He is Risen!

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day (Matthew 28:1-15).

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to Jesus’ tomb after the Sabbath. They went to finish their work of caring for Jesus’ body, which they had cut short because of the Sabbath. To their surprise, there is an earthquake, and an angel descends from heaven. He rolls away the stone from the tomb. The guards stationed there by Pilate to satisfy the Jews were terrified, as were the women, not doubt. The angel tells the women not to be afraid; Jesus is risen. This is the Gospel. There is no need to be afraid of sin, death, and the devil anymore. Jesus has defeated them once and for all. The proof is in His resurrection. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.[1]

St. Paul calls Jesus the first fruits: But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep... For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.[2] The resurrection is our ultimate goal. We have been united together in the likeness of Christ’s death through our baptism; we are also united together to His resurrection. Christ Himself promises, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”[3] The unbelieving world scoffs at such a notion. How can the dead come back to life? Because science and their own personal experience tells them that it is impossible, the world rejects the testimony of the Apostles, and denies that even Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection, however, is the most important part of Christianity. Without it, Christianity is just another man-made philosophy, with an invented set of moral rules, designed to make ourselves feel better, despite the fact that we know something is very seriously wrong with us. It becomes for us a wax nose to twist into any shape we wish, to justify whatever deviant, sinful desires we want to do.

But Jesus’ resurrection is no fairy tale; it isn’t some kind of metaphor for some man-defined “good” overcoming “evil”. It is a fact of history. He appeared alive to hundreds of people. A great crowd saw Him ascend into heaven. If the disciples had invented Jesus’ resurrection, would they be eager to proclaim Christ as God and man, crucified and risen, even on pain of torture and death? Would Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the Church, reject the religion of his people, the Jews, and endure a life of hardship, persecution, and finally a gruesome death, for something he knew to be false? Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity:

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up - if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable.[4]

But our hope in Christ isn’t merely for this world. It is also for the world to come. Because He lives, we will live also.[5] He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.[6] Then those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. We will then be free from sin, free from death, free from all mourning and sorrow. All tears shall be wiped away. With a perfect resurrection body, like that of Our Lord, we will live with Him forever in the new creation.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

---

[1] Romans 4:25

[2] 1 Corinthians 15:20, 22

[3] John 11:25-26

[4] 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

[5] John 14:19

[6] 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

One of the publications of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb (Luke 24:36-42).

There are many organizations which claim to be the Christian Church but are, rather, non-Christian cults. They worship another Jesus. They proclaim a different gospel. St. Paul warns us to watch out for them.[1] We are to test what we are taught against the doctrines of Holy Scripture.[2] One of the most familiar of these non-Christian cults is the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses), teaches that it is the true religion; it’s followers believe they have passed through the narrow gate and are now walking down the road leading to life.[3] But what do they teach? The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach many things which are contrary to the Christian faith; there are far too many to document thoroughly here. One of their most dangerous false teachings, however, has to do with the resurrection of Jesus. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus rose from His tomb bodily on the third day. They believe that God the Father supernaturally disposed of Jesus’ body after it was buried. They teach that what the disciples saw was not the resurrected Jesus with the same body that was so brutally treated on Good Friday. What they saw, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, was a spirit creature, not unlike an angel.[4] They teach that, when Jesus appeared to Thomas, Jesus took on a body with wound marks to bolster Thomas’ faith.[5] In other words, God lied. The root of this heresy is their mistranslation of 1 Peter 3:18. The verse reads: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit (NKJV). They translate it in their New World Translation as, “...but made alive [resurrected] in the spirit.” They deny the bodily resurrection of Christ, and that Christ was God.[6]

St Luke, however, records the exact opposite of such nonsense. He writes that the disciples were terrified because they thought they saw a spirit. Jesus presents His body for inspection to prove otherwise. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. He eats food with them. Jesus wants His disciples to know that this body present with them is the same body which suffered on the cross, and was buried in the tomb. He does not lie. He wants us to know that we are not finished with our bodies when we die. Our ultimate goal is not to be a disembodied spirit in Heaven for all eternity. Our ultimate goal is the resurrection. Jesus is the first-fruits of the resurrection of the dead.[7] We will come out of our graves as He did, body and soul united again, on the Last Day.[8] Our lowly bodies will be made like His glorious body.[9] I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin has been destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not another.[10]

