The Good News of Freedom! - Matthew 28:7
Easter Sunday March 27
The Good News of Freedom! - Matthew 28:7 (NIV)
“Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead’ . . . “
“I was like a ball of twine, all wound up to the point of physical pain. I had so many emotional secrets I hid behind the mask that everything was ok … but through (teaching and group work), the ball has started to unravel to God’s freedom”. Another person said, “I could literally hear the chains pop” in explaining her inner sense of freedom.
These two were describing their experiences of freedom from the bondage of “lies” that they had lived in for so long. Lies that said they are “worth nothing”, had “no hope” and “God does not hear”. In our teaching, they were brought to a place to recognize this about themselves and then taught the “truth” based on the Word of God. Truth that says they are created in the “image of God” in who they are as a man or as a woman. Abuse, all abuse, will distort this. We help them understand that they are never alone in their suffering although it may feel that way at times.
Jesus’ promise is “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
If it were not for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it would be very hard to sit with others in their places of pain, oppression, and bondage. Yet it is the Good News of the Risen Jesus that makes it possible to do this. It is the Risen Jesus who breaks the chains of bondage. This is what the two people were describing.
The even better news is that this still happens today. People are still being freed because Jesus is risen, because Jesus is alive! The command the angels gave to the women that morning of the resurrection still holds true today! And the command is to go quickly and tell others that He has risen, and He is alive!
Dear God,
I pray that the command to quickly tell others that Jesusis risen may take hold of us. Give us the wisdom and the courage to do this. I pray that in knowing that Jesus is risen and is alive will empower us in our own lives, and we will begin to live in this way.
In Jesus Name, Amen.
Linda Martin, - Manitoba, Canada