Filled With Wonder And Amazement

"Today's Devotion" For March 28, 2005

Read: Matthew 28:1-10; Romans 8:28-39

FILLED WITH WONDER AND AMAZEMENT

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen just as He said."(Mt. 28:5-6)

What a remarkable God we have! How loving, gracious, and kind to us He is! Every day of our lives, every moment of each day, our heavenly Father cares for us, His children, showering us with wonderful gifts of His love. He is consistently watching over us with such care and concern that He anticipates our needs, even before we ask Him. Opening His Gospel with Jesus' genealogy, Matthew shows how God worked tirelessly, deliberately, lovingly, and graciously throughout Israel's history to bring the Savior of the world into this world to save sinners. Matthew goes on to recount how Joseph intended to divorce Mary quietly after discovering that she was pregnant only to have God come to him through an angel and say to him, "Don't you be afraid to take Mary as your wife..." Matthew now recounts how, on that first Easter morning, as the two Marys approached the empty tomb, God again says to them, His beloved children, "Don't you be afraid!"

Matthew's account of the visit of the two Marys to Jesus' tomb puts it in the timeline right at the moment the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. A great earthquake marked the angel's action. "His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow" and the guards were filled with fear, falling to the ground as if they were dead (Mt. 28:2-3). Imagine, if you will, that we were with the two Marys and observing all these things happening. Fear and trembling might reasonably be our response, and the angel's words, "'Don't you be afraid" would be powerful words of comfort and calm in the midst of our anxiety. Hearing the angel's message that Jesus was not there, but had arisen as He had promised, we can also appreciate their wonder and amazement as filled with fear and great joy the women hurried back to tell Jesus' disciples what had happened. We're also filled with wonder and amazement as God's message of love and compassion come through in this event loudly and clearly. His promises have been fulfilled. He's done all He promised He would do to redeem the world, to redeem His children, from the ravages of Sin, Death, and the Devil. We hear His promises fulfilled in the Resurrection of Christ, as the Father accepts His sacrifice for all of our sins and those of the entire world, once and for all time. Filled with wonder and amazement, we hear God's message that we are forgiven and restored to Him through Christ our Lord. This message of wonder and amazement in the Resurrection of Jesus is meant for us to hear and believe every moment of the day, every day of our lives. It's a message of hope and peace, wonder and amazement that God calls us to share with the world.

In sharp contrast to the response of the Marys, and their wonder and amazement at the events of that morning, stand the soldiers guarding Jesus' tomb. They fell down in fear and there was no comfort given. God's message through the angel was to those who believed in Jesus. That same message was a reminder to the disciples of Jesus' promise that He would rise from the grave and was an offer of forgiveness to those same disciples who had deserted Him in the face of the Cross. What wonder and amazement filled that first Easter morning! How the hearts of the Marys must have burned with wonder and amazement, joy and peace, as they met Jesus on the road to Jerusalem and heard Him personally saying to them, "Don't be afraid." His very appearance to the Marys strengthened their faith and gave substance to the reality of His resurrection, and all that it meant, which they were just barely beginning to understand. With the Marys, we, too, are filled with wonder and amazement at the events of that first Easter, for those events fly in the face of every human instinct and "scientific" principle that face us each day. Jesus' words to the Marys are also His words to us today, "Don't you be afraid." What words of comfort and joy those are for us in a world full of trouble and danger! Our Savior and Lord reminds us that we are His very own, redeemed, restored, and forgiven children of our heavenly Father. With wonder and amazement we rejoice each day of our lives to hear His words, "Don't you be afraid" as our God fully anticipates our need for comfort and strength to live for Jesus every day.

Prayer: Father, Your only Son, Jesus Christ, promised that He would rise from the dead as the sign that His sacrifice for my sins was acceptable to You. I stand before You, gracious Father, filled with wonder and amazement at Your grace, mercy, and love for me and all people. In Jesus' resurrection, You declare that His sacrifice for the sins of the world is complete and that His righteousness covers me and all mankind. He has overcome the last enemy, Death, and I am no longer fearful of death and grave. In the angel's message, "Don't you be afraid," I find comfort and hope in the face of life's turmoil and confusion. In Jesus' words, "Don't you be afraid," I am brought face to face with the reality of His victory over death and the grave. Give me the courage to live in the wonder and amazement of the resurrection every day of my life that I might live as a true witness of Your Word of peace and joy for all the world in Jesus; in Whose precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.