Lockdown Journal - Day 17

My Lockdown Journal 2020 – Sunday, Day 17:

Today is day 17 of #LockdownSA2020. The church is empty, the tomb is empty. Jesus has risen from the grave! “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” – Matthew 28:6 (NIV).

The fact that Jesus died and rose from the dead just for us, should be a daily celebration. Awesome signs and wonders accompanied the death of Jesus. My wife and I watched a movie on Good Friday about Mary Magdalene of Magdala. She was the first person to see Jesus after he rose from the dead. She was also at the crucifixion before darkness came over the whole land. That darkness reminded me of an old saying, “It's always darkest before the dawn” from Thomas Fuller’s, A Pisgah Sight of Palestine. I never understood this saying until I went through some turbulent times in my life. It is the perfect saying to cheer somebody up. I also believe it was an intentional move by God that historic day on Mount Calvary.

Many believe that the darkness was brought about by an act of God. It was expressive of His sympathy with His Son, Jesus. It was also a message that things may look dire, but there is always a positive outcome. However, God’s character required sin to be punished, and because Jesus died for our sins, He had to visibly display it through darkness on Mount Calvary. It was God’s full wrath against our sins.

When we look at the scene of Jesus taking his last breath, it is evident on everyone’s facial expressions that they thought Jesus was a fake prophet or messiah. God always has one more move in store for us. He proved it with His son, Jesus. I have come to learn that once you hit rock bottom, you can only get up thereafter. The word “darkest” refers to the worst state things could be in, but there is a “dawn” referring to the sun rising and things starting to look better.

We might be in the middle of a difficult lockdown period as we fight the unseen enemy, coronavirus, but there is a new dawn coming. The darkness was a powerful display of God’s power. Only God can change the laws of nature. Easter Sunday is the best evidence of how we can also rise from the worst of situations and live blessed lives in the future. Yes, we can because we are God’s children!

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