He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”
(Matthew 28:6 NIV)
On Easter Sunday, I saw these words from the book of Matthew scrawled across the big screen at church in huge letters. The last four words of this verse, “just as he said,” brought immediate, deep, and total comfort to my soul.
When I read those four words, it was as if my soul sighed of relief. I thought about these words, and I hope my simple reflection here will bring a sigh of relief to your soul, and help you trust Jesus more today.
We Live by Faith
Right now, every believer in Jesus lives a life of faith, Galatians 2:20 tells us. That means that we live day-by-day trusting in and relying on what Jesus has said to us and promised us in his Word, the Bible. We live by faith and not by sight, the Bible says (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Many of the things we believe, we have not seen. We have not seen the home that awaits us in heaven (John 14:2). We do not see the Holy Spirit, the divine Person who promises to be our help and never leave our side (John 14:16). Likewise, we do not see all things brought under the authority of Jesus, although Jesus promises that they are and will be (Hebrews 2:8; Philippians 2:10-11).
So faith is a sort of straining of our souls to see with our hearts what we cannot see with our eyes. Faith looks at the circumstances that seem to render God’s Word impossible, and chooses to trust him nevertheless. Faith is difficult; in fact, it is a miracle, and a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 12:9).
Jesus Did “Just as He Said”
Right now, we are trusting in the promises of Jesus, meaning we have not seen all of them come to pass. Jesus openly said that he would rise from the dead on the third day after his death. Even those who had him killed knew this (Matthew 27:63)! Jesus promised his disciples something unheard of, something spectacular and arguably hard to believe, something they could not see or maybe even imagine!
Imagine how difficult it must have been for the disciples to keep believing Jesus’ words when Jesus lay dead in the tomb. And some of God’s promises might be very difficult for you to keep believing too, friend. But just because something is hard for us to believe, does not mean it is impossible for God to perform. Jesus did just as he said and rose from the dead.
Trust Jesus to Do What He Has Said
Jesus will never make a promise to us that he will not keep (2 Corinthians 1:20). Consequently, there is no promise in the Word of God that will not turn out “just as he said.” Or to put it positively, every word of Jesus will turn out “just as he said.”
One day you will look back on the promises of Jesus you are clinging to now and find that they all turned out “just as he said.” So why not keep trusting him today? Can you think of a promise or a word from Jesus that’s difficult for you to believe right now? Ask the Lord for greater faith, and to help you not only believe, but also live as though Jesus will do “just as he said” for you.