HE IS RISEN INDEED

“The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” (Luke 24:34 NKJV).

A traditional Easter greeting in the Western church is the phrase “He is risen!” and the traditional response is “He is risen, indeed!” Although tombs represent finality, graves represent loss, and cemeteries represent death, this proclamation of “He is risen” is at the heart of Christianity and a cause for Easter celebrations worldwide. And we can know that that this true because of the following witnesses.

Witness of the women (Luke 24:1-3) – All four Gospels attest to the fact that women first discovered the empty tomb on Sunday morning and that the resurrected Lord Jesus first appeared to women. This is particularly striking since women were not considered reliable witness in first-century Judaism. The Lord Jesus is the greatest liberator of women who ever lived.

Witness of the angels (Luke 24:4-8) – As the women stood at the empty open tomb wondering what had happened, angelic visitors tell them that Jesus has risen from the dead as He said He would. Angels are often called men in the Old Testament because of their human appearance (Josh 5:13). They often appear shining and in white clothing, signs of purity and holiness (2 Kings 6:17; Dan 10:5-6). The women bowed in fright, a common emotional response to an angelic appearance.

The witness of the disciples (Luke 24:9-12) – When the women ran and told the Eleven disciples about what they saw, they didn’t believe them. Then Peter and John ran to see for themselves. The disciples’ unbelief arises partly because the common view of women, but more importantly because of the strangeness of the report. For Jews, the resurrection only occurs at the end of time, not within history. However, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the firm foundation on which Christianity rests, and is the sure hope to build one’s life and future.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Roll away

In Mark 16:3 we read, “And they said among themselves, who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” (NKJV).

Roll away is the Greek word apokyliō (ἀποκυλίω = ap-ok-oo-lee'-o). It is made up of two words, “apo” which means from, and “kuliō” which means to roll. Thus the word means to roll off or away. This word is used in the Gospels to refer to the stone that was in front of the tomb of Jesus. In Palestine, graves were usually in a depression and the stone was rolled down an incline to cover the mouth of the tomb. For a small grave, about twenty men were required to roll a stone downhill to cover the door of the tomb. The Bible tells us that the stone covering the door of the tomb was a large stone.

Interestingly enough, the word “said” (literally, “were saying”) is in the imperfect tense indicating the question about removing the stone came up several times as the women approached the tomb. This means that the women would have needed more men to roll away the stone than a full company of sixteen Roman guards. This is further evidence that the women held out no hope for the resurrection. Many times we wonder how certain things are going to be done. And when we get there, God has already taken care of it.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would die for the sins of the world (Isa. 53:8)

New Testament Fulfillment – 1 John 2:2

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that Jesus died and rose again (1 Thess. 4:14).

Bible Quiz

To whom did Jesus say these words, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live?”

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Philippians 1, what happened because Paul was in chains? Others were more bold in preaching (Phil. 1:14).

Names of the Lord Jesus Found in the Bible

“Hope”

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope!” (1 Tim. 1:1 NKJV).

1. Meaning – The Lord Jesus is our confidence.

2. Insights – The Lord Jesus is our only source of hope in the world. His conquest over death and the grave gives us confidence now, and for the future.

3. Related Titles – Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27); Hope of Israel (Jer. 17:13)

Did You Know – Christian History

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born May 29, 1874 in London, England. He was a literary and social critic, historian, playwright, novelist, philosopher, Catholic theologian, apologist, debater, and mystery writer.

Chesterton was educated at St Paul’s School, then attended the Slade School of Art, a department of the University School of London to become an illustrator. Although baptized in the Anglican Church, Chesterton later considered Anglicanism to be a “pale imitation” and entered full communion with the Catholic Church in 1922. Yet, he was a convinced Christian long before he was received into the Catholic Church, and Christian themes and symbolism appear in much of his writing.

In 1900, Chesterton was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism. He went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. Chesterton wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4,000 essays (mostly newspaper columns), and several plays, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. Chesterton’s writings consistently displayed wit and a sense of humor. He employed paradox, while making serious comments on the world, government, politics, economics, philosophy, theology and many other topics.

Chesterton could be absent-minded. He would stand in the middle of traffic, lost to his surroundings, deep in thought. Still, he had tremendous concentration for writing and was ever fixed on the eternal truths that make the wisdom of this world foolish. Chesterton was the man who wrote a book called The Everlasting Man, which led a young atheist named C.S. Lewis to become a Christian. Chesterton was the man who wrote a novel called The Napoleon of Notting Hill, which inspired Michael Collins to lead a movement for Irish Independence. Chesterton was the man who wrote an essay in the Illustrated London News that inspired Mohandas Gandhi to lead a movement to end British colonial rule in India. Chesterton was the man who, when commissioned to write a book on St. Thomas Aquinas, had his secretary check out a stack of books on St. Thomas from the library, opened the top book on the stack, thumbed through it, closed it, and proceeded to dictate a book on St. Thomas. Chesterton was the man who composed such profound and perfect lines as “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

Chesterton died of congestive heart failure on 14 June 1936, at his home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. He is buried in the Catholic cemetery in Beaconsfield. He is remembered liturgically on June 13th by the Episcopal Church, with a provisional feast day as adopted at the 2009 General Convention.

A Little Humor

One Sunday our priest announced he was passing out miniature crosses made of palm leaves. “Put this cross in the room where your family argues most,” he advised. “When you look at it, the cross will remind you that God is watching.” As I was leaving church, the woman in front of me walked up to the priest, shook his hand, and said, “I’ll take five.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“The way to heaven - turn right at Calvary and keep going straight!”