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The tomb was empty!
And it is the truth that gives incomparable hope, the bodily resurrection of your mortal body, at the Lord’s second coming. You serve a Risen Lord, today and everyday of your life, for He lives, alive forevermore. And when you receive Him into your heart as your personal Savior. He lives in you. It is why studying the prayer of David, to make it your very own, would never be an exercise in futility. It is a wondrous privilege, as you draw near to Him, just as you are, no masks or cover up! He knows it all, any way! Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; May your good Holy Spirit lead me on level ground. [Psalm 143:10] He does it by the word that He speaks to you, through the scriptures. It is why David’s prayer, at another turbulent part of his life, is, Oh, send out Your light and Your truth, Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill, And to Your tabernacle. [Psalm 43:3]
To you and I, the ‘holy hill’ is, but the mount of Calvary, where on the Cross, Lord Jesus became our Savior and Redeemer, in love, and willing submission to His Father’s will, that we may become heirs and co-heirs together with Him, of the Father. It was the fulfillment of the prophetic promise that came to Abraham, the father of faith, on the mount where he was provided with a ram, in the place of his precious son, to offer as a sacrifice. On the mount it shall be provided, was how Abraham, called his wondrous experience, seeing through eyes of faith, the Cross of Mount Calvary. It was there that the Son of God dealt with sin, as the atoning sacrifice, redeemed us from the curse of the law, to triumph over the devil, making a public spectacle of all principalities and powers on it. [Colossians 1:13-15]
But that was two thousand years ago; what about now? How do I deal with my present problem? could be the niggling question in you, and quite understandable from a worldly point of view. And it is where the light and truth that comes through knowing and experiencing the Risen Lord, hits home. For, today, in the midst of your challenges, you have a Living Savior, who is living in you. He was dead; but rose again, to be alive forevermore. Sin and death have been conquered, for up from the grave He arose. Resurrection is the magnificent and incomparable essence of the Christian faith. It is what the Cross proclaims in your life and mine, even this day. You can find your rest in the blessed assurance, that all that has been accomplished by the Lord on the Mount of Calvary, upon the victorious Cross, is appropriated by His resurrection.
He is the Living God, in whom you are called to put your trust, who is here even now, and certainly not as a spectator. He richly provides for your needs, as the apostle Paul writes in his epistle to Timothy, Command all those who are rich in this present world not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. [1 Timothy 6:17] And it is why, appropriating all that He has accomplished, all those years ago is not wishful thinking but possible in His strength and by His presence.
No condemnation :
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. [Romans 8:34] The resurrection of Christ is the platform for Paul’s confidence, and it can be yours too this day, to stay with you for the rest of your life. The death He died, He died to sin. And He arose again, that you and I may live for righteousness in Him. And He lives, to make intercession on your behalf unto the Father. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, establishes the truth that He can exercise His authority in your life’s situations, and in your time of need to remedy it. The blessed Holy Spirit too makes intercession according to the will of God, in your time of weakness that finds you at a loss, unable to pray with clarity. It signifies His intervention in your life, as your Helper, to bring about the positive change that can overcome your weakness or trial, enabling you to move forward in the will and plan of God for you. With both the Son, and the Spirit, interceding on your behalf, who indeed can bring a charge of condemnation against you? You are accepted, and loved by the True and Living God, who is your Father.
No condemnation -go, & sin no more :
The reason may be otherwise, but you and I, could stand in the place of the condemned woman, in the circumstances of life. It is when, you know in your heart that you have committed a wrongdoing or sin, and accusing fingers are waiting to pounce upon you in self righteous and hypocritical anger. [John 8:1-11] The devil is known as the accuser of the brethren; and it is also the truth that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. You and I also, are in the position of the one who needed to be stoned, in condemnation according to the law. But the Lord turned it around, by pinpointing the lack of credibility in the ones who brought her to the Lord. They silently disappeared from the scene, and the only one who had the credibility, the sinless and compassionate Savior and Lord, proclaimed a merciful release upon the woman saying, ‘Neither do I condemn you;’. [vs 11] It is what He has spoken even in your life and mine, and when the impact of it becomes real within us, we cannot remain silent; we would shout in exuberant joy.
For we were bowed down in sin, expecting to be stoned. But the Lord instead of throwing a huge stone at us that would crush us to death, has stretched out His Hands on the cruel Cross, offering us forgiveness instead. And it is why you and I can rise up to draw near, and into the presence of God with confidence. But the other question that needs to be asked is, How can a holy and righteous God do it? For, sin is sin, big or small. And no one can claim to be innocent of it. And if a person is stopped by the traffic police and is found to be driving without a license, he can try to get away with it, and even be successful in evading punishment, by revealing that he is related to an influential higher authority. But it would not be the right thing to do; and in any case he would still be breaking the law. And when it comes to God, the One who is holy and righteous, can in no way be compromised into condoning what was unrighteous and unjust. And if He was unrighteous He would not be God.
