To Be With Jesus: Easter Devotional
An Easter Devotional inspired by CityPoint Community Church’s 2021 Trap Jesus Easter sermon.
Introduction
Jesus Christ, though high in spiritual rank, lived a humble life on Earth. And during his public ministry–starting at age 30–he interacted with people from all parts of society, not just the famous, visible, and influential. Jesus interacted with people considered lowly and those who were often rejected and neglected by the culture of his time.
Nevertheless, he made it clear through his ministry that all people are worthy of being seen, valued, heard, and loved.
This Easter weekend, we will walk through the journeys of three types of people with whom Jesus Christ interacted.
Part 1: Jesus and Judas
Scripture: John 18:1–11
In their group of 12, the disciples consisted of people whom no one understood why Jesus would be around. And in that group, there was Judas Iscariot, the treasurer for the disciples.
During the last supper, Jesus knew Judas would betray him. It was no mystery to Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, that Judas would place a higher value on 30 pieces of silver than his relationship with Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus washed Judas’s feet too. He broke bread with Judas too. Nevertheless, Jesus maintained his position as a reflection of himself and a reflection of God.
Jesus, regardless of how he had been treated by Judas and those before Judas, was on assignment. And no part of Judas’s actions would stop him from completing it. Because what was to come was more significant than what was currently in front of him.
Part 2: Jesus and Mary Magdalene
Scripture: John 20:1–18
Women were not held in high regard during Jesus’s time. So, while it may seem small that women were the first to see Jesus in his resurrected body, it is a testament to Jesus’s life of shaking the table during his earthly ministry.
We know that Mary Magdalene did not have the best reputation. In fact, she was about to be stoned when she met Jesus, and he rebuked the leaders.
Mary Magdalene saw the stone removed as she went to the tomb on Sunday morning, which frightened and saddened her. Angels came to her as she wept. Then Jesus, who she assumed was the gardener at first, revealed himself to her. And Mary Magdalene, a woman, was the first to fulfill the prophecy.
We don’t always know how things will play out in difficult moments, but we must trust what God says and has revealed. Just as Jesus told of his death, burial, and resurrection and those who listened to him bore witness.
Part 3: Jesus and his Disciples
Scripture: John 21
Jesus had not revealed himself to his disciples yet. As they were going about their day, Jesus waited for them by the Sea of Tiberias. It did not take long into the conversation with who the disciples initially viewed as a stranger for John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, to recognize it was their Savior.
The last time Peter saw Jesus, he had denied him three times. The last time James saw Jesus, Jesus had told Mary–his mother–that James was her son. And now, in their low moods, doubt, and trapped emotions, they see Jesus revealed in his resurrected body as they went on about their routines.
Jesus did what he said he would do. And he showed up for those whom he loved. And everyone knows that his disciples were compiled of an unlikely group of people, yet before his ascension, he was with them.
–––––
Bio:
CityPoint Community Church is a community, led by Pastor Demetrius Davis, for Black millennials passionate about faith and social justice located in the South Loop of Chicago, Illinois. You can watch more sermons by CityPoint Community Church on our YouTube Channel and stay engaged with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
