My trip to Israel in 2014 challenged two beliefs  I once had. The first was a manger during the time of the birth of Jesus. It’s far different than the carved manger on our mantel. The other was of a tomb & burial customs during the time of the death and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The picture is a tomb around Jerusalem. Note the picture reveals part of the  tomb area. It was explained to us, “If you hold out your hand with the palm up, the wrist area would be the entrance area to the tomb. The palm area is where the body would be laid to prepare it for burial. Once the body was prepared it would be placed in one of the fingers, shown in the picture, of the tomb. There the body would lay until it was decomposed. Then the bones would be gathered with the bones of the family.’

John, the close friend & Disciple of Jesus, recorded what happened late that Friday afternoon this way, “Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” John 19:38

We learn from Luke 24:1, “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” This would be the reason they (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary [Matt 28:1]) went to the tomb on Sunday (Easter) to complete the burial process.

And the Good News…The tomb was empty. Jesus defeated death. The Resurrected King of Kings claimed victory over death. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Thanks be to God! He gives us (Followers of Christ) the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We know from 1 Timothy 1:15-17 “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I (Paul) am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.”

Maybe you are not sure of your eternal destination. Maybe you have been putting off the decision because you think it’s too complicated. God gave Paul these incredible words of clarity in Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” You may ask yourself, “Surely it can’t be that easy?” At the Cross of Jesus, we find the answer. That Friday afternoon the thief dying on a cross next Jesus called out, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:42-44

Make this Easter special. Celebrate “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

The Good News…”Every Soul Matters To God!”