He Is Alive! The Resurrection! Easter!

He is Alive! The Resurrection! Easter!

For many it was just another day.

Perhaps the Sun was shining, birds singing,

Just an ordinary day.

Men were off to work; fields, fishing, hunting,

Carpenters had things to build, day laborers worked at whatever they could find,

others were off to the stone quarries

Some Army? Politics, off to the courthouse? Others to the synagogue.

Women were washing, cleaning, Taking care of kids,

milking the goats, baking bread, preparing the noon meal,

Just an ordinary day.

For some it was not just another day

Apostles it was a horrible day

Jesus was dead,

He was buried

Didn’t know what to do

Hopes & dreams of a new Kingdom were gone

How could they have been so wrong?

How could Jesus have been 3.5 years of talk, then a weekend of disaster?

Their world was coming to an end, back to the fishing nets.

They had all been so afraid they all finally ran away

Had a meeting planned for that evening, meet & no doubt some decisions would be made

Thomas, one of the Apostles apparently was so afraid, disillusioned he wasn’t going to show up.

Mary the mother of Jesus, no doubt, it was a terribly sad day,

Friday before she watched her son was executed, common criminal, on a cross

Saturday was the Sabbath so she couldn’t even go to the tomb, perhaps she spent the day

weeping, feeling alone, trying to understand

Today, Sunday, Sabbath was over, she could go to the tomb, but for whatever reason, she

chose not to go to the tomb.

Grief? Despair? Mother’s intuition? God speak to her and say, Don’t Go?

But Mary Magdalene & the other Mary had a job to do.

They were going to the tomb to permanently embalm the body of Jesus

Matt. 28: NIV 1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

And then, the world began to shake again.

“Not another earthquake.

“We just had a huge earthquake when Jesus died

“What’s happening?”

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

And the ordinary day became extraordinary

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

“What did you say? Jesus is RISEN? Show me?

Angel said, “Come and see the place where he lay.”

And they looked and saw an empty grave…

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Questions in their head? (I’m just guessing)

Who will believe us?

“You know how they always say, “You brunettes are always out there on the edge.

“Make fun of us,

“How can we convince them”

As if Jesus was listening to their very thoughts

MSG Matt. 28:9-10 Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him.

Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

So they ran and told about the empty tomb & actually seeing Jesus

16-17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him.

What started for some as an ordinary day, became extraordinary

What started for the Apostles as a day of failure, despair

What started for Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene & the other Mary

Turned into a day of celebration, wonder, awe,

Maybe even a little shouting & dancing!

It wasn’t long before that entire region of the country was aware that something unbelievable had happened

AT CRUCIFXION Matt. 27:53 What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

So on this early Sunday morning some were getting the shock of their lives:

Mothers, had returned to them their beloved sons

Fathers had returned to them their beloved daughters.

Friends were reunited with their old synagogue mates

Their old football buddies

500 in all were raised from the dead and released from their tombs