Before the Stone was Rolled Away!

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The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord's angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.

The angel said to the women, “Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. He isn't here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. Now hurry! Tell his disciples he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. This is what I came to tell you.”

Matthew 28:1-7

For some reason I always thought that the angel rolled the stone away from the entrance to the tomb of Jesus and the Resurrected Christ came out. That is not what the Bible says. It says that the angel rolled the stone away and revealed that the tomb was empty! There is a big difference. The Resurrection did not depend on the stone being moved. Jesus did not wait for the stone!

When a man is raised with Christ to walk a new life empowered by and led by the Holy Spirit there are "rolling stones" that would try to keep us in the tomb of our old lives! And so we sit and wait for someone to roll the stone away from the entrance to our tomb convinced that until they do we cannot live the "Resurrected Life" of a follower of Jesus.

We make much of being Crucified with Christ but pay little attention to following Jesus in His Resurrection. Like Jesus you can leave the tomb before the stone is rolled away!

After Jesus was resurrected He demonstrated that He could walk through walls, After you are raised with Christ to walk a new life, you can also walk through the walls that would keep you from living your new life to the fullest!

"Thank You Jesus for inviting me to die with and be raised with You. Thank You for what the Resurrection means for all men, but also Lord for what the Resurrection means for my life today. May Your angel roll the stone away from the tomb of my old life so the world can see that I am not there. And may You be glorified forever! Amen."