Can you imagine the Monday after Resurrection Sunday? Followers of Jesus up early at the local cafe, drinking coffee and discussing what is going on with Jesus and the empty tomb. Did the Romans take his body? Did the Pharisees decide to move it somewhere else? OR, did Jesus actually do what he said he’d do?
There are two things for certain they say, “Death and taxes.” On the later, I just paid mine. If you haven’t, well you might want to file an extension…they’ll be coming after your first born otherwise. On the first idea, death, well, it seems everyone experiences it. Some fall in combat. Others to disease. Still others live well into their upper 90s but in the end, death will come knocking. No one has ever escaped death.
There is a story in John 11 about a guy named Lazarus. He was the brother of Mary and Martha. He got sick and the sisters called for Jesus to come but when he arrived, Jesus was too late. Lazarus had passed and already been buried. He had been in the grave four days.
Decomposition would have been quick in Jesus’ day. The break down of tissue and blood would have created a smell so incredibly pungent. No embalming process existed except to apply oils to the body skin. But Jesus comes on the scene and asked that the stone be rolled away. And when the Son of God commands Lazarus to come out of the grave, he does just that, still in his burial clothes.
I’ve often wondered about the stories Lazarus told. What did he experience in those four days? What was his relationship like with Jesus after being resurrected? What urgings did he give family and friends about “being ready” when their time came?
You see what we find in the Easter story is that Jesus has conquered everything. Not even death has sway over Jesus. Jesus goes on to say in that Lazarus story, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.”
So, after Easter is over, the stage is torn down, the Easter eggs are found, the incredible family lunch has been eaten, how will you live? The call is to put your life IN Jesus, who is the antidote for death. Put your life in the hands of a savior who can give life even in death.
Grace and Peace on your journey!