At the critical meeting recorded in John 7:45-53, Nicodemus boldly stood up and defended the Saviour!  His associates ridiculed Him for thinking that a prophet could come out of Galilee!  “Search and look “they said!  As Nicodemus and Joseph searched the Old Testament they would find the Messianic Prophecies and discover that many of them had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ!   Certainly they would have recognised Jesus as “The Lamb of God”!   God’s Lamb, who would die on the cross!  The fact that John continued his account and shared the excitement of the resurrection is an essential part of the Gospel message (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-8!).  Proving that Jesus Christ is the son of God (Acts 2 32-36) and His atoning work on the Cross has been completed and is effective (Romans 1-4)! 

The empty cross and the empty tomb can be seen as “God’s receipts” telling us that the debt has been paid!  Jesus Christ is not only the Saviour but He is also the Sanctifier (Romans 6:4-10), and one day He will return as Judge (Acts 17:30-31).  From the beginning the enemies of our Lord tried to deny the historic facts of the resurrection.  The Jewish leaders claimed that the Lord’s body had been stolen from the tomb!  This statement is absurd, for if the body was stolen by His followers, how did they manage to do it? The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers and the stone sealed by an official Roman seal! Furthermore, His disciples did not believe that He was to be raised from the dead; it was His enemies who remembered His words!  (See Matthew 27:62-66)  They certainly would not have taken the body!  That was the last thing they wanted!

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Prayer:

Father in Heaven, Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice you fulfilled for me.  May I never forget your gift of salvation, and may I know your Holy Spirit with me, helping me to share your love and knowing the reality of your grace for those who still do not recognise you.  In Jesus’ name Amen.