Matthew 27:55-66 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (vs.59-60 NIV)
Have you ever tried to bury Jesus? Many Christians do. They receive Him in their youth, then the world begins to seep in. Slowly their Christian beliefs erode, like water can to rock over time. They bury Jesus deep inside, seal Him up and walk away. They try to deal with the world on their own, ignoring what once spurred their souls.
To be honest, there have been times in my life when I did just that, even though I kept going to church, kept serving on the altar guild, praying the prayer list, tithing my money. I still believed in Jesus, but I was not allowing Him to dwell in me completely. I’d carved out a small space in my life, shoved Him in, rolled the stone and walked away. We each have a stone in our lives that we think will prevent Him from touching us. Perhaps it is guilt over an act, an unresolved anger, a spiritual doubting, or a sin we ‘d rather not deal with right now, thank you.
However, we know what happened, because we have heard the Good News of Easter. You can’t keep Jesus in a tomb for very long, can you?
When was the last time you left Him out of your life for a while, only to have Him burst through in glory and reveal Himself? It may have been through the words of a sermon, or a verse in a hymn, a child’s unabashed comment or a friend’s hug. Suddenly you knew Jesus had rolled away the stone and the Holy Spirit re-entered you heart.
He promised us He’d be with us until the end. Once we receive Him, He will not leave us. We are sealed as His forever. We can’t keep Him out of our lives – He loves us too much. He will break through.
