DCLM DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL FOR APRIL 10,  2023  (HE IS RISEN!)

TOPIC : HE IS RISEN!

Text: Mark 16:1-8 (KJV)

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

KEY VERSE: “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” – (Mark 16:6)

MESSAGE

Writing his epistle of epic proportions to the Roman brethren from the city of Corinth during his third missionary journey, Apostle Paul would refer to Jesus his Lord as the “Christ that died”. But suddenly in the same 34th verse of Romans 8, Paul remembered that the narrative of the Saviour’s crucifixion did not end on the tree or in the tomb.

There was a greater story that followed, namely the resurrection of Jesus. So, very quickly, he changed the reference to Jesus as the One that “died, yea rather, (the Christ) that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

The apostle’s recollection of the events that announced the victory of our Lord over death and sin which we are commemorating today actually celebrates the power of God to raise the dead to life. The sisters left home early at sunrise for the grave of Jesus to apply spices on His corpse as part of honouring the Master they believed was dead. But the women discovered that there was no dead body to be referred to but a risen Christ. The story had changed into a newer glory than the earlier one.

Being born again through the perfected work of the Messiah also makes us rewrite our history. We tear the old one to make way for a fresh relationship piloted by God Himself with a picture of ourselves seated in heavenly places with Christ. The Lord’s new status as the resurrected One makes that possible. As Jesus broke out from the grave, faith in the risen Lord also liberates us from the grip of the old man perennially trapped in death and sin.

The Lord expects us to live a victorious life and to tell the despondent world that we have met a Saviour who has conquered sin and its consequences of misery, poverty, sickness and death. Let us preach to mankind that it is only this resurrected Lord who can restore joy to them.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Receive the risen Christ to rise above crisis.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 3-4

Daily Manna is the daily devotional of the Deeper Christian Life Bible Ministry (DCLM) written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi. It is an extraction of God’s Word designed to draw the sincere seeker closer to God on a daily basis through an insightful exposition and analysis of God’s Word.