For Real?
Today's Verse:
It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. ~Luke 24:10-11
Have you ever had an occasion where after telling one or more people about something you saw or heard, they reacted by saying something like, “You’ve got to be kidding”; “No way!”; “For real?”? These are questions that cast doubt upon your report and make it sound like it was made up. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, and several other women went to the tomb where Jesus was laid and beheld that it was empty. They conversed with an angel who stood outside the tomb and declared to them, “He is not here, but is risen.” With wonder, fear, and excitement, they hurried back to tell Peter and the apostles what they heard and saw. We are told that their words seemed to the apostles as “idle tales, and they believed them not.”
It was a time of personal reality.
First, the last 72 hours were grievous and heart-wrenching to all of the disciples. Jerusalem was a city filled with bedlam and unholy violence. Jesus had been taken, cruelly tortured, crucified, and put to death. These followers were wallowing in sorrow that Jesus had been slain. Then, these devoted women went to the tomb to anoint the body with spices as the final act of devotion for His burial, only to be unexpectedly met by an empty tomb and an angelic message. The women faced the reality of a Jesus dying for the sins of the world and the miracle of His resurrection from the dead. Salvation is when we come to grips with the reality that Jesus died for my sins and that He supernaturally rose from the dead by His own power. It is the reality that the cross and the empty tomb give us hope that formerly was not available. It is hope that is living, transforming, and eternal!
It was a time of public rejection.
These women returned with great haste to tell the apostles what they saw and heard. That is what a witness is supposed to do. He is supposed to tell with truthfulness of what he saw, heard, and experienced. What they saw and heard was fresh in their hearts. It jolted them! It moved them! They had to tell somebody about it. However, their report was met with skepticism, doubt, and criticism. Their words seemed to them as idle tales. The apostles could not believe this report: it sounded too incredulous to them. Things have not changed since that day. The witness of the death and resurrection of Christ is met with doubt and criticism by people. They write off what Christ did as a fable and idle talk. If you witness for the Lord, your words will seem as idle talk. If you try to win your loved ones to the Lord, they will treat your words as idle talk and not believe them. Be prepared that people may ask, “For real?”
It was a time for practical responsibility.
The witness of the women demanded that the apostles themselves go to the tomb. When Peter and John went, they too saw the empty tomb, the grave clothes laid as if a body came out of them, and the napkin that was around the head neatly folded. Later that evening, Jesus made His first visible appearance to these disciples. From that moment going forward, what Jesus accomplished for us has demanded our practical responsibility. It demands that we give a reason of the hope that is within us. It demands that we witness for the Lord regardless of how men receive our witness. It demands that we take this message to our local area and to the regions beyond. It demands that we tell it just as it is. Are you for real? Yes, because what Jesus accomplished for us is really real!
Don’t allow the reaction of people affect your passion to tell others about Jesus. Be compelling and compassionate in being a witness of the gift of salvation.
Have a compelling God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 1 Samuel 25-27