A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of April 1-5, 2024
MONDAY
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. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who 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, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:1-9
The third day after Jesus was crucified, two women show up at His tomb. They were there to embalm his body, because they did not have enough time to do it on the day he died, Good Friday. It was about sundown and the Jewish Sabbath was beginning, so they had little time to wrap his body in burial spices. They are here, now, three days later to perform the task. They see an awesome sight.
From heaven comes a great thunder, and an angel comes down and rolls back the stone from the tomb. He tells then that Jesus is not in the tomb, but He is risen from the dead. How did Jesus rise from the dead? Did he really die on that cross? Did He raise himself up from the dead? Why is His resurrection so important?
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Matthew 8:1-3 ~ When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
April 1: Leviticus 4, Psalms1-2, Proverbs 19, Colossians 2
April 2: Leviticus 5, Psalms 3-4, Proverbs 20, Colossians 3
April 3: Leviticus 6, Psalms 5-6, Proverbs 21, Colossians 4
April 4: Leviticus 7, Psalms 7-8, Proverbs 22, 1 Thessalonians 1
April 5: Leviticus 8, Psalms 9, Proverbs 23, 1 Thessalonians 2
April 6: Leviticus 9, Psalms 10, Proverbs 24, 1 Thessalonians 3
April 7: Leviticus 10, Psalms 11-12, Proverbs 25, 1 Thessalonians 4
TUESDAY
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. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who 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, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:1-9
Jesus died to fulfill the prophecy spoken of Him by the prophet Isaiah. The prophet tells in advance that Jesus would give His soul as a ransom for many. He would be beaten to pay for the sins of the world, and would pay the ultimate price to redeem mankind. He would give His life to pay for our sins, so that we can live.
Can you believe that? That is like an innocent child taking the place of a death row inmate. Yes, Jesus really did die. He was buried in a borrowed tomb, just as the prophet spoke. When He was buried, there were soldiers placed around the tomb to guard it. There was a rumor going around that He would rise from the dead, so the soldiers guarded the tomb in case His disciples would try to steal His body and pretend that He arose.
The angel was no pretense. When he rolled the stone from the door of the tomb, the guards were so afraid they passed out!
WEDNESDAY
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. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who 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, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:1-9
Then the angel spoke to the two women who were at the tomb looking for Jesus. He told them that He was not here in the tomb, but risen as He said. Jesus became His own prophet. He began to tell things that would happen in the future.
All that He has ever said about Himself or anyone else has happened. He has proven through the great miracles that He performed that He was sent by God. He fulfilled every prophecy that was ever spoken of Him.
But how could a man die and then be raised from the dead? How is it possible that a man could be so unlike any other man, and overcome death? Why would Jesus allow death to claim Him, and then rise above it? What point was He trying to make?
THURSDAY
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. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who 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, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:1-9
The bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. It also says that all people have sinned. When we sin, we are deserving of death. All people are deserving of death. Only a person who is without sin can overcome death. Well, then, if Jesus was sinless, how did He die?
He became sin for us, or He allowed our sin to be placed upon Him, and that sin caused Him to be crucified. He allowed the Romans and the Sanhedrin (the Jewish court) to put Him to death, even though He had done nothing worthy of death. So He died for us. He took our place in death in order that we might be raised from the dead and live eternally with Him. This is the proof of His great love for us.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
FRIDAY
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. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who 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, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:1-9
So Jesus suffered so we wouldn’t have to, died so we could live eternally, and was raised up from the dead. How was He raised up? The bible says that He was raised by the same power that He gives to us when we give our lives to Him. The power of God raised Him up. Because He was not worthy of sin, even though sin was laid upon him, He was innocent of any wrong doing. Therefore, death had no power over Him. When Jesus died, the tombs of many of the old saints were opened, and formerly dead people actually walked on the earth. This shows that Has power over death and gave that power to those who trusted Him as their Savior. He conquered death for us, so that we could have the assurance of eternal life.
So what is left to do here? Just one more thing. We must go and tell all who will hear that Jesus is risen from the dead, just as the angel instructed the two women to do. That’s why you are reading this message. From those two women telling the story that Jesus is alive has grown the ministry of preaching the gospel. All men must hear that Jesus is alive, raised from the dead, and if you will accept Him as your savior you will be raised up to live in heaven with Him eternally.
TO MAKE JESUS YOUR SAVIOR, DO THE FOLLOWING:
Pray… “Lord Jesus, please come into my heart. Change me. Wash away my guilt and make me like you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you that I am forgiven and I can now live for you. Amen.”
If you have confessed this prayer, then Jesus has come into your heart. You are accepted by Him. You are empowered with His life, and the Holy Spirit is now working to transform your life. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY OF GOD!
Now that you’ve asked Jesus in your heart, tell someone about your decision. You may let us know by calling us at 1-800-560-9240 or e-mailing us at [email protected]. We will send you a New Testament bible, and some information about your new life with Jesus.