16. Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? Or was it a hoax?

JOHN 20: 19-31

How would you feel if you built a high tower using wooden blocks and someone came along and knocked it down? Sometimes, little sisters or brothers don’t realise how much work you have put into such a project. You may feel angry. You may feel sad. You may think, “I’ll just build it up again.”

Building a sand castle on the beach and washing it away by a wave is a similar experience. You feel the loss when something of yours is destroyed or taken away. We all have those feelings when something like that happens to us.

We read in the Bible about Mary Magdalene, who felt great sadness when Jesus died. The death of someone we love is a great loss. We are told that “Mary was standing outside at the tomb (where Jesus had been buried), weeping” (20:11).

When she turned around, she saw someone standing there and thought it was the gardener, but when he called “Mary” (20:16), she understood it was Jesus. Jesus had been resurrected.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

Jesus’s life started humbly. He was born to a just-married couple, a young woman and her older husband, away from home, in a stable, hardly what you would expect for the birth of the King of Kings.

Then they had to flee to Egypt–to flee Herod’s wrath–to flee Herod, the madman– We could certainly think of Jesus’ journey to Egypt as a detour in the grand plan of his life – BUT IT FULFILLED PROPHECY

Then Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a small town where not much happened, far from Jerusalem and the temple.- WHICH FULFILLED PROPHECY

Then he travelled around Galilee, mostly on foot, teaching and healing. His work excited people, but it would be stretching things to think that he would have any impact beyond Israel’s borders.

And then Jesus went to Jerusalem. We talk about Jerusalem as the Holy City, and it was. It was the home of the temple. It’s where the holy men lived. They were the chief priests. the scribes and the Pharisees.

But for Jesus, Jerusalem would be a place of death, WHICH FULFILLED THE PROPHECY

The scribes and the Pharisees begin to challenge him by trying to trip him up. Finally, they decide to kill him.

And they succeeded. They get the crowd to support them and force Pilate to do their bidding. Before long, Jesus was hanging on a cross. By the end of the day, he is dead and buried, and his enemies are rid of him forever.

THE WORLD CHANGED FOREVER

But three days later, the tomb is empty, and Jesus is back alive again, appearing to Mary Magdalene, the disciples, and Thomas. The lurches and detours of his life led Jesus exactly to the place where God wanted him to be.

But God was present with Jesus through every lurch and detour. God had a plan for his life, and Jesus lived it out. That’s the reason the world is celebrating.

God’s plan for Jesus included many detours. It even included the cross. But it didn’t stop there. It moved from the cross to the open tomb, then from death to resurrection.

As a result, people in every nation under the sun are celebrating Jesus.

Celebrating his death and resurrection.

Celebrating his victory over the grave.

Celebrating that he conquered death, not only for himself but also for us.

And God was behind Jesus, who moved through a series of detours that seemed to end with the cross, but that really ended with the resurrection.

Life is Not Always Easy

And God is behind your life and mine. We, too, experience detours. We, too, have successes and failures and wins and losses, ups and downs.

Sometimes, those detours are in accord with God’s plan. Sometimes, he leads us over rough roads to get us where we need to go.

But sometimes we choose to go our own way and ignore God.

Sometimes, we create our own pain. Each of us, at some time, is our own worst enemy.

Sometimes, we have the misfortune of working with someone or living next door to someone who makes life difficult.

But the Good News is that God is with us even when the pathway is rough. God is with us through good times and bad, through wins and losses, through up and down.

God is there, shepherding us, nudging us toward the light. Illuminating the path that leads to life. God has a plan for our lives, just as he had a plan for Jesus.

The Easter season is a wonderful time for celebration. It’s a time to decorate the church with lilies and to sing the grand Easter hymns.

But it’s also a time to remember that, when faced with life’s detours, God is with us. God is working behind the scenes to redeem our lives. God is helping us. God is showing us the way to the road that leads to life.

SONG- The Day of Resurrection

“The Day of Resurrection” is an ancient hymn. St. John of Damascus of the Greek Orthodox Church wrote the words.

John was born in Damascus in the 8th century and worked in secular fields for many years. He became an Orthodox priest late in life and spent the rest of his life at St. Sabas Convent near Jerusalem. He was a gifted poet, the greatest poet of the Greek Church.

The story is told of John writing a hymn for the funeral of a fellow monk, a monk not yet dead but at death’s doorstep. After writing the hymn, John started practising it loudly. The next thing he knew, the dying monk came shuffling into the room to protest the unseemly noise.

This hymn, “The Day of Resurrection,” was part of a much longer poem. John Mason Neale translated it into English in the 19th century, a thousand years after it was first written.

The first verse calls us to celebrate the resurrection, to proclaim it abroad.

The second verse calls us to live lives pure from evil and to live, as it were, resurrection lives.

The third verse calls all the heavens and earth to be joyful, to sing and to proclaim a joy that has no end!

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I’m Paula Rose Parish — a former atheist of 21 years, Protestant pastor for over 40 years, and now a Catholic convert. After a powerful encounter where Jesus audibly called me to follow Him, my life was forever changed. I’ve ministered across Australia, the USA, and the UK, and today, I share my journey of faith, hope, and transformation.

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Statement of Faith

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial

of one Being with the Father. Through him, all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.