So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Matthew 27:66
As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, April 10, 1966.
For Jesus’ followers, Good Friday looked like the end of all their hopes. His enemies held a victory celebration and gloated, “At last we’re rid of Him!” They rolled a stone against the door of his tomb and wrote “finis,” which means “the end.”
The new chapter being written by God this Easter weekend has a short title: “Christ lives.” Since Christ has been raised from the dead, no stone, however big or imposing will ever be final again. You may close a chapter that seems hopeless and beyond change or improvement. You may bury your cherished hopes, your fond dreams, your fervent desires, putting them to rest in a tomb marked “impossible and hopeless.” You may roll up to the door of that tomb the stone of defeat and despair. You may seal it up and write “finis” upon it. But God always has a line of His own: “To be continued.”
God does not notice stones. The enemy that haunts us all is finished. Christ lives. The stone has been rolled away. In Christ there is full forgiveness and vibrant life.
Let Christ live in you. With Christ living in you, life will not be easy. It will often be dangerous. A lot of things will have to go by the board: old sins, self-adoration, fence-straddling, lukewarm discipleship. Jesus Christ has broken death’s dark prison. Look out, devil. Look out, death. Look out, man. Look out and live dangerously with Christ in you in all His risen power.
Lord Jesus Christ, victor over sin and death, stay with us through this life and lead us to eternal life with You. Amen.
Taken from A Message of Hope: Proclaiming the Cross (selections from messages broadcast on *The Lutheran Hour, celebrating 75 years of proclaiming the promise).
Copyright © 2006 by Lutheran Hour Ministries
*The Lutheran Hour is the longest-running Christian radio broadcast in the world. It is a production of Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information, visit www.lutheranhour.org.
Today's Bible Readings: Judges 4-6 Luke 13:1-22
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