The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 26 April 2022 ~ They Saw And Believed
TOPIC: They Saw And Believed
READ: John 20:1-10 (NKJV)
- Now on the first [day] of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw [that] the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
- Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
- Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.
- So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.
- And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying [there;] yet he did not go in.
- Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying [there,]
- and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.
- Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.
- For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
- Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
THE MESSAGE:
From our text, it is quite unfortunate that the disciples of Jesus were not quick to grasp the whole picture of what Jesus was relating to them. They had been with Jesus but their understanding of the mission and purpose of His ministry was shallow. They were not expecting the resurrection, hence, the reaction of first, Mary Magdalene and thereafter, Peter and John; until John saw evidence and believed that He had risen.
The resurrection reality is the anchor of our faith and the hope of the salvation of the whole world. If Jesus had just stopped at the point of dying with our sins without rising again to newness of life, then the Christian faith would have had little or no meaning. But the resounding truth is that He died with our sins and rose together with us unto a victorious life. Alleluia!
PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for dying and rising again for the remission of my sins and for my justification. Help me to always live in the knowledge of this. Amen.
