ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 7: Thomas

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series 
Part 7: Thomas [One final post tomorrow, Easter Sunday!]

The other disciples said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails... I will not believe.”  - John 20:25

The Bible never calls this disciple "Doubting Thomas," but we certainly do. On that first Easter Sunday the other disciples were together, yet Thomas was not among them. He refused to believe that Jesus had entered the room to talk and eat with them. "Unless I see Him and touch Him, I will not believe," he said.

Far from being faithless, though, it seems that Thomas was simply so devoted to the Lord that he couldn't bear the thought that He was gone. A little while earlier, when Jesus had returned to the region of Judea, the knowledge that His enemies might kill Him had moved Thomas to say, "Let's go too, so we can die with Him" (John 11:8, 16). Now that the crucifixion had been final and certain, Thomas was empty.

But a week later, everything changed! Thomas's friends convinced him to join them, and once again Jesus arrived. There He stood, promising peace and reaching out His nail-scarred hands. "My Lord and My God!" Thomas declared.

This account reveals more evidence for the resurrection itself. First, not only Thomas doubted it-- they all did! There was no grand scheme to fool the public; every disciple believed Jesus was gone until they actually saw Him alive. 

And second, why emphasize a bodily resurrection? Some kind of "spiritual" appearance in a vision or dream would have been a much easier claim, since no one could prove otherwise. But Christianity claims that Thomas literally saw His living body, and every gospel writer records Jesus's physical, bodily appearance to His followers.  What's more, the first-century Christians talked about the resurrection all the time, and nearly every letter of the New Testament refers to it.

The transformation that took place in Thomas and the others requires an explanation of epic proportions. Only a literal resurrection really provides that kind of explanation. It was blasphemy to worship a man; but as Thomas looked upon Jesus, the stone of doubt rolled away, and he declared Him to be God.

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 6: Peter

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 6: Peter

“ 'The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!' ”  - Luke 24:34
"He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve."  - 1 Corinthians 15:5

The apostle Peter (also called Simon and Cephas) was perhaps the most despondent of all the disciples of Jesus after the crucifixion. Far from defending Him, Peter had denied even knowing Him! And after his third denial, there was that final knowing glance from Jesus Himself (Luke 22:54-62). Peter had walked away, weeping bitterly, and now that look would be the last memory he would ever have of his Master.

On Sunday morning a message came from some of the women: The body of Jesus is gone! Everyone dismissed the story, but Peter went to see for himself. The empty tomb only added to his confusion, since no one remembered that Jesus had promised to rise to life.

But something monumental happened during the next few hours. The Lord Himself appeared to Peter! It was a private meeting, and we have no record of what was said. What grief and repentance must have poured from Peter's lips! What tenderness must have flowed from Jesus' heart. The Great Shepherd had come to restore Peter's soul.

Paul's summary of these events in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 is very significant: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures... He was buried... He rose again the third day... He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve." Skeptics like to claim that Jesus' resurrection is a tradition that developed over decades. But Paul's letter predates any of the gospels, and his summary is from a Christian creed that developed in the mid-30s A.D., only three to five years after Jesus' death. There is every reason to accept the resurrection as an early and essential Christian belief.

For Peter, this was more than a creed. Despair over his personal failures instantly rolled away in the presence of a living, powerful, and gracious Savior.

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 5: Mary Magdalene

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 5: Mary Magdalene

"Now when Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons."  - Mark 16:9

There are six women in the New Testament named Mary. This Mary (called Magdalene because she was from the region of Magdala, or Magadan) had quite a story. The Bible writer Luke implies that she and her friends were relatively wealthy, yet she was hopeless and miserable because seven demons lived within her (Luke 8:2-3). This demonic possession is no metaphor; despite Mary's comfortable lifestyle, her mind and heart had become hospitable places for the occult.*

Then Jesus came to Mary's town (Matthew 15:39 shows that He occasionally visited that region), and He changed her life. With the demons gone, Mary traveled with Jesus and His other disciples, using her own money to help provide for their needs.

But then came the day of Jesus' death. Mary was near the cross, mourning as He suffered. She watched as His body went into the tomb. She was one of the ladies who went early that Sunday morning to anoint His body. When they saw the empty tomb, they left in confusion; but in her grief Mary returned, walking and weeping. 

The groundskeeper approached her, and she pleaded with him: "They have taken away the body of my Lord! Where is He? Please let me take His body..."

"Mary," the man replied, and nobody ever said her name like that except One. It was not the groundskeeper; it was her Lord!

In those days the testimony of women was considered worthless in a court of law, and yet the Christian story is that a once-hopeless woman was the first to see the risen Christ.  This is another point that adds credibility to the resurrection of Jesus. Why fake a story with details that other people might dismiss as unreliable? But more importantly, Mary's experience reveals that the resurrection changes everything, and the stone of deepest sorrow is rolled away by Easter's joy.

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*By the way, Mary Magdalene is often confused with the immoral woman who repents and comes to Jesus in Luke 7. That's a great story too, but there is no evidence that this Mary is that unnamed woman.

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 4: Nicodemus, the teacher of religion

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 4: Nicodemus, the teacher of religion

"And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes ... as the custom of the Jews is to bury."  - John 19:39-40

John is the only Bible writer who mentions this man Nicodemus. He is described as a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, and a leading religious teacher (John 3:1-10). It seems probable that, like Joseph of Arimathaea, Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the judicial group in Jerusalem (John 7:50).

