DAILY DEVOTIONAL – July 6, 2021
“Earballs”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are faithful to Your every Word. Give us ears to hear and hearts that hold onto Your word by faith. Amen.
Scripture: Luke 24:1-9
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Devotional – “Earballs”
There is a story told about a defendant who was on trial for murder. There was strong evidence indicating the defendant’s guilt, but one piece of crucial evidence was never found – the body of the person whom the prosecution claimed the defendant murdered. In the defense’s closing statement, the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a desperate tactic of trickery. Turning to the jury, the defense attorney said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all.” As the lawyer looked at his watch he said, “Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case and whom my client is accused of killing, will walk into this courtroom fully alive.” He then stood looking toward the courtroom door.
Though not too sure what to think, all the members of the jury and everyone else in the courtroom looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally, the lawyer said, “Actually, my previous statement was not entirely truthful. I don’t know if the person my client is accused of killing will be walking through that door, but there is also no guarantee that they won’t. The evidence of reasonable doubt here is that all of you were looking at those doors with anticipation. I therefore put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty.”
The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. “But how?!” the defense lawyer asked. “You must have had some doubt. I saw all of you staring at the door!” The jury foreman stood up and replied saying, “Oh, we were absolutely looking at the door, but your client wasn’t.”
We look for what we expect to find. Believing in Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead means that we expect to see our Lord Jesus because He has promised that He is with us “to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:20. As Jesus said after He revealed Himself to His disciple Thomas who struggled to believe that Jesus was risen because he could not see him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Living by faith, believing that Jesus is risen from the dead and victorious over sin, death, and the devil means living our lives looking for Jesus. We don’t look for Him because we can’t see Him or because He isn’t here to be found. We look for Him because Jesus has told us to believe He is with us and to look for Him because we should expect to find Him. Remember what the angels told the women at the tomb on Easter morning when they went to the tomb expecting to look inside and see Jesus’ dead body. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Luke 24:5-7.
If we want to see Jesus, we only have to look for Him, but as the angels make clear, we also must look in the right place. The women at the tomb were never going to see a living Jesus if they kept looking in a place intended for the dead. In the same way, if we want to see our Lord who is very much alive, we should not look for Him in the dead and dying things of this world that will perish. Jesus is not seen more in wealth or in poverty. Jesus is not seen more in victory or defeat. Jesus is not seen more on the mountaintops or in the valleys. Jesus is not seen more in provision or persecution. Jesus is and can be seen in all circumstances and in all the places we find ourselves in life, when we look to where He has promised to be found and where the angels told the women to look for Him. In His Word, the Word of God. After telling the women where they would not find Jesus, they then told them where to look to see Him. The angels said, “Remember how he told you.” Those same words apply to you and me today. “Remember” what God has already told you in His Word. That is where you will see Him, not with the eyes in your head, but with the eyes of faith.
If you want to see Jesus, look with your ears, that is where faith comes from. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Even when Jesus was here to be seen in the flesh, that in no way made it easier for people to see Him. This is why Jesus would often say after teaching, “He who has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Remember what He has told you, my friends. Look for Jesus with your ears and in His Word every day. Know His Word, believe what you have heard, and you will see Jesus.
Thanks for joining me for another daily devotional, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today, and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
