Easter, it’s All True!
God our
Father, creator of all, today is the day of Easter joy. This is the morning on
which the Lord appeared to men who had begun to lose hope and opened their eyes
to what the scriptures foretold that first he must die and then he would rise
and ascend into his Father’s glorious presence. May the risen Lord breathe on
our minds and open our eyes that we may know him in the breaking of bread, and
follow him in his risen life. Grant this through Christ our Lord.[2]
The resurrection
of Jesus Christ happened 2,000 years ago. How can we, who are so far removed
from that first Easter, be sure it happened? So much depends on whether it is
true. Without the resurrection there is no hope for life beyond the grave.
Without the resurrection there is no assurance that God is in control. Without
the resurrection there is no guarantee that love is greater than hatred. How do
we know that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is real?
1. First,
there is circumstantial evidence – an empty tomb. Listen as Mark gives us his account of that first
Easter, “the angel said: “here is the
place where they laid Him.” V.6 On the way to the tomb, the three women
were asking themselves “Who will roll
away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” The question indicates that
they did not expect a resurrection even though they must have heard Jesus say
several times, “and on the third day I
will rise again.”
If the resurrection were a fabrication and a hoax the
question would not be asked. Well, who did roll away the stone? Mark does not
tell us. We learn from St. Paul in his letter to Rome that the Father Himself
raised up Jesus. “It will be counted to
us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.” -Romans
4:24; “If the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus4 from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
-Romans 8:11
The LORD Himself moved the stone! Man could not do it
– not the stone of death. All the kings’ horses and all the kings’ men would
not be able to conquer death. This was the Father’s act of grace and victory!
The angel identifies the risen one as the man Jesus
from Nazareth who was crucified. This gives reality to the Easter story. The
risen Christ is not a spirit. The resurrected person was Jesus from the town of
Nazareth. He was killed on a cross. He was truly dead and buried.
There is no room here for a “spiritual” or a “symbolic”
resurrection! We must not spiritualize the account. It was not a resurrection
of the spirit or the soul of Jesus. The physical body, the whole person of
Jesus - rose from the dead on that first Easter.
2. There is
the witness of God’s messenger, an angel, as well as the testimony of those who
met Jesus recorded in the Words of Scripture. Mark continues, “And entering
the tomb they saw a young man sitting at the right wearing a white robe and they
were amazed. And he said, ‘why seek the living among the dead. He is not here,
He is risen from the dead,’”
There is no such thing as a dead Christ. Why seek the
living among the dead? Jesus will not be found in the tombs of the dead. He is
alive! Why seek Him there?
The grave could not hold Him. Jesus rose from the dead
on the third day. The disciples’ testimony is true. “We are witnesses of these events; we have seen Him with our own eyes.”
This Jesus who was crucified is now alive forevermore. The grave could not hold
Him. See the place where they laid Him. He is not here. He is risen from the
dead!
3. Then
there is the experience of the living Christ – He will be seen in Galilee. “There you
will see Him just as He said.” V.7 The angel instructs the women to tell
the disciples, and Peter, to meet Jesus in Galilee as Jesus had told them.
In this account of the resurrection the risen Christ
does not appear. He will meet His disciples in Galilee. Thus we are reminded by
the message of the angel to heed the word of the Savior. Time and again He
predicted His bodily resurrection. The women found the tomb empty. Where would
they find Him?
They find Him at the very place where Jesus had
directed them – in Galilee. Likewise, in your life, you find the risen Savior
at those places where He has directed you – in the waters of Baptism, in the
elements of Bread and Wine, in His very words and promises of Holy Scripture.
The women hurried off to Galilee and there they found
Him as the angel predicted. Will you too find Him where He has directed you?
Search the Scriptures; the eye-witness account of those who met the risen Lord Jesus.
There you will find Him alive. He cannot deny Himself. He is risen just as He
said!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Passive Sentences – 10%
Readability – 80.8%
Reading Level -4.8
[1] The Risen Christ, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2] Opening Prayer for Easter, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, © Delhi, NY
No comments:
Post a Comment