Oh What a Savior
On the third day… He arose!!! The scripture is clear that Jesus rose on the third day which means that when He died, there was a gap between His death and His resurrection. Simply put, these three days entailed: Friday, Day 1 – Our Savior took His last breath as He said, “It is finished” and was laid in the tomb. Saturday, Day 2 – There’s a bit of debate over what Jesus did on this day, but I’d like you to consider what seems most obvious to me. Luke 23 ends with the women preparing spices and perfumes but they had to wait a day before taking them to Christ body because it was Saturday which was sabbath. My point is this – Sabbath isn’t just for man, God showed us in Genesis 2 that it was first for Him. Thus, Jesus didn’t rise from the grave on day 2 because He was resting after finishing His work on the cross. Sunday, Day 3 – Jesus wakes up from a good night’s rest and arose in all His glory!
Every year Easter changes on the calendar which means we are not celebrating the exact day of these occurrences but more importantly we are celebrating the exact events/details that changed everything for us as believers. Allow me to suggest a few thought-provoking ideas for this coming weekend as a way to prepare for our time together on Sunday morning. This Friday, make some time to take a deep breath remembering that 2,000 years ago, He took His last. As an individual and/or with your family, re-read the crucifixion story (Matthew 27; Mark 15: Luke 23; John 18-19). Let’s not allow ourselves to brush past why Friday is desperately sad yet so good. Then this Saturday, remember that God didn’t make man for the sabbath but sabbath is for man. God loves rest and so should we because sabbath does well for our souls. Let rest serve you this Saturday. And finally, Sunday, let’s wake up from a good night’s rest so we can then dress up to show up for our celebration of the world’s greatest event ever, Resurrection Sunday! No matter where you find yourself today, good or bad, Sunday’s coming and that is amazing!!!
I can’t wait to worship with you this Resurrection Sunday. Together we will make much of Jesus and His victory over the grave. In the meantime, consider these words in this message, get your Sunday outfits ironed and ready, and walk across the street to invite your neighbor to the world’s greatest celebration service of all time at Deer Flat church this Sunday at 9am & 10:45am.
For His glory,
Pastor Ryan