SCRIPTURE The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Matthew 27:52
THOUGHT At Jesus’ death, not only does the curtain that divides the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies mysteriously split from the top down, but the earth tears open too, rocks splitting and tombs opening.
-Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Time:
Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year
Lost in the drama of the crucifixion, this event hasn’t gotten much attention. It is as if the earth sighs with relief when the penalty of sin is finally paid, and the miracle of resurrection pours forth. How long did these resurrected saints stay in town, I wonder, and how did they explain what happened and where they had been?
A few scenes from Jesus’ ministry come to mind. He stands on the mountain, transfigured before the disciples’ eyes, calmly holding conversation with men who’ve been dead a thousand years (Matt. 17:1-3). He reaches out to a dead girl, saying she is only sleeping, and she rises (Matt. 9:24). He calls a man, dead for four days, out of the tomb (Jn. 11:43). He tells the Pharisees he has the authority to lay down his life and then take it back up again (John 10:18). He argues with the Sadducees about resurrection, teaching that God is the God of the living, not the dead, and flatly telling them “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God (Mk. 12:24-27)?”
What a stinging rebuke! May it be said of us that we knew and loved both the Word and the power of our God of the living!
PRAYER God of the living, your power is incredible, and your Word and words leave us astonished. Like Peter once proclaimed, to whom else would we go, for you have the words of eternal life.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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