Christ’s resurrection is important because it proves that He is the Son of God.[11] What He teaches is true.[12] His resurrection is proof that God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice for the sin of the world.[13] We were God’s enemies; we have been reconciled to Him by the death of His Son.[14] If Christ has not been raised, St. Paul says, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins.[15] We are able to proclaim with certainty, however, on the authority of the infallible, inerrant, efficacious Word of God, that Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

---

[1] 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

[2] Acts 17:11; 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Peter 1:10-11

[3] "Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe They Are the True Religion? | FAQ." JW.ORG. Accessed April 06, 2018. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/true-religion/.

[4] "Jesus' Body-Was It Flesh or Spirit After His Resurrection? | Bible Questions." JW.ORG. Accessed April 07, 2018. https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/jesus-body/.

[5] ibid

[6] "The Resurrection of Jesus | Did It Really Happen?" JW.ORG. Accessed April 07, 2018. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20130301/resurrection-of-jesus/#?insight[search_id]=d3228437-e6ff-4aa8-9d87-14494c2127a9&insight[search_result_index]=0.

“Jesus is not God—whose name is Jehovah—but he is the Son of God. Jehovah resurrected Jesus from the dead. (Romans 10:9) One Bible scholar comments: It is unthinkable that anyone—even Christ—could raise himself.”

[7] 1 Corinthians 15:23

[8] 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

[9] Philippians 3:20-21

[10] Job 19:25-27

[11] Romans 1:4

[12] John 2:19; 8:28

[13] Romans 4:25

[14] Romans 5:10

[15] 1 Corinthians 15:17

He is Risen

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid (Mark 16:1-8).

This is the heart of Easter; this is the climax of the story of mankind’s redemption. Jesus’ tomb was empty. He rose from the dead and left the grave. Jesus, who looked so defeated to his enemies on Good Friday had, in reality, defeated sin, death, and the devil. The grave could not hold him. St. Paul tells us that this fact is of supreme importance. He writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.[1]

Without Christ’s resurrection, we have no forgiveness of sins. St. Paul understood this as well. He writes: But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up - if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.[2] To the dismay of Satan, however, Jesus’ tomb is empty. “Oh, where is thy sting, Death? We fear thee no more; Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden’s door. For all our transgressions His blood does atone; Redeemed and forgiven we now are His own.”[3]

A common objection to the resurrection story is that Jesus’ body was simply stolen by His followers so that it would look like he rose from the dead.[4] If the objection were true, the Apostles would all have known that the Gospel they proclaimed was no Gospel at all. Being disappointed that Jesus was just another false messiah, the argument goes, the Apostles were reluctant to undergo the public humiliation, ridicule, and persecution that was surely coming their way; they stole Jesus’ body and claimed he rose from the dead, thus saving face. One might put some stock in that, if it were not for what happened to them.

All of the Apostles, with the exception of John, were martyred for their faith. That is, they went to their death rather than deny their risen Lord and Savior Jesus. The Apostles and other first generation disciples of Christ faced not only ridicule, but death, and that in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable by man. People do not die for that which they know to be a lie. Men have been willing to die for ideas in which they believed, but only later found out were false; I have never heard of anyone who willingly submitted to a horribly painful and humiliating death rather than renounce a belief that they knew for a fact was false. The Apostles and early followers of Jesus were beheaded, crucified, stoned, burned alive, and fed to wild animals for the entertainment of bloodthirsty crowds, all because they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus. They stood steadfast in their faith because they knew it to be true first hand.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

---

[1] 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

[2] 1 Corinthians 15:13-19

[3] Walther, C. F. W.; He’s Risen, He’s Risen, Christ Jesus, the Lord. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941.

[4] Matthew 28:11-15

Because I Live...

Because I live, you also will live (John 14:19).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important aspect of Christianity. This fundamental of the Christian faith is what distinguishes Christians and Christianity from every other religion on the planet. The resurrection of Christ is so important and comforting because it confirms four important things: 1) Christ is the Son of God, 2) What He taught is true, 3) God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the reconciliation of the world, and 4) all those who believe in Christ will rise to eternal life. This is how John begins his resurrection account:

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes (John 20: 1-10).

