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. (Luke 24:1-8 NIV)
Like the women on their way to the tomb, we often approach Easter as tradition rather than an expectation. They were on their way to anoint Jesus’ dead body with the spices they had prepared – an ancient Jewish custom – but didn’t expect not to see His body there. Why prepare spices in the first place when there’s no body to anoint? Jesus had told them that He would rise again. Were His words too good to be true? The angels asked them the same question, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” How many times do we talk and sing about the Easter story, but don’t live like it’s true? We say He is risen but act like He is still dead or even worse, we live as though we’re dead. If the resurrection of Jesus is a tradition rather than an expectation, we’ll never know what it means to have that same resurrection power. Let’s expect more from our risen Lord and Saviour!
Rising with the Son 