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a religious conservative. Since the Pharisees emphasized the laws of God, they had developed many rituals and traditions designed to help them avoid breaking any of those laws. Ultimately, though, the Scriptures became less important than their traditions.

For example, one time Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, and they started talking about the idea of "new birth." Jesus said being "born again" was absolutely essential, but Nicodemus thought it sounded like such a peculiar concept. So Jesus asked him, "How can you be the teacher in Israel without understanding this?" (John 3:1-21). Nicodemus had an honorable title, yet he didn't really get the meaning of the Scriptures.

However, Nicodemus is always identified as "the one who came at night," which tells us that his nighttime conversation with the Lord must have been a turning point for him. It made him value God's actual words more than the rituals and laws the Pharisees had developed. During Jesus' life, Nicodemus defended Him (John 7:45-51); and then, after His death, Nicodemus joined in honoring Jesus at His burial.

For Nicodemus, traditions had become less important, but his conversation and relationship with Jesus had become more important. Whenever the actual words of the Bible influence us to know Jesus better, the same stone that rolled away from Nicodemus gets a little farther away from us, too.

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 3: Joseph from Arimathaea

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 3: Joseph from Arimathaea

"Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, ... came and took away His body."  - John 19:38

Life often develops in a way that forces us to decide who we really are. That's what happened to Joseph, called here "Joseph from Arimathaea" to distinguish him from Joseph the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

This Joseph was a rich and well-respected member of the Sanhedrin council, which was something like a Jewish supreme court. At some point in the past couple years Joseph had started believing the teachings of Jesus.  He must have felt trapped, though, because the council didn't want to honor Jesus-- they wanted to kill Him.

Joseph first exposed his beliefs by refusing to vote "yes" on the death penalty for Jesus (Luke 23:51). Then, it seems, he stood nearby during the actual crucifixion, and therefore he knew about Jesus' death even before the governor did (Mark 15:43-45). Finally, Joseph left no question about his allegiance when he asked to bury the body of Jesus in his own new tomb.

Joseph's role in the burial is significant because every gospel writer identifies him. This adds credibility to the resurrection story. Joseph was well-known, and his tomb was easy to find (John 19:41). Anyone could go and check whether the tomb was indeed empty. Why fake a story by practically drawing a map to the exact burial location of Jesus?

As important as that is for us, it's good to remember the burial's deep personal significance for Joseph himself. "Secret disciple" is a bit of an oxymoron anyway, and now Joseph could never go back to that status. 

As the grave stone rolled to cover the entrance of the tomb, a different stone rolled away from Joseph's heart. He was a follower of Jesus, and it no longer mattered who knew it.

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 2: The thief

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 2: The thief

"Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him (Jesus)... but the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God? ... for we receive the due reward of our deeds.' "  - Luke 23:39-41

At the crucifixion of Jesus, two others were also executed. Both were criminals; Matthew and Mark call them thieves. As the three hung there, religious leaders and others walked past to mock the Lord Jesus. "Why doesn't God help you?" they called. "You said you were His Son! Maybe He doesn't want you any more. Ha! Look, He saved other people, but He can't even save Himself!"

At first the robbers imitated the crowd. Misery loves to make someone else look even worse off than itself. But soon one of them realized that Jesus was no criminal, and in that knowledge this thief despaired. "We are getting what we deserve," he said.

Let's call this the stone of guilt. And he was right! The longer we review our past, the sooner we will reach a similar conclusion. Sin always pays out death, and our sins only separate us from God. But a heart that admits its guilt will always find an open space next to Jesus. That space is marked "Repentance," and Jesus always responds to repentance with love. "Now you will be with Me in Paradise," He says.

The second thief apparently never admitted anything, and therefore he was never forgiven. But that first thief-- who did nothing to merit God's favor, who had no time to get baptized or do any acts of penance because a few hours later he was dead-- that first thief heard the words of life in a place of death. 

Even before the body of Jesus was laid in the tomb later that evening, the first stone had already been rolled away for the person who wasn't too proud to give his guilt to Jesus.

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ Part 1: The stone

ROLL AWAY THE STONE ~ An Easter series
Part 1: The stone

And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” - Mark 16:3

After the death of Jesus, some of the ladies who followed Him took a walk to His grave.  They wanted to honor Him by anointing His body with spices-- a common custom, but there hadn't been time to do it the other evening when He died.  So now, early Sunday morning, they walked together.

Suddenly one of them must have realized, "We will never be able to roll the stone away from the tomb!" Those circular grave stones, generally four to six feet across and weighing a ton or more, would rest inside a carved groove and cover the tomb's entrance. There was no way these weary ladies would be able to move the stone and reach the body of Jesus.  Still they walked, unwilling to return home.

I don't think we can even imagine how shocked they were to reach the tomb and see that the stone was already rolled away! When they were informed by a white-robed stranger that Jesus had risen, they were first confused and afraid. But soon enough they saw Jesus Himself!

Easter is all about the stone that was rolled away. Although the grave of Jesus was covered by a literal stone, there are also many figurative stones that might seem to prevent us from reaching Him.  

In this series (between now and Easter Sunday), we'll consider seven people who had plenty of stones to worry about-- but in the end, not one stone remained.  If Jesus is the Lord, no obstacle will prevent Him from reaching us.