Christ Church Daily Devotion April 1 2024

The transcription is a reflection on the Easter accounts in the book of Matthew. It describes how Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb and encountered an angel who told them that Jesus had risen. The guards were bribed to spread a false story about the disciples stealing the body. The disciples later saw Jesus in Galilee and he gave them the great commission to make disciples and teach. The reflection emphasizes the hope and promise of eternal life through Christ's resurrection and encourages action in spreading the good news. The personal worship option is to reflect on the news of Christ's resurrection and give thanks for his sacrificial love. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for April 1st, 2024. Today we will be reading from Matthew 28 verses 1-20. After the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 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. He is not here, he is risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, He had risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, now I have told you. So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him, clasped his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me. While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, You are to say, His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep. If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed, and this story had been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. The readings this week will give us the Easter accounts for Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. As we read them each day, we will notice differences in their telling of the dramatic story. For example, Matthew makes no mention of the women's purpose of going to the tomb on that Sunday morning to complete the preparation of Jesus' body. Yet Matthew alone tells of an earthquake that happened as the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb entrance. We could go on, looking for the unique details in this passage from Matthew, and perhaps worrying about the inconsistencies among the gospel accounts. I prefer instead to think of each of the gospel accounts as facets on a diamond, with each reflecting light with a different color. Together, the gospels give us a dazzling story of hope. The phenomenal truth of the stories of Easter is that Christ has risen, and with that amazing news is the fact that we too have the hope and promise of eternal life. Are we to sit back and simply bask in this good news? No, we have work to do. In verses 18 through 20, give us our great commission from Jesus to go make disciples, baptize, and teach with Christ present with us all the way. Let's get going. Your personal worship option today is to pause today and to reflect on the awesome news that Christ has risen. We serve a risen Lord, present with us wherever we serve, and through His death and resurrection, we have the hope of eternal life. Give thanks for the sacrificial love of Christ, for you and for an empty tomb.