“Absent …”

“Jesus … it would have to be Jesus.”

That would have been the answer many — if not all — the people who knew Jesus when He walked this earth would have said when asked which person they knew they could rely on the most.

After all, Jesus was the perfect Man.

He would have been great to have had as a child, or a neighbor, or a co-worker, or a friend, or “rabbi.” However you knew Him, He simply would have been wholly reliable. If anything, you usually got more than you ever expected when it came to Him.

You could count on Jesus.

Except this one time …

… one morning, when some women showed up at His tomb.

Jesus was absent.

He wasn’t where He was supposed to be.

How unreliable was that?!

I mean, when a person dies, you bury them. You can count on them being buried. They stay in the tomb. They stay dead. You can count on that.

But Jesus didn’t.

Yet, it was the absence of Jesus that continued His reliability. How reliable would a dead savior be? How could you count on a buried Messiah? What hope would humanity have if sin and death conquered the Son of God?

So Jesus got up. He rose from the dead. He again demonstrated that you can count on Him!

Remember that on Sunday, it will give you reason to celebrate.

Happy Easter!

Scotty