Come, See, Go, And Tell - Part V
October 2020 |
“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead.” —Matthew 28:5-7
This article is continued from the September 2020 issue of The Evangelist, and will continue in the November issue.
Instead of telling them to leave something negative, the angel told them to come to something positive, simply by faith, so they could know for themselves. The angel did not tell the women, and indirectly the disciples, to leave their sorrow, fear, doubt, and guilt. That would have only led them to something else that would have been just as binding. He commanded them to come to something that was more than just the ending of their problems. It would lead them to a solution and a whole new beginning. In fact, God was trying to show them that it takes more than just saying “no” to temptation, sin, and problems, but that it takes saying “yes” to Christ. Noah could have spent his whole life rebuking the evil world he lived in (Gen. 6:5, 11-12), but God told him and his family to come into the ark (Gen. 7:1). Moses could have spent the rest of his life criticizing the Egyptians and regretting his failure, but God told him to “come” back to Egypt, and God would use him to deliver His people (Ex. 3:10). God, through Moses, told Israel to come through the Red Sea that He opened instead of trying to think of ways they could fight against Pharaoh’s army (Ex. 14:13-22). Instead of telling Peter and Andrew to stop fishing, Jesus told them to come and follow Him, and He would change them into fishers of men (Mark 1:16-18). Rather than telling people to stop working to be good, Jesus told them to come to Him, and He would give them rest in His work (Matt. 11:28-30). He would give them His yoke of freedom, and in the process, take their yoke of bondage.
So, He wanted the disciples, by faith, to come so they could see better and more of what He was accomplishing. For them to obey the angel’s command was an act of faith that indicated they believed this was a real angel from God, that what he was telling them was true, and it was for their benefit. Simple child-like faith is necessary to receive anything from the Lord. Jesus described it as being similar to a baby that is totally dependent on others for everything (Matt. 19:14; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:16-17).
God went to great lengths to show the disciples personally something new. He sent an earthquake by an angel to roll the stone away from the door of the tomb so they would have access to see that the body of Jesus was no longer there (Matt. 28:1-6; Mark 16:4-6; Luke 24:2-3; John 20:1-8). Also, the angel explained that the reason His body was gone was because Jesus was risen from the dead, which indicated that His sacrifice had been accepted by God, and the impact it could have in and through their lives.
As the women came to the tomb (Matt. 28:1), the angel told them that Jesus was gone because He was risen from the dead; but just so they would know for sure for themselves, He told them to come closer into the tomb where they could clearly see (Matt. 28:6; Mark 16:6) for themselves that Jesus’ body was no longer there. When they heard the testimony of the women, Peter and John ran to the tomb to verify for themselves what the women had told them (Luke 24:12; John 20:3-8). It is wonderful to hear the testimonies of others, but it is another thing to personally experience things.
So, the angel told the disciples to come and see the empty tomb because it verified to each individual that the death and resurrection of Christ was the only answer for sin and the problems of life, and could only be accepted by faith.
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