Text: “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep”
(1 Corinthians 15a:20)
Jerusalem – OBITUARY – 33 A.D.
Calvary-Jesus Christ 33, of Nazareth, died Friday on Mount Calvary, also known as Golgotha, the place of the skull. Betrayed by the Apostle Judas, Jesus was crucified by the Romans, by order of ruler Pontius Pilate. The causes of death were crucifixion, extreme exhaustion, severe torture, and loss of blood.
Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham, was a member of the house of David. He was the son of the late Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, and Mary, His devoted Mother.
Jesus was born in a stable in the city of Bethlehem, Judea. He is survived by His mother, His faithful Apostles, numerous disciples, and many other followers.
Jesus was self-educated, and spent most of His adult life working as a Teacher. Jesus also occasionally worked as a Medical Doctor and it is reported that He healed many patients.
Up until the time of His death, Jesus was teaching and sharing the Good News, healing the sick, touching the lonely, feeding the hungry and helping the poor.
Jesus was most noted for telling parables about His Father’s Kingdom and performing miracles, such as feeding over 5000 people with only five loaves of bread and two small fish and healing a man who was blind.
On the day before His death, He held a Last Supper celebrating the Passover Feast, at which He foretold His death.
The body was quickly buried in a stone grave, which was donated by Joseph of Arimathea, a loyal friend of the family. By order of Pontius Pilate, a boulder was rolled in front of the tomb. Roman soldiers were put on guard in front of the tomb.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that everyone try to live as Jesus did. Donations may be sent to anyone in need.
---------Author unknown – received via email
Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday is one special day of the year when many people attend a church of their choice. Many of these people do not celebrate the other Sundays of the year, but this particular Sunday is important to them. There is something special about Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday.
Why are churches crowded on this one day and not the other 51 Sundays in the year? I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to these people is such a way they realize this earthly life is not forever and at some moment it will come to an end. Death is a sure thing. There is no way any of us will get out of this world alive.
People begin to realize they are not perfect by any means. They don’t like to hear about sin, but the fact is we are all sinners. We were born with a sinful nature and we sin on a daily basis. There is no way a person can forgive their own sins and form a right relationship with the Creator. Those who have not formed a right relationship with Almighty God will not be permitted to spend eternity in His kingdom.
The term resurrection should be music to the ears of each one of us because we are all facing death. We don’t know when it will come, but it is inevitable or unavoidable. Almighty God could see the whole picture before man was ever created.
He knew that Adam and Eve would create a situation whereby all people born thereafter would be born with a sinful nature. This sinful nature was born through disobedience. Disobedience to the will of God places a void or space between man and God. God’s plan was to provide a means whereby man could form a right relationship with Him.
This was accomplished by His Son who was sent into the world in human-form to pay the price of our sin penalty. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
The Cross is what would bridge the gap or void between sinful man and sinless God. God incarnate or God in the flesh would suffer pain and agony far beyond what man could possibly conceive.
This was God’s plan and this plan would be carried out because of the love the Father has for His children. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
There are no strings attached to God’s love. His love is unconditional and it is ours for the asking. He does not force His love upon us, but instead gives us a choice to accept it or reject it. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).
The world is us – His children. The only way salvation will come to us is if we accept His Son as our own personal Lord and Savior and then live according to the words written in red.
Jesus knew what His mission would entail. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, He said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14).
This verse of Scripture goes back to when the Israelites were wandering around in the desert and living outside the Word of God. God sent snakes to punish the people for their actions, but the people had an opportunity to look up at an elevated bronze snake and trust God to heal them.
Jesus quoted this Scripture to teach us that our salvation comes about when we look to Him and believe that He will save us. Since we have a sinful nature, we sin daily, but God wants us to be healed of the snake-like bite of sin.
We are here this day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the resurrection that gives us hope for the future. It is the resurrection that proves death has been conquered. It is the resurrection that makes immortality a real possibility.
Although Jesus talked to His disciples three different times concerning His death, they just didn’t comprehend what He was telling them. Jesus said to the disciples, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again” (Luke 18:31-33).
On Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem upon the donkey and the crowd was happy and shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9).
On Monday Jesus cleared the temple of those who were cheating the people and preventing other’s the opportunity to worship.
On Tuesday the authority of Jesus was questioned and Judas agrees to betray the Lord.
On Wednesday Jesus probable stayed close to His disciples and carried on His normal activities although the Scripture is not specific on this day.
On Thursday Jesus instituted the Last Supper as He spoke with His disciples in the upper room. Then after supper, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed to the Father. It was shortly after this that Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus was arrested. Those people who shouted “Hosanna” a few days before were not deserters. Peter denied knowing Jesus on three different occasions.
