DEVOTION BY LAURIE AND JERRY EWING
Imagine… you’re living your life. You have a job, friends, a family. One day you unexpectedly encounter a man who says, “drop everything and follow me.” There is something about this man that compels you to learn more about him, so you leave everything behind and follow him.
This man speaks like one who really knows what he is talking about. You don’t understand a lot of what he says, but his actions show that he has authority. Crowds are now following him everywhere. You go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. People are lining the streets, laying palm branches on the ground in front of him, shouting all kinds of praises. Wow! This might actually be the one to redeem Israel!
Not all the people adore him, however. The leaders of your community resent his popularity and discreetly spread rumors and discontent. In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, the will of the fickle crowd shifts. They no longer adore him but want him killed! As you back away a bit to see what is going to happen, the unthinkable occurs. They brutally crucify him.
You and the others in the inner circle regroup in disbelief to figure out what to do next. You celebrate the Sabbath in hiding, though this is not much of a celebration. The next morning, however, the women in your group come to you with the news that Jesus is no longer dead, but alive! Stunned, you go to the tomb yourself, and sure enough, you see the strips of linen that had wrapped his body lying there, but he is nowhere to be found.
Gathered again with his closest followers, you’re starting to remember things he had said, when suddenly two of his followers rush in and proclaim that it is true—the Lord had appeared to them… in person! Then Jesus himself suddenly appears before you! He is no ghost—he shows you his scars. You touch him—he is REAL, and ALIVE! What a day for the unexpected. And the world has never been the same.
Imagine… you’re living your life. You have a job, friends, a family. One day you unexpectedly encounter a man who says, “drop everything and follow me.” There is something about this man that compels you to learn more about him, so you leave everything behind and follow him.
This man speaks like one who really knows what he is talking about. You don’t understand a lot of what he says, but his actions show that he has authority. Crowds are now following him everywhere. You go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. People are lining the streets, laying palm branches on the ground in front of him, shouting all kinds of praises. Wow! This might actually be the one to redeem Israel!
Not all the people adore him, however. The leaders of your community resent his popularity and discreetly spread rumors and discontent. In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, the will of the fickle crowd shifts. They no longer adore him but want him killed! As you back away a bit to see what is going to happen, the unthinkable occurs. They brutally crucify him.
You and the others in the inner circle regroup in disbelief to figure out what to do next. You celebrate the Sabbath in hiding, though this is not much of a celebration. The next morning, however, the women in your group come to you with the news that Jesus is no longer dead, but alive! Stunned, you go to the tomb yourself, and sure enough, you see the strips of linen that had wrapped his body lying there, but he is nowhere to be found.
Gathered again with his closest followers, you’re starting to remember things he had said, when suddenly two of his followers rush in and proclaim that it is true—the Lord had appeared to them… in person! Then Jesus himself suddenly appears before you! He is no ghost—he shows you his scars. You touch him—he is REAL, and ALIVE! What a day for the unexpected. And the world has never been the same.
Have you had a personal encounter with the living Christ? It is good to be a disciple—to study, to pray and worship with others, to learn the word of God. But we are also called to be apostles—to take what we have learned, to contemplate it, to accept it by faith, and then go out and tell others the good news.