Sunday, April 12, 2009

LESSONS IN STRIPS OF CLOTH -- Devotional for Easter Sunday, April 12, from "Good Seeds"

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger (Luke 2:7). Joseph took Christ’s body down from the cross, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb (Luke 23:53). Peter peered into the tomb and saw the empty linen wrappings (Luke 24:12). Jesus commanded, “Roll the stone aside!” Then He shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!” Lazarus emerged, bound in grave-clothes. “Unwrap him and let him go!” came the final command. (John 11:38,43-44)

There is an object lesson for our learning in these simplest of all garments: strips of cloth. Joseph and Mary, having not even a diaper for their baby, grab some old rags lying around the stable, probably used to swab down the animals. So poor. So vulnerable. The swaddling clothes show CHRIST’S WEAKNESS IN LIFE. But a lifetime goes by – in a brief thirty-three years – and Jesus is crucified on a cruel Roman cross. For you. For me. Along comes another Joseph, a rich man who had indeed gone “through the eye of a needle” to come to Christ. Maybe he joins the Centurion in recognizing who Jesus was only by His death. He asks Pilate for the body, and has it wrapped, mummy-like, in a long linen cloth, before placing it in his own tomb. Another lifetime passes – an eternity in three days! Before dawn some women come to the tomb to anoint the body. Their biggest concern: “How will we ever roll back that heavy stone?” But something far bigger is waiting to greet them: an empty tomb! But, as Peter later sees, it wasn’t just the tomb that was empty, for so were the linen wrappings. The empty shroud shows CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER DEATH. But let’s go back now, to the middle of His earthly life: a once in a lifetime event takes place – and yet it can happen again and again, in our lifetime, to you and me: Christ’s dear friend, Lazarus, is dead. Tears are shed by all, a prayer is said by Jesus. The answer comes immediately, and Lazarus comes forth from the grave, alive! But he can barely move, until his friends peel off the cloths. Jesus is in the business of loosing us from the wrappings and trappings of sin and self. And He bids us help Him in loosing others. Lazarus’ graveclothes show CHRIST’S POWER TO THE PEOPLE! “That I may know Him and power of His resurrection” (Phil.3:10). Lazarus was given new life. So are we. But he died again. So will we. But Jesus rose again, never to die again. And that’s His legacy to us, for He is “the firstfruits of them that sleep” (I Cor. 15:20). Will you learn these three lessons in strips of cloth?

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