EASTER: the power of God's plans

Jesus has died and been buried. The Sabbath has come and gone. I can't imagine what the disciples are feeling as they perform the rituals of the holy day of rest. All their expectations of Jesus as Messiah are dashed and their future is grim. Jesus is dead. Yet they keep the laws of the Sabbath day.

Early the next morning, the women go to the tomb with spices ... but the grave is empty and the corpse is missing. The heavy stone in front of the tomb has been rolled away. Mary runs to find the disciples with terrible news: the body of Jesus has disappeared! Their hopes are washed away.
There are 4 scriptural accounts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Typically for eyewitnesses, they emphasize different parts of what is happening. Click on any of the links to read more.

Matthew (the disciple who used to be a tax collector) emphasizes the kingdom of God in his writings. Mark (traveling with Peter and familiar to the early Church) records action and events. Luke (the beloved physician who traveled with Paul) writes to Theophilus, a Greek believer with eyewitness details of healings and Jesus' care for people.

And John (the beloved friend of Jesus) focuses on Jesus' claims about himself - and his interactions with his disciples. Read what John writes about the events of Resurrection Day (John 20:1-18):

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped round Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 

Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

> The men are done. There's nothing to see - the tomb is mysteriously empty. They go home while Mary lingers to process what has happened. She speaks with God's messengers (angels) and meets the risen Christ.
Now 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 round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.

He asked her, ‘Woman, 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.’
> Somehow the physical appearance of Jesus is altered so that he is not immediately recognized. But his voice and his presence are familiar. He gives Mary a great purpose: a woman will be the first to share the Good News of his resurrection with the world.

Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’

She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’).

Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending 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 that he had said these things to her.

> Even though it will take some convincing, the reality begins to sink in for eyewitnesses. Jesus is no longer dead. He has risen, just as he said he would.
> This is the story that will propel the apostles around the world: the Good News of resurrection life and resurrection power.

> Is this a story you are willing to explore? "He is risen!"

> Yes, "... He is risen indeed!"

Popular posts from this blog

Lent Day 23: A life in hiding

Image
" You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand.  Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are only on earth.  You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3 Where are you hiding? And what are you hiding from? What would happen if you believed God had raised you from the dead and you were focused on heaven? What is you hid behind God' power instead of depending on your own?
Read more

Lent Day 39: Sentenced for your crimes and mine

Image
When the Pharisees and other national leaders take Jesus to the Roman governor, they are looking for the worst punishment they can inflict, a cruel and painful death . Here are the details, from  John 18:28-19:16: Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.  So Pilate came out to them and asked, ‘What charges are you bringing against this man?’ ‘If he were not a criminal,’ they replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’ Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.’ ‘But we have no right to execute anyone,’ they objected.  This took place to fulfil what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. > This is hardly a trial that seeks justice. Rather, it is a conspiracy to execute someone who threatens the power base and status quo. The reli...
Read more

Lent Day 31, 2024: Pruning that profits us

Image
It's painful to lose things. Sometimes we have to wave goodbye to a friendship, a job, or a home. Sometimes it seems like God is angry with us or that it's our fault. But Jesus offers a different perspective. Jesus talks about the value of the hard times, when things are pruned away.  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.   He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:1-2) ." Sometimes what you leave behind is something that has outgrown its season or taken energy away from your true purpose: a fruitful life. Other times we don't know why  we are being reshaped.  It can hurt.  The writer to the Hebrews notes: " No  discipline  seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11)." Challenge: Think of som...
Read more