Easter Day
5th April 2015
Sermon
When, in our gathering prayer I said the words;
Come and worship the risen Lord with me.
Bring your strengths and your weaknesses;
your confidence and your uncertainty;
your laughter and your tears;
your hopes and your disappointments.
Come alone and come together,
for the risen Christ calls you
to be his witnesses, his friends and his disciples.
We all proclaimed together:
Alleluia! We are your people.
Alleluia! We are your church.
Alleluia! Risen Lord, we are your disciples.
We proclaimed these Alleluia’s because we believe in Jesus’ resurrection.
We believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead because of the accounts in the bible of those who witnessed, following Jesus’ death on the cross, the empty tomb and his resurrection.
So how do our two bible readings this morning help us to believe in the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection? And why is believing in the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection so important to us and our faith?
The two readings provide us with two different accounts of Jesus’ resurrection following his crucifixion.
In Acts 10, in recalling Jesus’ crucifixion and the witnesses to the resurrection, the apostle Paul cites Peter, a man undeserving of being a witness. For Peter had, in spite of his protestations, denied his master three times, and yet Jesus appeared to him.
Peter uses a strange phrase to describe the crucifixion: ‘They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him to live on the third day.’ The significance, according to Jewish law (Deuteronomy 21:22-3) was that anyone who suffered this fate was considered cursed by God. Peter is saying that when God raised Jesus he supplied proof that this man was not cursed.
It is from this understanding that the universal vision of the Christian Church derives. The message had been heard long ago; it is there in Isaiah 25, a message which is for ‘all peoples’ not just the Jews, but also Gentiles who were considered beyond salvation. When God swallows up death forever he will wipe away tears from all faces.
This is what Peter now realises in the light of his forgiveness. ‘God shows no favoritism.’ There is no human anywhere on earth who is beyond God’s love and mercy.
When we say we believe in Jesus’ suffering, death and his resurrection, we too realise that ‘God shows no favoritism.’ And, that there is no human anywhere on earth who is beyond God’s love and mercy. This belief is very important, it is central to our faith.
As Paul puts it in 1 Timothy 2:2 under the heading ‘Instructions on Worship’
‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
So, today on this Easter morning, as we gathered to worship the risen Lord, there were no notes of sadness, worry, grief, or fear in our greetings to one another.
But how different it was early on that first Easter morning as Mark tells in our gospel reading. The three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, didn’t greet one another with such great joy. There were no alleluias, no notes of joy in their hushed whispers. They were grieving and devastated. They had seen their beloved Jesus, their teacher, stripped of not only his clothes, but every possible shred of human dignity, murdered in the most horrible way possible, and laid in the garden tomb. Sunset and the Sabbath approached quickly; the market stalls and shops were all closed and so they could not even purchase the proper spices to anoint and honour his body and, in some small way, return to him the dignity that had been so cruelly taken away. Their biggest worry was the heavy stone they had seen placed at the entrance to Jesus’ tomb. Who would move it away for them so they could perform the duties of love and honour for their teacher, their friend, their Lord?
They had no idea of the news that awaited them. They had seen Jesus die, hadn’t they? Dead people stay that way!
So, they gathered quietly, with their heads down, speaking their few words in hushed whispers. The women knew that all the followers of Jesus were now in grave danger, but Love called them to risk their very lives.
The disciples and Peter, especially Peter, the Peter who had denied even knowing Jesus -- they had all run away and were now in hiding hadn’t yet heard that call.
When the women arrived at the tomb, it is not difficult to imagine their surprise at seeing the heavy stone already rolled away and a young man in a white robe sitting there as if waiting just for this moment, just for them? Who was he? Where did he come from? The questions evaporated in their amazement at his words. "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, (see for yourselves) there is the place where they laid him. . . ."
Mark’s account of three women witnesses to the empty tomb, ends with the women in complete shock, amazed and terrified, resolving to say nothing to anyone. Mark is the only one of the four canon Gospels that contains no resurrection appearance. Or does it -- who was that young man in the white robe anyway? Some bible commentators say it was an angel Throughout the Bible, God used angels to make special announcements to people. For instance, He used an angel to:
1. Send a message of destruction to Lot in Sodom – Genesis 19
2. Announce the birth of Samson – Judges 13
3. Announce the birth of John the Baptist – Luke 1
4. Announce Mary’s conception of Christ – Luke 1:11
5. Announce the birth of Christ – Luke 2:8-14
Or was the young man Jesus, making his first resurrection appearance?
