“And Joseph took the
body and wrapped it in a clean cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he
had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of
the tomb and went away” (Matthew
27:59-60).
Hey Gang: One
of my fondest memories as a child living in the mountains of Pennsylvania was
our daily trip to the water hole. The entire community
(consisting of three families) would truck on down to the water hole with their
picnic baskets and spend most of the day there.
But the one thing that
really stands out in my memory was the huge rock that served many
purposes, it was a picnic area, a diving board and a place just to lie
back and enjoy the sun.
One of the profound things
that we noticed about Israel on our first trip was the abundance of
stones. Israel is a very stony place. I have also noticed,
in my reading of the Word, that stones play a very significant role in the
Bible.
A stone settled the
score with Goliath and the Amalekites; Moses struck a stone to produced water
for a million or so folks and their animals; Notice in our Scripture today:“…he
rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb”.
As I thought about this
tomb and the huge stone, I sensed that stone is a stumbling block to many, who
say they are Christians, but do not believe Jesus rose from the tomb, as well
as other parts of the Bible. They see
the gigantic stone permanently rolled into place and it stands in the way of
gaining that ‘peace that surpasses all human understanding.’
I want you to know you
may be in the middle of the greatest battle of your life right now, but the
risen Christ is on the move on your behalf- on the other side of the
stone. He is writing His story into your
situation – a story of resurrection life, bursting forth onto a scene once ruled
by death.
Now hear this my
cherished friends, I have stood at Gordon’s Calvary, which many believe is the
tomb that they laid Jesus body on that cruel night. I want you to know there
was no stone! I stood in the tomb and
there is no body! He is alive and sitting
at the right hand of the Father in intercession for you and me. Can you say, “Praise God for that?”
Blessings,
Gramps
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