He Has Risen

He Has Risen! Today, is Easter Sunday, and Jesus has risen from the dead. For Christians this is a day of celebration and joy. Jesus makes six appearances today. First, He appears to Mary Magdalene, who has come to see Him at His tomb, and gives her a message for His disciples. She goes on to give the message to His disciples while Jesus stays behind. Jesus then appears to the other women, who have come to the tomb intending to complete the burial preparation of His body (yesterday being the Sabbath, they were unable to finish it). Third, Jesus appears to two of His disciples on the Road to Emmaus. These disciples rush on to tell the other disciples. Then Jesus appears to Simon Peter, although this is not recorded, but only alluded to in Luke 24:33 and 1 Corinthians 1:5. Finally, Jesus appears to His astonished disciples, but Thomas is absent. The disciples are overjoyed and share the news of Jesus' resurrection with Thomas, but he doesn't believe. 

Jesus could have left Thomas in his doubt, but instead He appeared to Thomas and showed him the wounds in His hands, His feet, and the piecing in His side. Thomas no longer doubted. Jesus, having risen from the dead, continued to show love and grace to His disciples. Having shown Himself to His disciples, Jesus ascends into the Heavens and is restored to His place of glory. Jesus' love and grace didn't end with His compassion for Thomas, but continues today for all people. Jesus is waiting for you to answer the door of your heart, He is knocking even now, will you answer?

Palm Sunday

Today, Palm Sunday, is the start of the week that ends in the celebration of Jesus's resurrection. I was thinking about the significance of today and thought I should follow Jesus' journey during the last week of His life. 7 DAYS. In 7 days, Jesus' life would be drastically different. In 7 days, He would be celebrated, persecuted, crucified, and finally He would be resurrected. 

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter that commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event that is mentioned in each of the four gospels. The Pharisees and other religious leaders sought to kill Jesus, which made Jesus' entry into Jerusalem very dangerous. Jesus knew that entering Jerusalem was dangerous and that in a few, short days these same people that welcomed Him would be advocating His death. Yet, He entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey anyways and the people celebrated His arrival. The people laid down their cloaks and small branches of palm tress in front of Him and sang Psalm 118: 25-26 "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord."  

This moment in time is significant. Jesus knew the fate that awaited Him when He entered in Jerusalem and He went anyways. Even His disciples, who didn't truly understand what was to happen in the week, knew that entering Jerusalem was unsafe since the Pharisees hated Jesus. Yet, Jesus went anyways. Fear should not be a road block in our paths. Yes, there will be things in our lives that will cause us to fear, but these things should not hinder us from following God's plan for our lives. Jesus knew exactly what He was going to experience, the pain and the agony, and He went anyways. Honoring God's will for His life was more important to Him than any fear He might encounter. He loved us and desired a relationship with us with such fervency that He entered into Jerusalem willingly.  

The love we have for God should allow us to enter into His will with the same willingness and urgency. It doesn't matter if we can't see the whole picture, or know what the next week of our lives will hold, we just need to trust God and live fearlessly in His will for our lives.