2:25 For David says
concerning Him:
"I foresaw the
Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be
shaken.
26 Therefore my heart
rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
27 For You will not
leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known
to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence."
29 “Men and brethren,
let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body,
according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31
he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His
soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God
has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
One of my favourite parts of the entire Bible is Hebrews 12.
It begins this way:
"Therefore (which refers back to chapter 11) since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses (the men and women of faith in chapter 11) let us lay aside every weight and the sin
which so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance the race that is
set before us. Let us fix our eyes (lock them on) Jesus, the author and finisher (beginning and completer) of our faith, who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross, despising it's shame and is sat down at the right hand
of the Father."
Can you see why I love it? Jesus didn't love the cross. He
endured it and despised it. What He loved was us. What He loved was the results
the journey to the cross would accomplish. I don't know too many women who love
labour yet they willingly go through it. They get pregnant knowing labour will
come. They get pregnant knowing morning sickness and other less than pleasant
things may also occur along the way. They endure it all for the joy that will
come at the end of the journey. They do it for love.
See the journey doesn't end at the bad part. That's why Jesus
told us to be of good cheer. That's why the disciples never needed to go
through the darkness and disillusionment they did. Hundreds of years before
King David wrote that though Jesus would die He wouldn't see corruption. Jesus
repeated this fact: "Three days and I'll rise."
The disciples never processed what He was saying because they
refused to believe He was going to die to begin with. The irony is that His
enemies heard Him loud and clear. First thing Sabbath morning after a sleepless
night the religious leaders were pounding on the door of the Roman leadership.
They wanted extra guards at the tomb. Why? Because Jesus had claimed He would
rise...
Psalm 23 is one of the best known parts of the Bible. Part of
it says "Even when I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because You are with
me..."
The journey does not end in the valley or the shadows of
death. We may pass that way and it might be awful. We may have to endure. We
may despise the experience. Just when we think it's ending it may get worse.
However, Sunday is coming. It came for Abraham when Isaac was born. It came
again when God provided the ram. It came for Moses many times. It came for
Jesus.
But do you know what? Ultimately it hasn't come for anyone
yet. Read the last verses of Hebrews 11.
The best is yet to come.
If you are not currently in a dark valley be thankful. Use
your vantage point to help give some encouragement to someone who is. Tell them
Sunday is coming. Tell them about Jesus, how the grave couldn't hold Him, and
how their Story isn't yet over either.
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