Whether or not the young man was an angel from God announcing Jesus resurrection or whether it was Jesus himself making his first resurrection appearance, need not concern us unduly, Jesus went on to make other resurrection appearances.
The Gospel of Matthew, describes eleven of the disciples (minus Judas Iscariot) going to a mountain in Galilee to meet Jesus, who appears to them and commissions them to make disciples of all people and to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, referred to as the Great Commission.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus appears to the disciples and eats with them, demonstrating that he is flesh and bones] not a ghost. He tells them to wait in Jerusalem for the start of their mission to the world, and then he ascends into the heavens. In Acts, 1 written by the same author as Luke,Jesus appears to his disciples after his death and stays with them for 40 days before ascending to heaven.
Acts also describes Jesus' appearance to Paul, in which a voice speaks to him and a light blinds him while he's on the road to Damascus
There is ample evidence that Jesus rose from the dead.
Very importantly Acts 10 account of Peter’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection is that;
‘They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him to live on the third day and caused him to be seen’
‘He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
And please take away from this morning’s readings an important point from Mark’s account of that first Easter morning; Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Salome did finally tell someone about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. They must have or we wouldn’t be here to celebrate and worship the Risen Christ this morning. No, they couldn’t keep quiet -- their entire lives had been radically changed in an instant with the words "He has been raised; he is not here."
How has your life been radically changed by that Good News -- that Jesus is risen, that his dead body no longer lies behind a large heavy stone in front of a garden tomb? Or, is the heavy stone still in place for you, separating you from the Risen Lord? Are you still afraid, like the three women who found Jesus tomb empty, to proclaim the Good News that Jesus is risen?
We should not be afraid to proclaim’ the Good News to others that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead.
Bring your strengths and your weaknesses;
your confidence and your uncertainty;
your laughter and your tears;
your hopes and your disappointments.
Come alone, or together as a church to Jesus,
the risen Christ calls you
to be his witnesses, his friends and his disciples.
‘Christ the Lord is risen today’
‘Alleluia
Mr Mike Widdup
Come and worship the risen Lord with me.
Bring your strengths and your weaknesses;
your confidence and your uncertainty;
your laughter and your tears;
your hopes and your disappointments.
Come alone and come together,
for the risen Christ calls you
to be his witnesses, his friends and his disciples.
We all proclaimed together:
Alleluia! We are your people.
Alleluia! We are your church.
Alleluia! Risen Lord, we are your disciples.
We proclaimed these Alleluia’s because we believe in Jesus’ resurrection.
We believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead because of the accounts in the bible of those who witnessed, following Jesus’ death on the cross, the empty tomb and his resurrection.
So how do our two bible readings this morning help us to believe in the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection? And why is believing in the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection so important to us and our faith?
The two readings provide us with two different accounts of Jesus’ resurrection following his crucifixion.
In Acts 10, in recalling Jesus’ crucifixion and the witnesses to the resurrection, the apostle Paul cites Peter, a man undeserving of being a witness. For Peter had, in spite of his protestations, denied his master three times, and yet Jesus appeared to him.
Peter uses a strange phrase to describe the crucifixion: ‘They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him to live on the third day.’ The significance, according to Jewish law (Deuteronomy 21:22-3) was that anyone who suffered this fate was considered cursed by God. Peter is saying that when God raised Jesus he supplied proof that this man was not cursed.
It is from this understanding that the universal vision of the Christian Church derives. The message had been heard long ago; it is there in Isaiah 25, a message which is for ‘all peoples’ not just the Jews, but also Gentiles who were considered beyond salvation. When God swallows up death forever he will wipe away tears from all faces.
This is what Peter now realises in the light of his forgiveness. ‘God shows no favoritism.’ There is no human anywhere on earth who is beyond God’s love and mercy.
When we say we believe in Jesus’ suffering, death and his resurrection, we too realise that ‘God shows no favoritism.’ And, that there is no human anywhere on earth who is beyond God’s love and mercy. This belief is very important, it is central to our faith.
As Paul puts it in 1 Timothy 2:2 under the heading ‘Instructions on Worship’
‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
So, today on this Easter morning, as we gathered to worship the risen Lord, there were no notes of sadness, worry, grief, or fear in our greetings to one another.
