Why do you seek the living among the dead?

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”(Luke24:5)

It was still dark, I imagine.  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and “other women” were all there together.

The stone had been rolled away. 

Oh no! 

His body was missing!

Suddenly, two men – brilliant light – face to the ground!

And then the question that still rings down through the ages

We know Mary Magdalene as the woman from whom seven demons had gone out of (Luke 8).  Matthew, Mark, and John all document that she was there at the end – standing somewhere near the cross.  And of course, we know her as the woman to whom the angels asked the most profound question on the first Easter morning: “why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Why wouldn’t the women look for Him there?  Wasn't that where the disciples had left him?  Wasn’t that where he was supposed to be?   Why would they look anywhere else?  The problem of course is the completely different perspectives of the ladies vs. the angels.  Whereas the angels asked a perfectly legitimate question from a spiritual point of view – all that the women could see and all that the disciples could see was the physical point of view.  You can almost hear their arguments:  He died.  I saw Him die. No matter that He told them He was going to die and then be raised again after three days.    They didn’t get it then and many of us still don’t get it today.  We look for a living Savior among the dead. 

 

This is us: we see the spiritual offer of Easter of a new life (a resurrected life) and we say things like “I need to clean up my act” or “I need to go to church more.” Not that these are bad things in and of themselves, but they aren’t embracing Christ’s offer of new life.  Others of us seek life in all sorts of worldly pleasures.  This is seeking life among the dead things of this world.  No!  We need to see that we are being offered something on a whole different level – a new life!  Righteousness, peace, and joy from the Father based on a right standing with Him!  Redemption! Life eternal!

 

Wherever you are seeking life from, if it is not Jesus – it is dead!  And, as we saw from these dear lost ladies, it is even possible to seek Jesus in way that is dead.  If you are seeking Jesus as a healer, or an inspired teacher, or as a way to achieve a moral life, you are doing just as they did – you are seeking a Jesus in a grave.  Jesus is alive!  We must seek him as Lord and Savior.  We must seek to have a personal relationship with a living God!   

 

You who are entangled in legalism, or pornography, or witchcraft: why do you look for the living among the dead?  You who are enveloped in alcoholism, or drug addiction, or homosexuality: why do you look for the living among the dead?  You who look for your identity in the approval of others, or crave position or power: why do you look for the living among the dead?  Look to the living God to deliver you from your sins.  Repent from your sins and believe that Jesus came to bring you abundant life!  He came to set you free! Free to live a life that is pleasing to God.  Free to live as we were created, to live as a Holy Sacrifice, to the Glory of God the Father! In order to receive this freedom, we must accept Him on His terms – as a living savior.  We can not keep him safely in His coffin and just go visit Him on Sundays.  We must surrender our lives to Him more and more and more.  The end goal of Christianity is not to go to a great church and live a relatively moral life – it is to follow Jesus to the Cross and then be raised with Him (our own personal Easter) to a new life in Christ.  I pray that this might be true for you this (and every) Easter!