Jesus Speaks to Women: Matthew 28

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28: 8-10

What a glorious passage!  The fulfillment of a promise, the most important promise in God's Word:  The Resurrected Messiah!  Without this moment, Christianity would have never come about.  Jesus IS Alive!

I know, we are approaching Christmas, not Easter.  But...as we all know...there would be no significance to Christmas without Easter morning!  The Christmas lights, the trees, the presents, the caroling, the cookies, the children's plays...none of it would have any meaning without this very moment related to us by Matthew...Jesus is Risen!

And...He chose to reveal Himself first to whom? To women.  WOW...the faithful women who barely had left the tomb (only during the Sabbath they stayed away), were the ones Jesus showed Himself to first.  The privilege of sticking by our Lord!  What a reward!  Hopelessness didn't have the last word here, not ever.

After the women had their encounter with the Messenger who told them to go inform the disciples about the resurrection, they "hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy."  I LOVE this statement.  Let's look at it in parts:

1.  Hurried away from the tomb:  yes, leave the tomb behind!  Once and for all, walk away from it!  Have you ever stuck by the tomb even after you've realized it's empty?  Have you dwelled on the events that caused you sorrow and pain even years after the events happened?  Have you lingered around the hurt of an extinguished relationship?  Have you hung around the ashes of a burnt bridge long after the ashes have been scattered by the wind?  Have you continued to be afraid after healing? I have...  I don't know why it is so hard to just "hurry away from the tomb" when we find it empty?  I mean...look at what we are at risk of missing: running into the Risen Lord!!!

2.  Afraid yet filled with joy:  this is my favorite part!  I am afraid ALL.THE.TIME... I live in fear.  I have allowed fear to grab a foothold in my heart, and I am struggling to rid myself from it...to take away the control it has over me.  Little by little, the Lord is teaching me, with each trial, that fear has no place in the heart of the believer because our hearts belong to Christ, and Christ has our best interest in mind.  Even if we don't understand what is happening to us at the moment, we need not be afraid because we trust that God's plan is perfect!  That doesn't mean that fear will disappear completely, but that we will be able to run and REJOICE even in our fear.  This passage illustrate that fear needs not paralyze us.  Fear could be the fuel that helps us run faster towards the feet of Jesus!

Dear Lord, please, every time we face trials, allow us to realize the moment when the trial is over so we can walk away from the tomb, and run to your arms in spite of our fear...may joy overpower the fright so we can hurry to Your arms.  Amen!

Stay tune for the moment when Jesus, finally, literally, speaks to women :)