On Friday Jesus was crucified. “It was about the sixth hour and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’. When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:44-46).
Joseph of Arimathea, who was waiting for the kingdom of God, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. When he was granted permission, Joseph “Then took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid” (Luke 23:53).
Joseph was a secret follower of Jesus. He was a very religious person and was well-known throughout the religious circle because he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Prior to the Crucifixion, his feeling for Jesus were kept secret because Joseph’s Sanhedrin friends were opposed to Jesus, what He taught, and the fact He claimed to be the Messiah.
When he asked for Jesus’ body, Joseph took a bold step of faith and did not desert Jesus. All Jesus’ disciples deserted Him at a time when they should have stuck with Him, but Joseph did what was right according to what he believed.
Joseph had to work fast in preparing Jesus for the tomb because the Sabbath was fast approaching. “The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment” (Luke 23:55, 56).
As Scripture tells us, the women followed Joseph to the tomb so that they would know exactly where the body of Jesus was placed. They returned home to make the spices and perfume because their plan was to return to the tomb after the Sabbath and place the spices and perfumes on the body of Jesus.
These women were very dedicated. They stayed with Jesus at the Cross when Jesus’ disciples deserted Him. These women were the first to know about the Resurrection. As indicated in Scripture “….Mary Magdalene and the other Mary….” were the names of these women. Neither Mary was the mother of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene was the one whom Jesus cast out seven demons (Mark 16:9) and the “other Mary” is thought to be the wife of Clopas (John 19:25). These two women got up early on Sunday and proceeded to go to the tomb and anoint the body of their Lord with their spices and perfume, but they were surprised at what happened.
Matthew (28:2-4) tells us: “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. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards wee so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
Why did the angels roll back the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb? Jesus did not need the stone rolled back. It was rolled back so that the women and other people could go in and see that Jesus was not there, but that He had risen.
When the women reached the tomb and found the stone rolled away, they entered thinking Jesus would be there. They were surprised to find the tomb was empty. “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen” (Luke 24:4-6).
That is an interesting question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” There are people this very day who are searching for God, but they are searching among the dead. There faith does not give them joy and happiness. There are existing but they are not really enjoying life. There is no peace in their heart. They attend church, hear the Word, sing the hymns, say the prayers, but leave still looking for the living.
Jesus is not among the dead. Jesus is alive! Jesus lives! He is waiting to come and live within the heart of anyone who will invite Him in. He is ready to give us life. He wants to be the focal point in our life. He is the answer to real life. He is available to us each of us at all times. He is our Rock. He is our Fortress.
Jesus said, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again” (Luke 24:7). As the women stood there wondering what was going on, the angels reminded them of what Jesus had said. As they recalled His words, joy and happiness came into their heart.
Luke tells us that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others told their story to the disciples. Did the disciples accept what the women were saying? No! This just did not seem possible. How could such an event occur?
Peter went to the tomb to see for himself. Guess what? He entered the tomb to find exactly what the women had indicated. “…He was the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened” (Luke 24:12).
John tells us this: “Then Simon Peter….arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:6-7). Everything was in tact, but Jesus was not there, He has risen!
Conclusion:
The Resurrection is the focal point of the Christian faith. If Jesus had not risen, we would all die in our sins. Paul told the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (I Corinthians 15:17).
There is no other religion in the world whereby that has a God who came to live upon the earth in human form and died for the sins of all people. There is no other God who was crucified, buried, and raised on the third day to rule His church.
The Resurrection assures Christians that death is not the end, but only the entrance into the presence of our Lord and Savior. The Resurrection is important because death has been conquered.
The Resurrection is important because whatever might happen to us or how bad our earthly life might be, we have hope in a future life where there will be no death, sickness, heartache or any of the other things we suffer here on earth.
The Resurrection gives us assurance that our Savior is alive and living and real. The Resurrection is proof that what God did for His Son He will do for us. The power that brought Jesus back to life is the same power that will bring us back to life.
I want to close with the words of Fanny J. Crosby:
Poem: “Chris is Risen – Hallelujah!”
Christ is risen! Hallelujah!
Gladness fills the world today;
From the tomb that could not hold Him,
See, the stone is rolled away!
Christ hath risen! Hallelujah!
Blessed morn of life and light!
Lo, the grave is rent asunder,
Death is conquered through His might.
Christ hath risen! Hallelujah!
Friends of Jesus, dry your tears;
Through the veil of gloom and darkness,
Lo, the Son of God appears!
Christ hath risen! Hallelujah!
He hath risen, as He said;
He is now the King of Glory,
And our great, exalted Head.
Amen.
