May 2: Insight Post by Karenna Rowenhorst
Weekly Reading: Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-10
Friday Reflection
Sharing the Good News of the Resurrection: After encountering the risen Jesus, Mary Magdalene ran to tell the disciples the good news. The resurrection calls us to share the hope and life found in Christ with others, just as the first witnesses did.
Friday Verse
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
Friday Questions
How can I be more intentional about sharing the hope of the resurrection with others in my life? Who needs to hear the good news of Jesus’ victory over death?
Friday Insight Post
by Karenna Rowenhorst
After Jesus died, a wealthy man named Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body for burial. Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin and believed that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. I wonder what was going through his mind as he requested the body of his Lord. Was he trusting? Was he doubting? Was he hopeful? Scared? Or all those feelings mixed up together? Seeing the shell of the man that you were pinning your very life with perhaps felt shocking and terrifying. Was his power gone? Where was Jesus?
Because it was a Friday afternoon, Jesus’ body was quickly wrapped for burial in the tomb, and the book of Matthew notes that Joseph and Nicodemus roll a large stone in front of the entrance. Job complete. Carrying, preparing, and closing: the body has been handled. I wonder what they thought of doing next.
With the Sabbath completed, the women who were close to Jesus took the first opportunity they had to bring spices to anoint Jesus’s body. Carrying, preparing, and wanting to get close to the body of their Lord, because maybe the whole series of events seemed still not real.
In their daily tasks of care, these women were the first to hear the news of Jesus’ resurrection, not the disciples. God honored these women for their dedication to the daily, and they were the first to see the risen Jesus, and the first to be able to tell the gospel story in its completeness.
The women meet an angel during their mission to Jesus’ tomb. Daily life tinged suddenly with heavenly light.
“The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.” Matthew 28:4-5 (NIV)
Matthew says the soldiers fell down and fainted, but these women stayed standing!! What made them stand and not faint when the angel appears to them? I think it was belief in the power of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other women knew Jesus, and they knew He was a healer, a teacher, and someone to follow. They were expecting something extraordinary, and while it was still mind-boggling, they didn’t faint away “like dead men,” as the soldiers did!
What can we take from these stories? We won’t have the opportunity to carry Jesus’ body, or buy a tomb for Him, or anoint His body with spices. But we do live in the world, with the people for whom Jesus said He came and died. It reminds me of this verse:
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
The daily care, feeding, clothing, housing, and love we can provide for the least among us – that is resurrection power at work. That is how we love Jesus, and that is one of the most powerful ways to share our story of hope in the one who saves us.
Karenna Rowenhorst, MA
Senior Director of Education
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org