His Appearance Was Like Lightning

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:27-31

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28:1-6

It was the day after. Your favorite sports team had just lost the crucial game. And then you hear a song on the radio. “Glorious Day” is on the radio. You are told that Jesus was led to the mountain of Calvary, and that He had been nailed to a tree. You hear how He suffered. You hear that He was despised and rejected. And then, you hear of His resurrection, and His victory over death.

Out of that worst of days – out of the noontime darkness on that Jerusalem hillside, has come the only true hope for mankind, because Jesus took the nails for you and I. He took away our sins. And one day, He will return. Maybe today did not start out that good for you. Maybe you face a host of trouble that threatens to turn this into a day of despair. Turn your attention to Jesus. Think about what He did for you, two thousand years ago at Calvary and how He conquered death by His resurrection.

Christ’s empty tomb fills us with hope.

Our Daily Bread – October 21, 2013