Miracles of Jesus Youth Devotional
Jesus Defies Death
Prayer
God of life, You continue to fill me with Your love. Thank You for the life You’ve given me. Help me use my life to serve others as Jesus did.
Take a few minutes of silence. In your own words, ask God to meet you here.
Reading
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus.
“Woman,” He said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
“Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to My brothers and tell them I am returning to my Father and your Father, to My God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them He had said these things to her” (
Response
After reading those verses, what are your first impressions? How would you have responded if you were Mary? Write down anything that comes to your mind about this passage.
Insight
Throughout John’s account of the death and burial of Jesus, he is very deliberate about telling us what day of the week it is. To us, this may not seem to be a big deal; but when a Jewish person hears the days of the week he or she automatically thinks of creation. Jesus suffered on the cross on the sixth day of the week, the final day of work in the creation story. Jesus finished His work on the cross, and then lay in the tomb on the Sabbath—He rested. On Sunday, the first day of a new week, Jesus was found alive in a garden. Later that day, He appeared to the disciples and breathed the Holy Spirit into them, much as the way God first breathed life into Adam.
Through Jesus’ death, God has made all things new and begun the work of new creation.
Reflection
As you look at your life now, in what ways do you need to experience new life?
Make a list of the things in your life that feel old or broken and pray for them, one by one.
Spend a few minutes in prayer, asking Jesus to breathe new life into you.
If it helps you to visualize it, blow up a balloon. While you’re filling it with your old air, pray about the things that feel old in your life. Then release the balloon and allow the air to blow over you, representing the new life from Jesus.
