One of the great blessings of being a pastor is that you get to know some of the finest folks in the world. The other side of that is that as a pastor you must preach the funerals of many of these friends who have blessed your life. One such person that I came to know when I was pastor of First Baptist Church in Booneville was Macon Griffith. Macon was 97 when she died, but she never lost her sense of humor. At her funeral, her niece, Reba Davis said in the eulogy that Macon sometimes talked about how old she was getting and how she had outlived most of her family and friends. Reba said that Macon often said, “So many of my family and friends have died that if I live much longer you will have to hire some professional mourners to come to my funeral.” I am glad to report that no professional mourners were necessary that day. Many of her family and friends came for her funeral.
And no professional mourners were necessary for Jesus after His death on the cross. He was buried by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two believers who had kept a low profile during His ministry. And on Sunday morning some friends of His made their way to His tomb. “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb.”
These women came because of their love for the Lord. They came to express their grief and also their devotion to Him. When the women arrived at the tomb, to their surprise they found the stone rolled away from the entrance. They entered the open tomb and saw a young man sitting there who was evidently an angel. He announced to them, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen” (Matt. 28:5-6).
With those three simple words, “He is risen,” the history of our world was forever changed. You will often see the letters “R. I. P” for “Rest in Peace” on tombstones. I heard of a Sunday School teacher who asked her class what the initials “R. I. P.” on a tombstone stood for. At first, none of the children seemed to know. Finally, one little boy raised his hand and ventured an answer. He said, “I think it stands for ‘Return if Possible.’” If they had put “R. I. P” on the garden tomb, they would stand for “Return Is Promised.” Even death could not defeat Him!
Christ won the victory over death and demonstrated the power of God in His resurrection. And we can share in that victory as we trust Christ as our Savior.
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