What a dark Sunday morning it must have been indeed, when Mary Magdalene and the other women went to Jesus’ tomb. After having declared the work of redemption finished, Jesus gave up his spirit and died on the cross. Being the great Sabbath day, however, the Jews did not want to leave Jesus’ body, and those of the other condemned men, on the cross[1]. Jesus lifeless corpse was removed from the cross expediently, after the Roman soldiers were assured of his death by a spear thrust into his side[2]. Joseph of Aramathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate for the body and his request was granted. Joseph of Aramathea placed Jesus’ body in his own tomb, one that was brand new and had never held any other remains. Nicodemeus, the member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish governing council which had delivered Jesus to Pilate) who had come to Jesus to talk theology by night, and who had called him a teacher sent from God, provided the customary myrrhs and aloes used according to Jewish burial customs[3]. They were, however, in a bit of a hurry.

It was not only the Sabbath, but the great Sabbath. The setting of the sun signaled the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath connected to the Passover, called the day of Preparation. They had to hurry and get Jesus’ body into the tomb, and at least prepare his body enough so that they, or someone else, could come and finish the job after the Sabbath was over. Handling a dead body on the Sabbath would make them ceremonially unclean, and thus unable to participate. And so, Jesus’ body reposed for that Sabbath in a newly hewn tomb, donated by a rich man, waiting to be embalmed by some of Jesus’ loved ones using the spices provided by – at the very least – a man among the Pharisees who was sympathetic to this poor, misguided rabbi, who had gotten into temple politics over his head.

Enter Mary Magdalene and the other women. The task of properly preparing Jesus for burial fell to them. Now, don’t misunderstand what I am about to say. We live in an enlightened and progressive society, and our views of women and their role in family life and society have changed considerably since the time of Christ. That being said, however, we have to understand the significance of Mary Magdalene making the discovery that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb where he was left on Friday afternoon.

By all social conventions of the time, Mary Magdalene’s testimony – or the testimony of any woman for that matter – was, if not meaningless, most certainly less valid than testimony given by a man. Women had weaker legal status in ancient Israel than men (Packer & Tenney, 1980). Women were recognized as little more than servants and certainly could not testify in legal proceedings and the like. According to Jewish tradition as recorded in the Talmud, a valid witness must be an adult free man, not a woman or a slave, and not be related to any of the other witnesses or judges. The witness must be an honest person who can be trusted not to lie (Testimony in Jewish Law, 2012).

Women were lowly; women were despised. They were considered weak and inferior by Jew and Roman alike. Ancient Israel was a patriarchal society; the father or oldest male in the family made the decisions concerning the family, and the women had little to say. A woman, it could be said, was worth only half as much monitarily as a man[4]. A young woman did not think of a career outside her home. Girls were raised to get married and have children. If a woman was childless, she was thought to be cursed (Packer & Tenney, 1980)[5]. It is my guess that Mary Magdalene would have been considered all the more despised and lowly, as she had formerly been demon-possessed and had been healed by Jesus. Many writers conjecture that Mary Magdalene was the adulteress mentioned in Luke 7:36-50, though there is no evidence for that (and I do not subscribe to that idea).

Why would God allow a “foolish” woman, whose testimony would not be considered valid by the conventions of the day, to discover the greatest miracle in human history, the foundation of the Christian faith, the thing that was the culmination of thousands of years of prophecy in Holy Scripture? Would God not want someone “reliable” to be the first person to find Jesus’ empty tomb and make a report to the disciples? St. Paul provides us with some insight into this:

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

I am not saying that women are inferior to men, or that they are foolish, or that they are weak, or that they are inherently low and to be despised. That is not what Scripture teaches about women anyway, but that is a discussion for another day. By setting things up so that Mary Magdalene made this incredible discovery, God was mocking the unbelieving world and its governing authorities, which did subscribe to such nonsense.

