From Death to Life
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Key Verse: “He saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” Selected Scripture: |
THIS KEY VERSE HAS been taken from the Gospel of Mark. Of the three Gospels, Mark’s is the shortest, although there is a similarity in content, as well as in order, in each of them.
His account of our Lord’s earthly ministry begins with the work of John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus, and ends with the report concerning the circumstances of the Master’s resurrection. In this passage, Mark proclaims the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in all human history. His birth gave hope to the dying human family, and his ministry provided teachings and inspiration to all. But, it was his sacrificial death on the cross that paid the price of father Adam’s disobedience to God’s law, and his resurrection set in motion the forces that will, in due time, release the whole family of Adam from condemnation to sin and death. The Selected Scripture reading has been taken from the Apostle John’s Gospel. He was an eyewitness to many of the great events surrounding our Lord’s ministry, but was selective in the events he chose to include in his Gospel account. He was led by the Holy Spirit as he reported on these things, and repeated little that had been written before.
As the last of our Lord’s living apostles, he explains his main purpose in writing about Jesus. He says: “Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”—John 20:30,31
When Jesus died, Mary Magdalene, weeping and overcome with sorrow, had gone to his sepulchre where she saw the two angels dressed in white and sitting one at each end of the place where Jesus’ body had been placed. When they spoke to her she revealed her intense grief in not knowing where her Lord was. “When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.”—vs. 14
As a spirit being Jesus could come and go ‘as the wind,’ and materialize in the form of a human being. She did not recognize him because he had not appeared in the same body that he had before. Then, in his tender way, he spoke to Mary and said to her, “Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.” (vs. 15) She recognized him only when he spoke her name. “Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” (vs. 16) Jesus instructed her to tell his brethren that he would be ascending to the Father.—vs. 17
The Son of God had come to earth, he had died for the world’s sins, and now was resurrected from the dead! Soon he will be known to the entire world by his title, King of kings, and Lord of lords.—Rev. 19:16