Christ was resurrected so we could open our hearts to faith. He is close to your life

Too much had happened in such a short time for the devout followers of Jesus to assimilate. Just a few days before, they had celebrated the Passover feast with their master, and then trooped out to the Garden of Gethsemane to camp under the olive trees. The tranquility of Gethsemane gave way to a mob scene when Judas, one of their own group, led a contingency of temple guards into their campsite to arrest Jesus.

Feeling the injustice of the nightmare unfolding before them, the 11 remaining disciples fled into the darkness of the early morning hours. They scattered in total confusion as Jesus was led away as a helpless lamb to the eventual slaughter.

From the shadows, these disciples watched in horror as Jesus was unjustly convicted of treason, beaten, crucified and buried in a tomb before the sun had set on the next day. When his limp, lifeless body was placed in the garden tomb, the hopes of these people were buried with him.

While the group was contemplating a bleak future, Mary Magdalene, one of their dear friends, knocked on the door of their locked dwelling and demanded entrance. She had alarming news! She was supposed to meet some other women at the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. She arrived before the others and found the stone covering the door of the tomb was moved and the sepulcher was empty. Fearing that someone had robbed the grave, she came at once to tell the disciples.

Hurrying to the grave with Peter and John, Mary respectfully stepped into the early morning shadows while the men investigated. John approached the tomb first, but reverently stopped at the door and peered into the darkness. Peter rushed into the burial chamber and stared in amazement at the burial wrappings as they lay in an empty cocoon. It looked as if Jesus’ body had just slipped out of the grave clothes. The head covering had been politely folded and set to one side. John believed a miracle had taken place, but Peter wasn’t so sure.

Reports of Jesus being alive began to filter into their gathering, but some of the disciples had been through too much to accept them. As they huddled in a skeptical frame of mind, suddenly Jesus appeared before them. He held out his hands and said, “Handle me and see… ” (Luke 24:39). If they were going to become his representatives to their world, they would need to be convinced of the facts of his life, death and resurrection.

These disciples later would make the resurrection of Jesus the centerpiece of their message. They would eventually give their lives rather than recant what they proclaimed. They actually preached the resurrection of Jesus within a short distance of his tomb. If it could have been disproved, it would have been disputed by Jesus’ critics of the first century.

Do you have a hard time believing Jesus rose from the dead? If you, even with feeble, trembling faith, barely extend a sincere prayer toward God, you will experience the dynamic power of Jesus’ resurrection. God, in love, has come the greater distance to prove himself to you. He has come that far to be that good.

If you will open your heart by faith, the presence of the resurrected Christ will come into the privacy of your personal prayer. For he is much closer than you ever thought.