God was taking what the world held to be of no account – this lowly woman – and using her, elevating her, to “bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” God used Mary Magdalene to bring Peter and John to the empty tomb, and thus, in a manner of speaking, to their true and living faith. They did not yet understand the significance of the empty tomb – that it was the sign of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises, not to mention Jesus’ own declarations that he must rise from the dead – but they would, by God’s working. They would all come to understand, by the living faith created in them by God’s Holy Spirit, that because Jesus lives and is no longer in the grave, they too – along with all who believe in Christ – were forgiven, absolved of the guilt of their sin, and would live.

There would be more evidence of Jesus’ resurrection later. Jesus would appear to Mary Magdalene physically, as well as to his disciples. But initially, God used the foolishness of this world to shame the world’s wise. There is evidence of Christ’s resurrection, and St. Paul supplies us with a good summary:

He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Cor 15:4-8).

The world has generally looked at the followers of Jesus with some kind of mixture of pity and amusement because it counts the message of the cross as foolishness. There is no logic to support this fundamental pillar of the Christian faith, though there is evidence. Then again, that’s why the term faith is used. Martin Luther wrote, “I know that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him” (Luther, 1986) Luther understood that the gift of faith in Christ comes from God by the power of His Holy Spirit, through his means of Word and Sacrament.

There is no logical explanation for the mass conversion of 3,000 people in Jerusalem on Pentecost if what they heard preached was false[6]. There is no logical reason for the apostles who, save John, suffered martyrdom in some of the most horrible ways imaginable, to keep on professing a lie at the cost of their lives, simply to save face. There is, however, an illogical reason, at least by the standards of mankind, for what they did. The Holy Spirit had created faith in them; though it could not be proven by logic or reason, what they – and we – profess is true. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Surely these men would not willingly subject themselves to torture and death for something they knew to be false. The author of Hebrews writes:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).

As Christians we have faith in Jesus, who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” We have faith – we can be sure and certain – that because Jesus lives, we also will live. What wonderful news! How could we not help but live the new life that we have been given to God’s glory?

Works Cited

Luther, D. M. (1986). Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Packer, J. I., & Tenney, M. C. (Eds.). (1980). Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible. Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Testimony in Jewish Law. (2012, March 30). Retrieved March 30, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony_in_Jewish_law

End Notes

[1] John 19:33

[2] John 19:34

[3] John 3: 1-21; 19:39-42

[4] Leviticus 27:1-8

[5] Genesis 30:1-2, 22; 1 Samuel 1:1-8

[6] Acts 2:14-41

The Resurrection of Jesus

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared (Luke 24:1). 

Matthew tells us that all Jesus’ disciples who had accompanied him to the Garden of Gethsemane deserted him and fled upon his arrest. We don’t know what they were up to during the time between Jesus’ arrest in the garden and the time when they first received word of Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday morning. We only know that by Sunday morning they had all gathered together again. We are told only that Peter followed Jesus and the arrest party at a distance, monitoring the proceedings in the High Priest’s house as surreptitiously as possible from the courtyard. After Peter is reminded by the crowing of a rooster that Our Lord had said Peter would deny him, we are given no more account of Peter until Sunday morning. Mark gives us a detail unique to his Gospel account; that a young man, dressed in nothing but a linen cloth, followed Jesus to the Garden as well. Mark writes, “And a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked” (Mark 14:51-52). Some commentators believe that this “young man” was Mark himself, though there is nothing in the text to support or refute this view. His departure from the scene of Jesus’ arrest, however, indicates the urgency of the situation and the haste with which Jesus’ friends abandoned him. The young man was so frightened and desperate to save himself that he ran away naked, leaving Jesus to his fate (Engelbrecht, et al., 2009). 

Evidently, however, a group of Jesus’ friends and disciples did gather some distance away to watch Jesus die. This group included John, Jesus’ mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee[1]. Joseph of Arimathea may have also been among the band of on-lookers as well. It was he who went to Pontius Pilate and requested Jesus’ body. Scripture tells us that Pilate was shocked to hear from Joseph of Arimathea that Jesus was already dead[2]. Joseph took the body of Jesus and laid him in the tomb while the two Marys – Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” – watched. They would have to come back the next day to carry out the burial customs of anointing the Jesus’ body as the Sabbath would begin shortly. It is here that Luke continues the story, on Sunday morning, with the same two Marys bringing the required supply of spices to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. 

