Set the stage first:
Read the verses:
Just as the dawn was beginning to break, the women make their way to the tomb, there are soldiers supposed to be there guarding the tomb to make sure no one comes to steal the body. They expected that the stone would have to be rolled away so they could go in to anoint Jesus with the spices they were bringing for that purpose. But, the stone was already rolled away, the soldiers were not there and they went in to the tomb, but the body was not there.
Suddenly, as they were standing there perplexed to say the least, there were two men standing there in shining garments. Two of Gods angels, messengers to tell them that Jesus was not there, that he had risen as he had told them when he was teaching in Galilee. These women, these first evangelists, go and tell the disciples what had happened at the tomb, but they were not believed, partly because of women's role in the world of that day. Speak about the roll of women in God's world.
There is a lot of discussion about the early church, but the truth is that we don't get the full and true story of what happened, we get only snips and pieces of the reality of the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hear about the men, the hero's of the faith, we know about Paul and Peter being killed in Rome, Paul beheaded and Peter crucified apparently upside down. We know that the others also died sometimes violently, the only one who died of old age was John. When we read the scriptures we find that Paul asking that one of the men of the church to help, Euodia and Syntyche (Phil 4:2-3 ESV).
“I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” Do you hear what Paul says?
Help these women, who have labored side by side with me. These two women worked to spread the good news alongside Clement and Paul. They were considered to be a part of the team, not inferior to the men, but rather fellow workers.
As the church grew and spread there were numerous persecutions of Christians, women and men. Most of these were local, and some were in Rome but there were many years where there was peace in the Empire and Christians were not persecuted. One of the worst of the martyrdom’s came under the Emperor Septimius Severus who reigned from 202 to 211 AD. The horror of it was localized yet word of it spread throughout the empire.
Under Septimius Severus, a further step was taken in opposition to the church. Conversion to Christianity was specifically forbidden, even though Septimius had some Christians in his own household. Another martyrdom that left a lasting impact on the church occurred during his reign. It took place in North Africa, where Perpetua, a young mother nursing her infant, and her servant Felicitas, pregnant and close to delivery, were arrested. They were then mangled by hungry beasts before a cheering crowd in the amphitheater and finally stabbed to death by soldiers. Then came another interlude of relative peace, breathing space marked by rapid expansion of the church, with thousands of new believers coming into the faith.
Martyr by the way, in the Greek, means witness and those who died so horribly were not folks who killed and maimed others in the name of God, they were nursing mothers, farmers, and even 90 year old bishops of the Church.
They were killed because they refused to renounce the faith they had in Jesus Christ. We know very little about Mary Magdalene, or Mary the mother of Jesus after the crucifixion, his mother was taken by John to Ephesus and was cared for by the church until her death. Mary Magdalene disappears from the scene, although I would think that she continued to deliver the truth to whoever would listen to her. After all, you don't have the kind of relationship she did with Jesus and not want to share that with others. She was saved by Him, and she had met him on the road going back to the disciples. What an effect that had to have had on her life.
We celebrate today the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the seal of the promise of eternal life. It is that promise though that brought so many men and women into the church, that also caused so many to go to their death in persecutions across the Empire. Personally, I believe that one of the worst things that happened to the Church was when it became a part of the empire, when it was legalized, when it became the Holy Roman Empire. The church was no longer ostracized, they were no longer persecuted, the church became leaders of the empire.
The writer of Hebrews talks about a great cloud of witnesses that surround the church. In the vision of the Apostle John called Revelation, we see a vision of a great sea of faces under an altar, crying out to God:
9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10They cried out with a loud voice,
"O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Rev 6:9-11 ESV). Today, we see that happening all across the globe. Christians being killed, because they are Christians, and they are refusing to give up Christ, so they can live. God promises to be with us through all the situations we face, he did not say that it would always be easy to live as a child of the King.
We try to live our lives as Christ would have us live, using our scriptures to inform us and guide us. Yet there are those who hate and despise Christ and Christianity, even though we have done nothing to them to deserve this hatred. It was so in the time of Peter, Paul and the others who went from place to place proclaiming the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been the same throughout history, it makes no difference whether you are man or woman, if you follow Jesus and live where hatred lives, you will be persecuted.
There are places in the world today where it is illegal to own a Bible, to wear a cross or to talk to anyone about Christ. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has Religious Police to enforce this. You can be at a minimum put in prison, and can be sentenced to death for sedition against the government or against the god of that nation.
During the so called Arab Spring, in Egypt the news spoke about people burning Christian Church buildings and killing Christians. There were even crucifixions in the square as well as other acts against Coptic Christians.
In other places in the world, there is horrible war fought against Christian areas of a country, trying to scare them out of the country so that the country will be cleansed of the disease of Christianity. In Iraq there are almost no Christians left, even though they had been living in Mosul for over a thousand years. Now ISIS has destroyed their churches and homes, telling them to leave or die. Two churches in China, the official church, and the House Church. South Korea, the Church works for the gospel every day.
Nuns against the government. Cheerleaders with Christian verses on their banners. Remove the witness about Jesus from the public square.
If you believe that Christ is Risen and Christ is God in human form, then you too could be subject to ridicule right here in this nation that claims to allow freedom of religion. You have heard of the court cases over the last several years that wanted to get rid of Christianity in the public square. To banish all speech about God from public discourse. So far that has not happened, I worry though that a time is coming when it may very well be illegal to mention Jesus or God in any place in our society. Meanwhile, we still need people to hear the call of Christ upon their lives. People who will go forth and proclaim the gospel to all, that all might have a chance to believe and become part of the family of
God. Man or Woman, God is gifting you all, with His Spirit to go and preach and teach and proclaim the Kingdom.
Beloved, I hope that today and everyday you will be one of those who answer God's call, invite people to become a part of the Kingdom of God. Invite them to come and meet Jesus, because that is what it is all about.
The women were the first Evangelists, they were not believed, but they still told their story. Once the men had seen Jesus in the flesh and they believed things changed, and when the Holy Spirit entered into them, things changed even more. Jesus is still active in the world, through the Holy Spirit who is a part of every Christians life. If you are truly a Christian, one who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Savior, Helper, Healer, Lord of Lords and of course, God in the Flesh, Immanuel, God with us.
If you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior, I invite you to meet with Him today, Ask him to become a part of your life, to cleanse your life of sin, and make you a new person.
Today, is the day, you are not promised tomorrow, Jesus Christ is calling you, inviting you to come home to become a part of the Kingdom of God. Today is Resurrection Day.
