Easter Sunday
We have just passed the date that is popularly called “Easter Sunday” and it is the Traditional day to contemplate an event that occurred almost 2000 years ago in a city called Jerusalem, the City of Peace, the City of Lights and this ancient City has numerous other titles, but it is also the traditional home of Judaism, Christianity, and is sacred to Islam. Only Traditional Christianity celebrates this event and it has been often celebrated in a dawn service, as when the sun arose on that historical day, the “Son of God” was found to be no longer bound up in his grave cloths, no longer laid captive in a tomb sealed up behind a large bolder, held captive by the chains of death and the grave, he is no longer held in the bonds of death, he is alive, he has risen.
Without the Resurrection, the rest of the events are almost meaningless, the point of the whole of The Bible is to point to the “Lamb of God” as portrayed by John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” If Jesus Christ had died, and that was the end of the book as it were, then there is no victory over sin, so it is critical that we have to have a Resurrection.
We have this encouragement in 1 Corinthians 15:53-57 “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul gives us a fuller depth in 1 Corinthians 15:17 “And if Christ be not raised, your faith [is] vain; ye are yet in your sins.” If we have no Resurrection, then we are still dead in our trespasses and sins, and we are on a road to nowhere, and with no future and no way of ever coming back; but Praise God, there is a Resurrection and there is an empty tomb, and there is a risen Saviour, death and the grave have no power to hold Jesus Christ, and he has risen.
Archaeology depicts from their studies of the tomb, that the stone was not simply rolled away, rolled sideways but it was actually ripped straight out from the face of the tomb, plucked straight out of its track like pulling a wheel off your car after you have removed the wheel nuts, and then dumped face down a distance away, and then the Angel turned around and then sat down on it {Matt 28:2} Mary got the good news first, and got to see a risen Saviour, the two on the “Road to Emmaus” got to walk and to talk and to fellowship with the risen saviour, and got the sermon of a lifetime as Jesus expounded the scriptures and opened their eyes and linked up for them the string of scriptures which foretold, or predicted, the very happenings of the past 3 ½ years, all from prophetic scripture and all fulfilled in exactness.
That evening, when the disciples were together with the others to comfort one another in the loss of their leader and master, Jesus Christ make his presence known and confirms that he is indeed alive. Their sorrow was indeed so deep that they had trouble understanding this amazing event. Poor ole Thomas was so shocked by the news that it took him about another week and another visit from Jesus Christ, but it took only one look and he knew that it was all true, and that his redeemer liveth.
We live almost 2000 years after this event, Jesus Christ says that he is coming back to collect his people, to Resurrect the dead ones and to Translate the living ones {1 Thes 4:13-18} but how is our Faith? We have this verse from Luke as found in Luke 18:7-8 “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
We have lots of New Testament Stories about people who were sleeping (Wise and Foolish), the Wedding and the guests had other places to be, and many others, then we have this verse, Matthew 24:44 “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” The Disciples let the Theology of the Day dominate, and then missed the event, we also can also fall into the same trap, as there are lots of theories, but when the light of the whole scripture shines upon them, they mostly fall very short of a clear “thus saith the Lord.”
Dear Reader; Let us all celebrate that Death and his Grave could not stop Jesus Christ from rising from the Grave, and nothing will stop him from coming back for his beloved children. Basically the cry will go out, “Coming ready or not,” so will your life be ready and your sins all forgiven and put far from you? Hebrews 3:15 “While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” He is not dead, “He is Risen.”