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb (Luke 24:2), 

Tombs were often cut into the rock of the hillside. Their entrances would have been blocked by a large, disk-shaped stone, rolled into a channel cut in the ground in front of the tomb. This stone disk would have been several feet in diameter, and would have required several men to move (Engelbrecht, et al., 2009). This was certainly in the thoughts of the women as they made their way to the tomb with their supplies[3]. When they arrive, however, they are greeted with an earthquake, at least one angel, and some very frightened guards. Matthew writes that there was an earthquake as an angel rolled the stone away from the grave’s entrance[4]. The guards posted at the tomb were frightened so badly that they fainted – they “became like dead men”[5]. 

but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:3-7). 

This is the heart of Easter, the climax of the story of mankind’s redemption. Jesus’ tomb was empty. He rose from the dead and left the grave. Immanuel, God with us, who had looked to his enemies so defeated on the cross the previous Friday afternoon had, in reality, defeated sin, death, and the devil. The grave could not hold him. St. Paul tells us that this fact is of supreme importance. He writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve[6].” 

Without Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday, we have nothing more than the tragic story of the murder of a Jewish teacher and philosopher who crossed the leaders of the religious establishment, and paid the ultimate price for his challenge to their authority. We have no forgiveness of sins, if we have no risen Jesus. St. Paul understood this as well. He continues in his first letter to the Corinthians, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied[7].” 

To the dismay of Satan, however, Jesus’ tomb is empty. C.F.W. Walther put it this way, in his famous Easter hymn: “O, where is your sting, death? We fear you no more; Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden’s door. For all our transgressions His blood does atone; Redeemed and forgiven, we now are His own[8]” (The Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 2006). 

A common objection to the resurrection story made by many non-Christians is that Jesus’ body was simply stolen by Jesus’ followers so that it would look like he rose from the dead. This is, in fact, said by Matthew to be the case[9]. He writes that the Roman guards reported to the Chief Priests what had happened. The Chief Priests, in turn, told the guards to circulate the story that Jesus’ disciples stole his body while they slept on duty. Matthew says that the guards were paid a tidy sum and assured that the Chief Priests would smooth everything over with Pilate, should he ever get wind of their story. 

The story that someone removed Jesus’ body from the tomb, though, just doesn’t make sense to me. If the disciples took his body, they would all have known that the Gospel they were proclaiming was no Gospel at all. Being disappointed that Jesus was just another false messiah, the story goes, they were reluctant to undergo the public humiliation, ridicule, and persecution that was surely coming their way, so they stole Jesus’ body and claimed he rose from the dead, thus saving face. One might put some stock in that, if it were not for what happened to the disciples of Jesus next. 

All of the Apostles, with the exception of John, were martyred for their faith. That is, they went to their death rather than deny their risen Lord and Savior Jesus. If all they faced was ridicule and derision, I might give this thesis of the resurrection-deniers some more thought. The Apostles and other first generation disciples of Christ, however, faced not only ridicule, but death, and that in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable by man. I have not met the person who was willing to die for that which he knew to be a lie. Men have been willing to die for ideas in which they believed but only later found out were false; I have never heard of anyone who willingly submit to a horribly painful and humiliating death rather than renounce a belief or idea that they knew for a fact to be false. The apostles and early followers of Jesus were beheaded, crucified, stoned, burned alive, and fed to wild animals for the entertainment of bloodthirsty crowds, all because they refused to renounce their faith in Jesus. They stood steadfast in their faith because they knew it to be true first hand. 

And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them (Luke 24:8-11). 

The women who went to the tomb, discovered it empty, and heard the first proclamation of the resurrection from the angels there went joyfully to inform the Apostles. The Apostles, however, were still mourning Jesus' death. The angels had reminded the women about how Jesus told them all beforehand how he would die for the sin of mankind at the hands of sinful men and rise again. At this Gospel proclamation their faith blossomed forth. when they told the men that Jesus had risen, their minds could not yet grasp it. They considered the women's account an "idle tale". After all, they were only lowly women. Their testimony was not even valid in a court of law. This is another reason that seems to lend more credibility to the Gospel story. If the Gospel writers wanted to make up a story, surely they would not have scripted it so as to have women discover the empty tomb. Their testimony would be considered unreliable in First century Israel (Packer & Tenney, 1980). Furthermore, the Gospel writers do not paint the Apostles in a particularly flattering light, especially in the resurrection accounts. They are disbelieving and even mock the women, being mired firmly in their mistaken belief that Jesus was a political messiah struggling to establish an earthly kingdom. 

