"Resurrection Blessings”

In Jesus Holy Name April 24, 2022

Text: John 20:19-31 Easter II

“Resurrection Blessings”

The Rev. Ray Pritchard in one of his sermons wrote this phrase: “Science bows before the empty tomb.” I like that phrase. The gospel accounts were written 2000 years ago. We live in a day of exploding knowledge, yet we have no way to account for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by purely human means. Science bows before the empty tomb. Science can only try to extend human life, it has yet to create a resurrection of a dead human being.

Herbal medicine is used by many people to help cure various illnesses. Millions of dollars are spent every year on vitamins. Not too long ago, there was an article about the latest research into herbal medicine. Researchers in Korea have discovered that cinnamon and ginseng can prolong the life of a worm, but they don’t know how that applies to the human lifespan. Two thousand years later and we’re feeding cinnamon and ginseng to worms, hoping that somehow we can use it to help humans live longer. Who knows?

Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe in honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned acts of God? That’s a good question to ask on the Sunday after Easter.

Science cannot possibly explain the Resurrection of Jesus. And we can’t explain it either, which is why the gospel writers didn’t try to describe the indescribable. I can only think of two words that describe what happened that first Easter.

Pure miracle. That miracle of the resurrection of Jesus from death and the grave brings great blessings to us who place our trust in Him. (sermon Ray Pritchard)

First. We are given total and complete forgiveness of our broken commandments. Jesus took the wrath God against sin on His shoulders and transfers to all who believe in Him His righteousness. (II Corinthians 5:20-21; Romans 5:1-2)

Second. We are given Gods’ promise that we too shall rise from death with a new and glorified resurrected body, fashioned like the resurrected body of Jesus. (Philippians 3:20-21)

The New Testament never tries to “prove” the resurrection of Jesus in the scientific sense. Instead it describes the utterly transformed lives of the early Christians who saw their Master crucified and then saw him alive from the dead. Having encountered the risen Lord, they could not possibly keep quiet about it. They went everywhere spreading the Good News that God had entered the world in the person of Jesus Christ, that He lived among us, that He died a cruel death on a Roman cross, that in His death He bore our sins, taking on Himself our guilt, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, never to die again. They proclaimed that those who trust in Jesus are forgiven, redeemed, saved, born again, given eternal life, and one day they will be raised from the dead when Jesus comes again. (sermon by Ray Pritchard)

In Revelation 1:18 Jesus declares, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” I love that expression: “I hold the keys.” Every time I leave my house I take my keys with me. On my key ring I have five keys. One is for my house. One is for my car. The rest open certain gates and certain doors. They give me entrance into places where I am always welcome. Keys matter. Whoever has the keys has the authority to enter at will. When Jesus came forth from the tomb on Easter Sunday, He came forth holding the keys of death and Hades in his hand. (Hebrews 2:14)

This is the gospel we preach.

We tend to forget what it was like on that first Easter morning. It is worth asking ourselves: If we had been there, would we have believed or would we have doubted?

If we had been there in Jerusalem with Matthew, James and John, would we have believed those strange rumors of Mary Magdalene that Sunday morning? In answering that question, it helps to remember how those who knew Jesus best reacted to news of his resurrection.

Very simply, they were not expecting a resurrection. Now it’s true that Jesus had predicted that he would be put to death and then raised to life. But his followers did not understand it. A resurrection was the farthest thing from their minds. Forget his predictions. Forget all that brave talk. They had given up.

Who really expected a resurrection on that Sunday morning? Not the disciples. It was the Jewish leaders who persuaded the Romans to seal the tomb. The enemies of Jesus feared something might happen. His friends weren’t expecting anything.

This is where the Third blessing of the resurrection comes to us.