April 03 – DEATH ON THE CROSS!

“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid” (John 19:41).

The death and burial of Jesus Christ teach His children a spiritual lesson and provide consolation too. Why was He buried? He was buried to Resurrect.  The body of flesh got buried, and the spiritual body resurrected.

In our country, the brothers belonging to Hinduism have the ritual of burning the bodies after death. The brothers belonging to Islam have the tradition of burying the bodies. But, we Christians do not burn or bury the bodies but sow the persons who die in Christ.

When a farmer goes for sowing, he goes in the full faith that all the seeds he sows will begin to sprout gloriously. Accordingly, they become plants, and some yielded thirtyfold some sixty, and some a hundred. The Scripture says, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (I Corinthians 15:42-44).

The burial of Christ is also like that of sowing a seed. Similar to how a seed sprouts, Jesus also Resurrected on the third day. He gave His children the hope of Resurrection through this. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25, 26).

If a seed is to germinate, it must have a life in it. When it is crushed or put into hot water, the life within it dies. After that, it will not germinate. Similarly, the life of a man who leads a sinful life gets crushed by Satan. The soul that commits sins shall die. The wages of sin is death. Those who die in sin cannot resurrect during the glorious coming of Christ. The reason is that the life which is Christ will not be in them.

Dear children of God, is the life which is Christ, within you? Does the Holy Spirit dwell in you?

To meditate: “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).