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From sheer exhaustion I sleep until daylight streams in the window. In a moment I remember—Jesus is dead. Something inside me has died with Him. What meaning could my life have now? Deciding to return home, for my mother will be needing my help, I arise and wash. No one is in the house, but Martha has left barley cakes and raisins on the table for me. Also a note which reads, “I have gone to the tomb to look for Mary.”
I must also go to Jesus’ grave before I go home, I decide. Even though I am wrapped in sorrow I notice some lilies blooming and hear sparrows chirping. They remind me of something Jesus once said. “Don’t worry about your needs. I make the flowers beautiful. I take care of the birds. You are more valuable than they. Seek first my kingdom of righteousness.” Pondering what Jesus meant I arrive at the garden. Approaching the tomb I sense something is different. The rock is not covering the entrance! It is pushed back, exposing the cave. Cautiously I step forward, fearfully peaking inside. In the dimness I at first see nothing, then something white. The linen cloth which was used to wrap Jesus’ dead body is neatly folded on the hard rock bed where He’d lain. Where is His body? New questions fill my mind. I must know. Thoughts of going home temporarily forgotten I turn my steps back to the city. I must talk to one of Jesus’ disciples. Surely they will know.
Uncertainty fills me, mingled with expectation, as I walk the streets of Jerusalem, but I see none of Jesus’ disciples. Maybe I’ll go to the temple, I decide. Suddenly I am startled by the words of a total stranger, a woman much taller than I. “Jesus has risen and I have also risen from my grave with Him.” Hope surges through me. Could her words be true? Is Jesus really alive? Before I can reply this messenger is lost in the crowd.
At the temple I listen to hushed conversations. Everyone seems to be talking about Jesus. Some say He is alive. Others insist that His disciples stole His body from the tomb. “But how? There was a guard posted,” another man declared. Confused, I turn away. What can a person believe? What is the truth? Perhaps the answer isn’t to be found in Jerusalem. I will go home. I will seek and search until I find answers for myself. I’ll borrow a portion of the prophet’s writings and pray God for understanding. Kingdom talk isn’t enough anymore; another’s explanation insufficient.
I am nearly home when a man overtakes me, and momentarily I feel alarmed. “Hi, my sister!” He greets, then asks, “May I walk home with you?” Immediately I recognize His voice and look up into the face of Jesus.
With joy filling my heart I exclaim, “Oh Jesus! You are alive! What the woman in Jerusalem told me is true!” In that moment my sorrow is turned to gladness, and the tears which now drip down my cheeks are tears of joy. Afraid Jesus will vanish I reach for His hand, then gasp as I see the ugly scar.
“It’s okay,” Jesus voice is tender. “This scar is to remind you always of My love. The death I died paid the wages of sin. I took your sin. I give you My life. I love you.”
Right there on the road I fall to my knees before this Man who expresses His love for me and worship Him. “You are my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord, and my King! But Jesus, you are also my Friend and my Brother. I love you too.” Holding my hand tightly in His Jesus walks with me to my house. And we talk. I tell Him all that is on my heart and He explains some of the Scriptures about why He had to die in order to secure the kingdom of David. I begin to understand. His is not an earthly kingdom but a spiritual one.
“I must soon go back to live with My Father in heaven, but I will one day come to get you to live there too. Although I will not be present in body, I will be with you always by My Spirit. You need never be alone again. I have your name written on my hands—in these scars—and I’ll never forget you, because I died for you.”
He embraces me, and then He is gone. In our farewell hug He breathes on me His Spirit, and though I can not comprehend this mystery His presence remains with me. I know Jesus is in heaven, yet He dwells in me. I am a temple in His kingdom of grace. I belong to Him. I am loved.
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