After the Resurrection
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Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and asked, "When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world?" ()
Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and asked, "When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world?" ()
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He 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.
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He 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.
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He 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.
We are just over a week from the time Jesus arose from the dead. And I want to share some thoughts about the time from the resurrection to those 40 days until His ascension.
The story of Easter doesn’t end with Christ coming out of the tomb.
The story of Easter doesn’t end with Christ coming out of the tomb.
Instead, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all tell us of exciting events that occurred after the resurrection as Christ appeared unto His own.
In their sorrow and grief Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices, but they were filled with confusion and despair when they did not find His body there.
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
mathew 28:1-4
Can you imagine with me all that took place that morning and what those sweet ladies experienced ...
They came looking and found nothing that they expected.... but found the angel of the Lord.
In that time and place of uncertainty Christ came to them with reassurance and comfort.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Can you imagine the scene, for these to see Jesus....
In that time and place of uncertainty Christ came to them with reassurance and comfort.
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
and these precious ladies would go and would
That evening when the disciples sat in a locked room fearing those who might kill them because they had been followers of Jesus, He miraculously appeared to them and brought them peace and joy.
Eight days later Christ again appeared to accommodate unbelieving Thomas who had not been present on that evening. With His very presence Jesus dispelled all doubt and Thomas believed.
On another day, two of Christ’s disciples walked and talked on the way to Emmaus. When their logic failed them Christ Himself came along beside them and explained from the Scriptures the mystery of His death and resurrection.
Several of the eleven disciples went back to fishing. When their own self efforts couldn’t produce a catch, Jesus appeared on the shore and told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. Their nets were filled. Their needs were met.
Finally, Jesus gathered His disciples and instructed them to tell others what He had done in
In all of these instances, Christ knew exactly where His disciples were and He knew what they were facing. Sorrow, grief, despair, confusion, fear, doubt, uncertainly, situations that don’t make sense, failed efforts . . . He understands them all. His resurrection was their consolation and hope. Let it be yours as well.
Lord, in these days following our Easter celebration, I pray that You will meet Your disciples right where we are in this moment. Help us to find comfort in Your presence and supply for our deepest needs.
By Ann Shorb
©Copyright Ann Shorb, 2006
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God's Requirements
What do you think about the second coming of Jesus, do you think it is soon?
Do you think the signs are close?
We must prepare ourselves to be ready for the second coming of Jesus. Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the very location where the prophet Zechariah had predicted that the Messiah would stand when he came to establish his kingdom.
Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and asked, "When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world?" ()
We see this in .
4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.
We must prepare ourselves to be ready for the second coming of Jesus. Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the very location where the prophet Zechariah had predicted that the Messiah would stand when he came to establish his kingdom. We see this in . It was an appropriate place for the disciples to ask Jesus when he would come in power and what they could expect then. Jesus' answer emphasized the events that would take place before the end of the age. He pointed out that his disciples should be less concerned with knowing the exact date and more concerned with being prepared—living God's way consistently so that no matter when Jesus came in glory, He would claim them as his own. We as believers must understand that Jesus is coming back. We do not know the time or the hour. We must live holy.
It was an appropriate place for the disciples to ask Jesus when he would come in power and what they could expect then. Jesus' answer emphasized the events that would take place before the end of the age.
He pointed out that his disciples should be less concerned with knowing the exact date and more concerned with being prepared—living God's way consistently so that no matter when Jesus came in glory, He would claim them as his own. We as believers must understand that Jesus is coming back. We do not know the time or the hour. We must live holy.
It was an appropriate place for the disciples to ask Jesus when he would come in power and what they could expect then. Jesus' answer emphasized the events that would take place before the end of the age. He pointed out that his disciples should be less concerned with knowing the exact date and more concerned with being prepared—living God's way consistently so that no matter when Jesus came in glory, He would claim them as his own. We as believers must understand that Jesus is coming back. We do not know the time or the hour. We must live holy.
We should be conscious of the signs of the Second Coming, but understand that these signs are easily misread.
The disciples asked Jesus for the sign of his coming and of the end of the age. Jesus' first response was "Don't let anyone mislead you." The fact is that whenever we look for signs, we become very susceptible to being deceived.
There are many "false prophets" () around with counterfeit signs of spiritual power and authority.
The only sure way to keep from being deceived is to focus on Christ and his words. Don't look for special signs, and don't spend time looking at other people. Look at Christ.
The only sure way to keep from being deceived is to focus on Christ and his words. Don't look for special signs, and don't spend time looking at other people. Look at Christ.
We as believers are to continue to do the important work that needs to be completed before Jesus returns. Jesus said that before He returns, the gospel of the kingdom (the message of salvation) would be preached throughout the world. This was the disciples' mission—and it is ours today. Jesus talked about the end times and final judgment to show his followers the urgency of spreading the Good News of salvation to everyone.
We can be certain that Jesus' return will be universally unmistakable. In times of persecution even strong believers will find it difficult to be reliable.
To keep from being deceived by false messiahs, we must understand that Jesus' return will be instantly recognizable ();
26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
No one will doubt that it is He. If you have to be told that the Messiah has come, then He hasn't ().
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Christ's coming will be obvious to everyone.
no one will doubt that it is He. If you have to be told that the Messiah has come, then He hasn't (). Christ's coming will be obvious to everyone.
Christ's coming will be obvious to everyone.
We keep working, realizing that we don't know exactly when Jesus will return. If we knew the exact date, we might be tempted to be lazy in our work for Christ. Worse yet, we might plan to keep sinning and then turn to God right at the end. Heaven is not our only goal; we have work to do here.
And we must keep on doing it until death or until we see the unmistakable return of our Savior. If we are living our lives for Jesus Christ and doing His work shows the evidence of our salvation.
We remain prepared, realizing that each day is the possible day of Jesus' return. Knowing that Christ's return will be sudden and unexpected should motivate us always to be prepared.
We are not to live recklessly—sitting and waiting, doing nothing; seeking self-serving pleasure; using His tarrying as an excuse not to do God's work of building his kingdom; developing a false security based on precise calculations of events; or letting our curiosity about the end times divert us from doing God's work.