Therefore, was it out of pity that the Lord, the compassionate Savior spoke the words of freedom from condemnation to the one who deserved to be condemned? The answer would be an emphatic ‘no’, for the truth goes much deeper. For, if the words of the Lord were just, ‘Neither do I condemn you’, it would amount to Him going on to say, ‘Go, and sin some more’! And, therein lies the godly difference; for Christ’s words were, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more’. And, He said so, for He Himself paid the price, as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
The woman had clearly committed a sin, just as you and I have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And, the past sins that can weigh you down, and even the sins you may commit in the future, have been dealt with by the Lord, on the Cross. And moreover, ‘sin no more’, is very much within the realm of possibility, for He rose again, an act by which He defeated the devil, who had the power over sin and death and Hades. And it is appropriated in you, the result of it being – yes, you indeed have the power not to commit the sin again, for, If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through His Spirit who dwells in you. [Romans 8:11] It is why, ‘Who can condemn me?’ can be your confident position in Christ when He becomes your Savior and Lord. And Paul goes on to describe with powerful clarity, why the Lord had the authority to proclaim what He did to the woman, waiting to be stoned, and every repentant heart that turns to Him.
1. No condemnation – though all have sinned :
Sin enters to destroy you. But Jesus has condemned sin in His flesh on the Cross. What could bring you under condemnation, for the wages of sin is death, has already been dealt with on the Cross, and rendered powerless. Therefore, who can condemn you? It is the question that the Bible asks! Now therefore there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. [Romans 8:1] The law of the Spirit of Life, has set me free from the law of sin and death. [vs 2] For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. [vs 3]
And, this is the understanding of the truth of God’s word that needs to be your joy and peace, as you remember and meditate upon the resurrection of the Lord, who is alive now forever. It is the knowledge and understanding of the truth that can enable you to overcome condemnation, and draw near the throne of God with confidence, by the new and living way, opened up by Christ, through His own body, the veil of His flesh. Indeed, who can condemn you? For it is Christ Himself who died for you, has justified you, washed you with His Blood, that you and I who were dead in our transgressions, may be raised together with Him, to be seated together with Him in the heavenly reams, at the right hand of the Father. Therefore, now there is,
2. No condemnation – even if the devil accuses you :
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, ‘Now salvation and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God night and day has been cast down’. [Revelation 12:10] He is a defeated foe, hurled down from heaven; but the devil can still try to put discouraging thoughts in you to bring condemnation in you. He is a master deceiver, if you only give him a little bit of room! He can exploit his knowledge of your past sins to make you feel unworthy to sing and worship the Lord, in the gathering of saints. He can mock the sincerity of your heart, by accusing you of being a hypocrite. But, you have a powerful defense, that can see you overcome his empty words. For Christ has died on the Cross for you; He rose again for you that you may live with no condemnation, for He has dealt with your sin on Calvary. Having been cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, you need no longer cringe on the inside of you, though the devil may have the password for your colorful past! You stand in faith and repentance, upon Christ the Risen Savior, who has justified you, and your confession of His word that brought you out of darkness. And when the devil reminds you of your situation, you can respond by declaring what Christ has done, and is continuing to do for you. When the devil says, ‘you are sick’, you can say, ‘Christ is my healer’. When he says, ‘you are lonely’ you can say, ‘but God will never leave or forsake me’. It is by the Blood of the Lamb, and the word of your testimony that you overcome. [Revelation 12:11]
3. No condemnation-when your own heart condemns :
The human personality is truly complex, for as the psalmist has said. you and I are fearfully and wonderfully made! It can lead you to be too lenient or too critical with yourself, and the latter scenario, can find your own heart condemning you. Your conscience can indeed be very sensitive if you allow it to function optimally. But it can end up in condemnation, for it is like the thermostat that reveals the prevailing temperature, but can do nothing to change it. But, you overcome the condemnation that it sometimes can bring you, when you turn to the Living God, for God is greater than your feelings.
Believe therefore in the higher truth, in what God who knows you better than you know yourself has spoken about you in His word. Who can condemn you, when you are in Christ Jesus? He has condemned sin in His flesh. It is the precious Blood of the Lamb, that cleanses your conscience of all that is needlessly occupying space in it, to make it a fitting instrument in the hands of the King of kings and Lord of lords. How much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? [Hebrews 9:14] Lord Jesus has atoned for your sin. And, He is the Risen Savior, bringing you comfort and confidence, to take you to be seated at His Table. It is the Holy Communion, or common union with Him, that you celebrate as you remember His death on the Cross, that you may partake of all hat has been accomplished by Him.
You are accepted, you are forgiven, and not under condemnation. You are the child of the true and living God, who loves you. And may the blessed assurance that you have a Risen Savior fill you, as you give thanks unto the Father for giving you His Son and changing the story of your life, from being a sinner to be a saint in His kingdom. Let it be your song, all the day long. And may you find rest in your soul in Christ alone, and be empowered to move forward in confidence in the will of God, as His word finds it’s rightful place in your heart. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
