Resurrection Mercy (by Pastor Tom Pauquette)

Matthew 28.8-10
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 worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Think about it. Jesus could have bypassed them completely. He was risen from the dead, He was certainly longing to return to the company of His Father. He had just suffered an unjust sentencing, a cruel punishment, and a merciless death. If ever there was a time for God deciding to give up on us it was then.

The week between the Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday) and the Resurrection (Easter) was excruciating. While Jesus delivered some of His most pointed messages in Jerusalem that week, He also faced His most violent opposition. “The Seven Woes” Jesus delivered to the Pharisees (Matthew 23) seem to have set in motion an irreversible plan to have Jesus tortured and crucified. After that it was a painful time of prayer in Gethsemane, a personal betrayal from one of His own, a denial from the one disciple He was counting on to be the rock. The arrest, the accusations, the beatings, the crucifixion. It was a terrible week.

But now all that was behind Him. Laid in a tomb for three days, He was resurrected by the Father. He was, in fact, alive! He was in the airport, at the gate, waiting for His flight home to be announced. But the announcement didn’t come. There was more for Him to do. And for some 40 days Jesus moved about, blessing, reconnecting, and even reinstating His disciples. That was a merciful thing to do. He appeared to 500 people all at once. And let’s not forget about those Roman guards – they saw Him too.

These were merciful appearances. This was a new kind of mercy being expressed. This was resurrection mercy. It was so merciful that Jesus stayed around for so long after the resurrection. Imagine how different our faith would be today if we only had the thought of the resurrection and none of the actual evidence. That was merciful thing to do. That was the Jesus thing to do.

Thank Jesus for His resurrection mercy today.

Mercy Action: As you know by now, 100% of the offerings of the Easter weekend are going to Bangalore, India to complete the construction of the Children’s Home there. I talked to Pastor Stephen from India yesterday. He said the construction is progressing well despite record high temperatures of over 100 degrees every day. If you have not already done so, get your checkbook and show some mercy to 48 little girls who are presently living on the streets of India. This is our chance to show them that Jesus Christ is alive!