John 20:8-9 “So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”
In these verses, John testified that he entered the tomb and saw the empty grave clothes and the rolled up face cloth. Then he said that they didn’t conclude that Jesus was risen from the dead because they didn’t understand the Scripture yet. What did they believe if they didn’t understand that Jesus was to rise from the dead? If we read these words in the context, they believed what they were told by Mary, namely, that someone had taken His body away.
Have you ever drawn a wrong conclusion because you didn’t understand the Scripture? I sure have—more times than I know. For instance, there was a time that I thought because Jesus rose from the dead that the proper response was that I was to live for Him. I have discovered in the Scripture that I drew a wrong conclusion. Jesus doesn’t need me to live for Him, I need Him to live for me! He was raised so that we might live in and through Him and that He might live in and through us. The Scripture, John 15:5, informs us that apart from Him we can do nothing. Jesus lives to change everything in our lives. He lives to love through us, and that purpose changes and affects everything we do. Today, let’s not make the same mistake the disciples made that first Easter morning. They believed the wrong thing. Instead, let’s live to love with Jesus today for His glory.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
