Holy Week: Easter Sunday

Holy Week is winding down after today's climax: Easter Sunday.

This is what happened according to Mark 16:1-8:

16 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning,[a] just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,[b] who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

Because if the story was just about death, this wouldn't be a very good story. It wouldn't be a game changer. 

This story is about life -- resurrection life. Death didn't win. Jesus did. He defeated death. He wasn't found in his grave. He was risen. He is risen. Alleluia!

The Apostle Paul explains the implications of this resurrection for us in his letter to the people of Corinth. 1 Corinthians 15:12-23:

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

In Jesus' resurrection, we are invited into the resurrection life. We are invited into the coming resurrection when he returns and reigns in the world.  We are not invited into an escape from this world -- a heaven where we magically have wings and pretend to be angels. We are invited into so much more than that lie. We are invited into life in physical bodies on a marvelous earth. 

If Jesus wasn't raised, no one would have believed the claims he made: to be the Son of God, to be the Messiah (the Christ, the anointed one, the expected King). But he was raised! He is risen! And people saw it; there were many, many witnesses. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3-9:

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.5 He was seen by Peter[c] and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers[d] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

Jesus is alive. He ascended into heaven, and he is coming back to the earth to set things right. 

Jesus was faithful to his promise to be raised from the dead. And he will be faithful to his promise to return and to raise those who trust in him into the resurrection life as well. 

And so we celebrate. On Easter, we celebrate his life, we celebrate the empty tomb, we celebrate his resurrected body, we celebrate his power, and we celebrate that he gives that life to us too. 

Thanks for journeying though the events of Holy Week with me. If you want to know more about Jesus' life on earth and his promises, I highly recommend reading the book of John in the New Testament. It's a really good read. 

If you have any questions about this miracle and this Jesus, I'd love to hear from you. You can connect with me through Google+ or through Facebook.

Christ is risen! Alleluia!