But how different it was early on that first Easter morning as Mark tells in our gospel reading. The three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, didn’t greet one another with such great joy. There were no alleluias, no notes of joy in their hushed whispers. They were grieving and devastated. They had seen their beloved Jesus, their teacher, stripped of not only his clothes, but every possible shred of human dignity, murdered in the most horrible way possible, and laid in the garden tomb. Sunset and the Sabbath approached quickly; the market stalls and shops were all closed and so they could not even purchase the proper spices to anoint and honour his body and, in some small way, return to him the dignity that had been so cruelly taken away. Their biggest worry was the heavy stone they had seen placed at the entrance to Jesus’ tomb. Who would move it away for them so they could perform the duties of love and honour for their teacher, their friend, their Lord?
They had no idea of the news that awaited them. They had seen Jesus die, hadn’t they? Dead people stay that way!
So, they gathered quietly, with their heads down, speaking their few words in hushed whispers. The women knew that all the followers of Jesus were now in grave danger, but Love called them to risk their very lives.
The disciples and Peter, especially Peter, the Peter who had denied even knowing Jesus -- they had all run away and were now in hiding hadn’t yet heard that call.
When the women arrived at the tomb, it is not difficult to imagine their surprise at seeing the heavy stone already rolled away and a young man in a white robe sitting there as if waiting just for this moment, just for them? Who was he? Where did he come from? The questions evaporated in their amazement at his words. "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, (see for yourselves) there is the place where they laid him. . . ."
Mark’s account of three women witnesses to the empty tomb, ends with the women in complete shock, amazed and terrified, resolving to say nothing to anyone. Mark is the only one of the four canon Gospels that contains no resurrection appearance. Or does it -- who was that young man in the white robe anyway? Some bible commentators say it was an angel Throughout the Bible, God used angels to make special announcements to people. For instance, He used an angel to:
1. Send a message of destruction to Lot in Sodom – Genesis 19
2. Announce the birth of Samson – Judges 13
3. Announce the birth of John the Baptist – Luke 1
4. Announce Mary’s conception of Christ – Luke 1:11
5. Announce the birth of Christ – Luke 2:8-14
Or was the young man Jesus, making his first resurrection appearance?
Whether or not the young man was an angel from God announcing Jesus resurrection or whether it was Jesus himself making his first resurrection appearance, need not concern us unduly, Jesus went on to make other resurrection appearances.
The Gospel of Matthew, describes eleven of the disciples (minus Judas Iscariot) going to a mountain in Galilee to meet Jesus, who appears to them and commissions them to make disciples of all people and to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, referred to as the Great Commission.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus appears to the disciples and eats with them, demonstrating that he is flesh and bones] not a ghost. He tells them to wait in Jerusalem for the start of their mission to the world, and then he ascends into the heavens. In Acts, 1 written by the same author as Luke,Jesus appears to his disciples after his death and stays with them for 40 days before ascending to heaven.
Acts also describes Jesus' appearance to Paul, in which a voice speaks to him and a light blinds him while he's on the road to Damascus
There is ample evidence that Jesus rose from the dead.
Very importantly Acts 10 account of Peter’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection is that;
‘They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him to live on the third day and caused him to be seen’
‘He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
And please take away from this morning’s readings an important point from Mark’s account of that first Easter morning; Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Salome did finally tell someone about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. They must have or we wouldn’t be here to celebrate and worship the Risen Christ this morning. No, they couldn’t keep quiet -- their entire lives had been radically changed in an instant with the words "He has been raised; he is not here."
How has your life been radically changed by that Good News -- that Jesus is risen, that his dead body no longer lies behind a large heavy stone in front of a garden tomb? Or, is the heavy stone still in place for you, separating you from the Risen Lord? Are you still afraid, like the three women who found Jesus tomb empty, to proclaim the Good News that Jesus is risen?
We should not be afraid to proclaim’ the Good News to others that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead.
Bring your strengths and your weaknesses;
your confidence and your uncertainty;
your laughter and your tears;
your hopes and your disappointments.
Come alone, or together as a church to Jesus,
the risen Christ calls you
to be his witnesses, his friends and his disciples.
‘Christ the Lord is risen today’
‘Alleluia
Mr Mike Widdup
Image courtesy of Royal Shots at Kozzi.com
