DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb." (Matthew 28:1)

Imagine the heavy hearts these two women must have had on that Sunday morning as they made their way to the tomb where they knew Jesus had been buried. They had watched as he was buried by Joseph and Nicodemus (John 19:38-39). They knew that their hope was dead and buried, and they fully expected to see the entrance to the tomb still covered by a huge stone.

But then imagine their great surprise to see the stone rolled away and an angel – shining like lightning – sitting on the stone. This surely caused so much consternation that the angel said, "Don't be afraid. I know you are seeking Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; He is risen."

Their heaviness was turned to great joy mixed with fear as they ran to report to the disciples what they had just seen and experienced.

This is what Jesus came to do. The prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus quoted at the beginning of His ministry included the words, "to comfort all who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:2b, 3).

When people come to faith in the risen Christ, they know this exchange of sorrow for joy. They move from the sorrow of death to the joy of life. Their sorrow for their sin is replaced by the joy of knowing their sins are forgiven. They experience the dawning of a new day as they move from the shadows of darkness into His glorious light. They exchange the hopelessness of a future without Christ to the assurance of eternal glory.

The hymnwriter expressed this exchange when he wrote, "O, the joy of sins forgiven, Oh the bliss the bloodwashed know, Oh, the peace akin to heaven, where the healing waters flow. Where the healing waters flow, where the joys celestial glow; oh, there's peace and rest and love, where the healing waters flow!" All of this because He is Risen!

Love, Dad