Nah, angel. I think I’ll pass…
As we approach Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, I want to jump ahead to Easter for a moment. When Mary and the other women showed up at the empty tomb, they were met by an angel who announced that Jesus was alive. Then he said, “…go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (Matt 28: 7)
Obviously, the women obeyed Jesus. The reunion between the risen Lord and his disciples is recorded later in Matthew 28. But what if they hadn’t? What if the women had decided, for whatever reason, not to take this message back to the disciples. What if Mary had said, “Nah…angel, I think I’ll pass. They won’t believe me anyhow because I am a woman’ (or) “It’s too risky; our enemies are still out to get us” (or) “They had their chance and they ran away; let them fend for themselves.”
Can you imagine Jesus, standing there on their favorite hillside beside the Sea of Galilee, cooling his heels, waiting for disciples that never came… because they were never told?
Whether we like it or not, Jesus still invites us to be part of announcing his resurrection. He sends us out to spread the news… to invite his would-be friends to meet with him next Easter morning. But lots of us want to take a pass on this assignment. Maybe because our friends are skeptics. Maybe because it is risky to talk about religious things. Maybe because we don’t care; we have what we need… let others fend for themselves.
Here’s the deal: next Sunday morning: Jesus will be here waiting. If you don’t do your job of inviting your friends, they will stand Jesus up… and miss out on a life-changing encounter.
So… will you be faithful to your call to spread the word? For your friends, eternity hangs in the balance!
Meantime, I’ll see you Thursday night to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And then, I will see you—and your friends—next Sunday at 8:00, 9:15, 10:30 or 11:47am. (Come to the first or last service, will you?) Jesus will be waiting!
Pastor Mark
P.S. Our weekend with Josh McDowell stirred up a lot of conversation… and a longing for more resources to deal with the scourge of pornography. If you would like more information about such resources, click here to read a blog from Lance Brown, our Minister of Renewal.