Why would God choose to use these women, who were so despised by the culture in which they lived, to deliver the news of the resurrection to the Apostles? Surely he would choose some person more worthy and esteemed in the eyes of the world to carry such news, in order to make it more credible to the world. To the contrary, God was mocking the unbelieving world and its governing authorities, which subscribed to such nonsense as the inferiority of women. In using these women as the vehicles for bringing the news of Jesus’ resurrection to the Apostles, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”[10]

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened (Luke 24:12). 

Peter reacts in his typical brash and impulsive fashion. Earlier in the garden of Gethsemane, when the temple guard came to arrest Jesus, Peter impulsively, and a little clumsily, attempted to stand and fight, cutting off the high priest's servant's ear with his sword[11]. He was going to meet force with force it seems, but Jesus stopped and rebuked him. He, like the others, did not understand that Jesus' kingdom was not of this world[12]. Peter, along with all the rest of the Apostles, felt defeated and were afraid of their religious/political adversaries who had murdered their leader. But when Peter heard the women's story, he reacted by running to the tomb to see what was going on for himself. John records that he also went with Peter. John says that he ran ahead of Peter, but only looked into the tomb upon his arrival, apparently too awestruck at what he found to enter[13]. Peter was the one who actually entered the empty tomb first. He saw the linen cloths that had been wrapped around Jesus' corpse, and the cloth that had been on Jesus head, folded neatly. This was no case of grave robbery. Why would grave robbers strip the corpse and take the time to fold the linen cloths they left behind? We know that the Apostles didn’t have Jesus’ body. Surely, if the Pharisees had taken Jesus’ corpse away, they would have produced it and put it on display when the Apostles began preaching that Jesus rose from the dead. 

After Peter went inside the tomb, John then also entered. John writes that he saw and believed[14]. They may not yet have understood but, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, faith was kindled in them they believed. During the following 40 days Jesus would show himself alive to his disciples, and equip them for their mission of spreading the Good News of Jesus' atonement for man's sin to the world. 

Jesus’ resurrection proves that he is the Christ, the Son of God, and that the things he taught were true. The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross was accepted by God the Father for the reconciliation of the world (Luther, 1991). The resurrection of Jesus is proof of this. Because of our sins we deserve nothing but God’s wrath, displeasure, death, and eternal damnation. Christ, by his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death, redeemed mankind on the cross. His victory was confirmed by his resurrection from the dead, and we receive the forgiveness Christ won on the cross by faith in Him. Christ’s resurrection is the basis for the new life that Christians begin to experience now, and will receive fully on the Last Day (Engelbrecht, et al., 2009). Because Jesus lives, we who believe in him will live also[15]. 

Christ is risen, he is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

Works Cited 

Engelbrecht, E. A., Deterding, P. E., Ehlke, R. C., Joersz, J. C., Love, M. W., Mueller, S. P., et al. (Eds.). (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible. Saint Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House. 

Luther, M. (1991). Kleine Katechismus, English. (C. P. House, Trans.) Saint Louis, Missouri, USA: Concordia Publishing House. 

Packer, J. I., & Tenney, M. C. (Eds.). (1980). Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible. Nashville, TN, USA: Thomas Nelson Publishers. 

The Commission on Worship of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. (2006). Lutheran Service Book. St. Louis : Concordia Publishing House. 

End Notes

[1] Matthew 27:55-56 

[2] Mark 15:44 

[3] Mark 16:3 

[4] Matthew 28:2 

[5] Matthew 28:3 

[6] 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 

[7] 1 Corinthians 15:13-19 

[8] "He’s Risen, He’s Risen", LSB 480, Text: C.F.W. Walther, 1811-87, abr.; tr Anna M. Meyer, 1867-1941, alt. 

