Scripture: Luke 24:1-12 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Devotion: It is the greatest act of love throughout all of history. Looking forward, it will continue to be the greatest act of love ever. That Jesus would lay down His life for us so that we are forgiven and made clean is an act of love unlike any other. But it did not stop at God sending His one and only Son to die on the cross for us. Jesus, with His death on the cross, conquered sin and death. He defeated it once and for all. Today, we get to celebrate the resurrection.
When we look at the question, “Does God still love me?”, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus give us the entirety of the answer that we need. First, we recognize that God, sending His Son to take on flesh and live the life that we could never live, to die the death that we deserve, is an incredible act of love. And He did that for you and for me. Second, Jesus, submitting to the will of the Father, taking on all of sin to die in humiliation in order to conquer death once and for all, is another incredible act of love. He had the power to run away when He was betrayed in the garden. He had the power to come off the cross for Himself. And yet, He chose to go through all of it for us.
There is no sin that is too big or too serious. There is no mistake that is too egregious. There is no one who is too far gone for the saving grace of Jesus. When He poured out His love for us on the cross of Calvary, it was more than enough to cover the sins for each and every one of us. Thank you, Lord, for laying down your life in the greatest act of love.
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Reflect:
- What does Easter Sunday mean to you?
- Do you struggle with believing that God could still love you? How does the truth of the crucifixion and resurrection change that?
