Whom are you seeking? 

This question is from the same passage of scripture, John 20:15.  Jesus asked Mary: “Whom are you seeking?”  This is another profound question for us.  Whom do we seek in this life?  Whose favor do we seek?  Is it the boss at work?  Or maybe Facebook likes from friends?  Our Christian family? Perhaps a romantic interest?

The implication of this question from Jesus is we are seeking the wrong one.  Jesus told Mary and He is telling us to stop looking for love in the all the wrong places.  Our new orders, on Resurrection Day, are to seek Jesus via the Holy Spirit because He (Jesus) is going to the Father.  When we seek the Lord in this new way, we will find Him, His love, His provision, and His wise counsel.  His words will bring peace.

John 16:

 33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

So, when we feel anxious about something, or angry, or sad, or if there is any absence of peace in our spirit, we must answer Jesus’ question: “Whom are you seeking?”  We need to be transformed from conformance to this world to seeking our Lord and Savior, who renews our minds through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Remember, the Spirit who raised Him from the dead will give us life.

4. Who will roll away the stone for us? 

Mark 16:

 1 ¶ And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

 2 And very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

 4 And looking up, they *saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.

 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed.

 6 And he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, [here is] the place where they laid Him.

 7 “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.’”

This fourth question is one that leads us to worry and anxiety, which are two things Jesus said will not add years to our life.  The women new they were headed to the grave with spices to anoint the body of Jesus.  They knew access to the grave would be blocked by a large stone.  They worried about how to remove that obstacle.

If you are like me, you think about all the obstacles that block what you are trying to do.  We tend to focus on the challenge instead of the Overcomer of the world.  The women at the grave were amazed that the large stone had been rolled away for them.  They did not have to intercede with well-worded prayers to accomplish this.  It was done for them.  And the best part was the angel said to them: “Do not be amazed…”  That cracks me up – they had just seen the result of the greatest miracle of all time, and the angel of the Lord told them not to be amazed.

There is a powerful message for us here.  Do not focus on the obstacle, the mountain, the schemes of the devil designed to stop you.  Instead, we should expect God to make a way for us to do His will, and not even be amazed when He does.

So let us return to Romans 8 and the words of Paul, who speaks to the power of Resurrection in our lives; that is the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.

Romans 8:

 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

 12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—

 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

And here is more from Paul about being separate from the spirit of the world.

2^nd Corinthians 6:

 14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

 17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

 18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.

So, we cannot be buddies with the spirit of unbelief, or as verse 14 says, we cannot fellowship with darkness.  But what is darkness?  Darkness is any deception or half-truth, or more importantly, anything opposed to the Light.  Jesus is the word and the Light.  So, any logic that goes against the word of God is darkness, and we cannot fellowship with it.  We cannot be okay with it.  It doesn’t mean we do not love the one who espouses unbelief, but we cannot allow that darkness to invade us, or think that logic is okay. 

Galatians 6:7 says: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 

We cannot sow fellowship with darkness because we will reap darkness. We cannot have harmony with Belial, the devil.  We have no fellowship with darkness because we are children of the Light.  We need not fear the darkness because we have been renewed in our minds by the power of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promises to send us.  We have the gifts of the Spirit to guide us into discernment, and we can love the sinner while separating from the darkness.

In summary then, these four questions that were asked at the grave are speaking to us today.  Why are seeking life among the dead?  Why are we weeping?  Whom are we seeking in this world?  And who will overcome our obstacles?  The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead will bring life to our mortal bodies and guide us away from the darkness of this world and into the marvelous light, truth, and life.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank you for the questions that were asked at the grave, and for the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.  Help us to stop seeking life among the dead.  Let us no longer be conformed to this world, but renew our minds in the Spirit.  Help us to realize why we are weeping, and whom we are seeking when we allow the world’s thinking to infect us.  Help us to know and expect You will roll away our obstacles.  Draw us to be led by the Spirit as children of God, drawn away and separated from the reasoning of an unbelieving world.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.