Minister's Blog

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus told the disciples on three different occasions that he would be killed and that he would rise again on the third day.

I’m confidant that although they may not have relished the thought of Jesus being killed, they would have believed Jesus at the time when he said he would rise again. But, let’s face it, there was so much going on in and around Jesus that the things Jesus said even a few minutes prior would have been submerged in the new and exciting things he was saying and doing just shortly after.

There was so much going on and being said that they must have found it difficult to take it all in and allow what they were hearing to transform them the way in which Jesus desired them to change

In fact, what the disciples did, what they discovered, was pretty similar to what we discover in our lives today. Jesus words and the things he did, their significance, their implications for our lives is often lost in the face of the new events we face daily.

They believed Jesus when he told them that he would die and rise on the third day, at the time but, when they were faced with the arrest of Jesus and his brutal execution, the reality of what they saw was allowed to override the reality of what they knew.

It is similar for us today.

We know that Jesus is alive today.

We know that he ascended to God’s right hand there to intercede for us, to plead our case before a Holy God.

In Jesus we know that our eternal destiny is assured.

Why is it when we know these great truths, we allow the events of each day to override, to suppress our Joy and the certainty we have in God’s Love?

Why do we?

Quite simply, we allow our gaze to be diverted from the events that do matter to the events that are only peripheral in our lives.

When we forget what Jesus promises, we, like the disciples, allow our doubts and concerns to undermine our faith.

When we first declared that we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we declared the fact that we believed all the events we specifically recall on Easter morning.

That declaration of faith, that acceptance of Jesus victory over death for us, is a declaration that we believe that for God, nothing is impossible.

That being the case, whenever we feel dejected, discouraged, got at or persecuted, these are the times when we have forgotten the truth that we know and declare this day.

The joy of our faith is best seen when we remember to live in the light of the resurrection, EVERY DAY.