[9] Matthew 28:11-15 

[10] 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 

[11] Matthew 26:51; John 18:10 

[12] John 18:36 

[13] John 20:3-4 

[14] John 20:8 

[15] John 11:25-26; 14:19

Merry Christmas

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel," (Genesis 3:15).

It happens every year, usually just after Thanksgiving. Stores everywhere, resplendent in their holiday decorations beacon shoppers to their aisles. The wares may be covered in garland and tinsel, but the message is the same as always: Give us your money. That’s why they call the Friday after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” – stores hope to make a large profit on this quasi-official beginning of the holiday shopping season and be “in the black”. And people oblige. Their holiday shopping will not be successful unless they find just the right pair of laser-guided electric scissors for aunt Mildred. Every one of us has slipped into this mode at one time or another, but we all know that this is not what the holidays are all about. Right?

No, the holidays are about family. You, your wife, children and 27 of your closest relatives all jammed into the dining room watching Grandpa wrestle with an overcooked turkey, armed only with Popeil’s electric carving knife. Heaven forbid that uncle Mortie say the wrong thing, or tell the one about the Priest and the Rabbi, and end up insulting cousin Jerry’s girlfriend. And what if cousin Bill decides not to come over for dinner this year – the whole family would be insulted. The holidays would be ruined. Well, maybe that’s not quite what the spirit of the season is either…

I suppose it all could be about the “holiday mood”. All the festive decorations and lavish store windows lend a sense of joy and happiness to the brisk winter air. That is, at least until someone gets offended because there are too many orange lights and not enough green ones, and all the decorations have to be removed due to court order.

Thankfully, while this may be what “the holidays” are all about to most of society, they have little to do with what Christians celebrate on December 25th and the eleven days thereafter. Don’t misunderstand: My family is just as “normal” as every other family that eats, fights and shops for that perfect present. However, while we all have imposed these rituals on Christmas, they have nothing to do whatsoever with it’s meaning.

“Of course not,” you may retort. “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, being nice to your fellow man. That’s what Christmas is all about.”

Looking at the red and green splendor of a fully dressed Marshal Field’s window (and it will always be Marshal Field's store to me, Macy's notwithstanding), one may think that sugary sentimentality, nostalgia and contrived feelings of good will is the extent of the meaning of Christmas, and for many this may be the case. However, Christmas is much more significant than that.

“Oh yes,” you say dismissively, “it’s about celebrating the birth of Jesus.”

No. Christmas is about Easter. Hear me out.

Christmas is a celebration that God has not abandoned mankind. It is a celebration that God has kept his promise to redeem fallen man by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a way, Christmas is as much about the death of Jesus as it is about his birth. The author of Hebrews writes:

But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9: 26b-28).

Strip away from Christmas all the commercialism and nostalgia. Deep beneath the secular layer of snowmen and ½ price sales of this American national holiday is hidden the birth of Jesus Christ – not merely a baby who would grow up to lead a religious movement telling people to “be good”, but the divine Son of God, whose birth was foretold by prophets and heralded by angels. Describing the promised Messiah, the prophet Isaiah wrote:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

This Jesus, whose birth we celebrate as a nation on December 25th, would go from the manger to the cross, bearing the world’s sinfulness on his shoulders. On that cross he would die as the sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.

That’s what Christmas is about.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous (Romans 5: 18-19).

The entire purpose of Jesus’ birth was his death. He voluntarily submitted to the will of God the Father, taking on human nature. He lived a pure and sinless life. He went to his death on the cross – a punishment of which all men are worthy because of our disobedience – so that those who repent and believe in him would not have to suffer it and would be given the gift of eternal life in God’s presence. Of himself, Jesus said:

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (John 3: 14-15).

Christmas is about Easter. It celebrates the birth of the world’s savior and the reconciling of men to God – something for which God is solely responsible.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace (Romans 6: 11-14).

Knowing this, Christendom understands that Christ is the source of peace on earth. Christ is the wellspring from which all good will and love flows. These things flow from believers in whom the Spirit lives, not as acts performed in order to please God or even to make ourselves feel good, but as a joyful response to God’s gift of forgiveness and reconciliation that he has given man in Christ Jesus.