On This Day: A Rebuke, a Reminder, a Resurrection

   And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. (Luke 24:4-9)

   First, I was blown away by how my journey through Easter week 2025 coincided with Luke’s description of those events. I have never gone through those scenes so quickly to keep pace with the unfolding week. But it gave me a sense of the big picture of what Jesus was doing, and made me feel that I was there.

   Second, once I got to Resurrection Sunday, the resurrection had taken place, and now I could slow down again and consider all the lessons God has for me about how we ought to live. And the starting place for me has been the contrast in how we behave based on the contrast in what we believe. 

   The women behaved as grieving disciples because they believed Jesus was dead. There are huge lessons for me in this! If what I believe is wrong, so will my actions be, no matter how devoted I am!

   As I continued looking at the experience of the women, the gentle rebuke/reproof from the messengers, followed by the reminder of what they had been taught, changed everything. If they were in the wrong place because of wrong beliefs, reminding them of the right beliefs would lead to right actions. They would never stay where they were once they realized there was much better news than what they were thinking that day. 

   When we expand this to what we are to believe about Scripture, that it will always be teaching us, reproving/rebuking us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness, we can submit everything we believe to the daily inspection of Scripture to let God gently rebuke us when we’re heading in the wrong direction, and lovingly remind us where we ought to be. The better we get to know Scripture, the more we can be reminded of what we were already taught. 

   One of the things this brings onto the stage is whether we relate to God’s “adjustments” in the Beatitudinal way, or we recoil against them in the prideful way. Whenever we hear God’s word, do we feel the blessing of poverty of spirit leading us to the blessing of mourning whatever is wrong in our beliefs and behaviors? Do we feel the blessing of mourning (even if it is very short because we’re so aware of the good news set before us) leading us into the blessing of meekness that knows we can’t fix ourselves but Jesus can? And do we feel the blessing of meekness stirring in our hearts the blessing of hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of whatever God is speaking to us about?

   I can’t say the reasons this is hitting me with such personal applications. It’s enough that it is another reminder to pay attention to how God is changing our minds (repentance) so we can join him in his work (faith). I see some ways I am looking for the living among the dead, and cannot continue to do so. I see some ways to look for the living among the living, and I want to put this into practice with all my heart. 

   If nothing else, Jesus is alive, and that means we should want to experience

“what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:19-20). 

   And to do that, we likely need the same rebuke and reminder as the women needed, followed by meeting with God’s people where God is working. I can see how I am to do that this week, and expect ongoing “refreshers” to keep me heading in the right direction.

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: When Burial Plans Go All Wrong

   But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. (Luke 24:1-9)

   I found it interesting this morning to come to Luke 24 knowing that my journey through Luke is running parallel to the days of this Easter weekend. So today is Resurrection Sunday of Easter weekend and Luke 24 is Luke's account of that event.

   What stood out is that the first thing Luke writes is about the women who went to the tomb with their burial spices. In other words, that first Resurrection Sunday, they were planning a FUNERAL! 

   The disciples had already settled that Jesus was dead and there was nothing they could do about it. They were devoted. They loved Jesus. They were sacrificial. They were serving. But they were filled with grief because of what they had believed (with lots of physical evidence to affirm this).

   However, their worship of Jesus was based on their wrong beliefs. Hold on to that thought as we continue!

   So, I see very devoted, loving, dedicated women doing a whole bunch of unnecessary work to show their love for Jesus by preparing his body for long-term burial. They were grieving. Their loss would have been the most intense ever since the expectation of the Messiah's coming was the greatest longing of the Jewish people. For them to be 100% convinced Jesus was the Messiah meant they had let their hopes rise to the highest pinnacle of expectation. But Jesus' crucifixion was too graphic, too torturous, too real, for them to believe anything except that he was dead. So they planned to worship him with the best burial anyone had ever received. Jesus deserved it.

   What was extra fascinating to me was to see that this was the very way I was beginning my day, like someone had died and I didn’t want to go to the funeral! I was confronted with how many ways we can do the wrong things in “worship” because we believe the wrong things about Jesus. We don’t believe he loves us, so we live like orphans. We don’t think he cares about what we’re going through, so we handle everything ourselves. We don’t think he has answers to the world’s challenges of “Did God actually say?”, so we keep quiet and don’t tell anyone what God actually said! Whatever we believe directs how we behave.

   I'm still praying through this for myself this morning. Especially the way the women who were worshiping out of so much grief never would have brought burial spices that morning if they had understood and believed what Jesus had said. 

   I mean, think about it: even his enemies knew he said he would rise on the third day because that's why they were guarding the tomb! But none of Jesus' disciples could believe something so wonderful after what they had witnessed of his suffering and death.

   The point for me today is that it was such a beautiful picture of how the messengers turned the women’s attention from what they were thinking to what was true. No time to feel bad about it, just get on with finding Jesus! He is alive! Just go attach to him! Get in his word! Listen to him! Take his words to heart!

   Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)

On This Day: Receiving the Kingdom Like a Child

   Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17)

   

   I love it when I come to a very familiar passage of Scripture, wonder how “our Father in heaven” will get through to me with anything new and applicable to my present life situation, and then feel the wonder of God taking my little chin in his hands and turning my attention to the exact thing he wants me to see. And today, that hit me more meaningfully than ever!

   I have been a kid my whole life (6+ decades). I have been a parent for over 40 years. I have helped my wife with our family daycare for over 20 years. I have had young folk come and go through our lives like children and grandchildren in our hearts. 

   With that as part of the backdrop to this scene, I realized today that when Jesus talked about receiving the kingdom of God like a child, I have always put the focus on what children are like. What are the childlike qualities that Jesus had in mind to illustrate what it is like to come into his kingdom like children?

   But when the Holy Spirit turned my attention to “receive… like a child”, I suddenly realized this was God’s gift for today. It isn’t just what children are like that Jesus was referring to, but what they are like when they receive a gift. And THAT made me smile with tears of wonder. I KNOW what children look like when they receive things from us.

   There is a certain joyful anticipation in children the moment they hear that we have something in mind for them. They are giddy with excitement to know what it is. They can’t keep quiet about it. They are full of questions. They are helplessly bound to speaking to each other about it, sharing their thoughts out loud about what it could possibly be. 

   In other words, when children know they are going to receive something, it captivates them. They can’t stop and change to thinking about anything else. Try to get them to sit still, or sit straight, and you will fail. The way children anticipate the thought of us giving them something is a delightful picture of joyful anticipation and eagerness to have whatever we have in mind. 

   And then there is the look of comprehension, the moment when they see what it is and are overwhelmed with the excitement of the gift. Whether it be a present for their birthday, or a surprise gift from our garage saling, or just that it’s a really good day to have ice cream, the “like a child” side of receiving things is distinct and universal. 

   When I replayed that amazing morning in Sandspit around 1965 when I was seven years old and I looked up at the sky with the sudden awareness that God was watching me, I can still recall the way it felt to be a child receiving such a gift. And when I sat in church in the community hall in Sandspit and heard the tubes on that old organ warming up to a hum, and we would start singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and I knew in my heart what that meant even though I could never explain it, I knew what it felt like o be a child receiving a gift from God. 

   I could go on. In fact, I’m sure God will keep me on this path for a while, reconsidering my own heart and how well I receive the gifts of his kingdom like a child. But the whole scene has touched my heart deeply already in that like-a-child kind of way that leaves me in awe and wonder at the colorful threads God is weaving into his tapestry, intentionally including me in the picture. 

   And now I hope you are encouraged to let yourself receive God’s gifts like a child, and then follow him in “the obedience of faith” as you use your gifts to his glory and the good of everyone you meet. 

© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com 

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)