Life of Christ (14): The Resurrection

“Easter” controversies:

This past Saturday President Biden roiled the cultural waters with a presidential proclamation:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.  I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

Bones of Jesus found, Canadian documentary claims

CBC News · Posted: Feb 26, 2007 1:29 PM EST | Last Updated: February 26, 2007

Titanic director James Cameron and Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici say they aren't trying to undermine Christianity in their new documentary that claims the remains of Jesus, his wife, Mary Magdalene, and their child have been found.

Oscar-winner Cameron and Gemini-winner Jacobovici unveiled two limestone boxes they believe once contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene during a news conference Monday at the New York Public Library.

Passover 2024 vs Easter 2024

Easter and Passover sometimes overlap because they are both based on lunar calendars — albeit different ones. Since 2000, the two festivities have overlapped every year but four — in 2005, 2008, 2016 and this spring.

Easter is calculated based on the Christian liturgical calendar tied to the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Passover, on the other hand, is determined by the Jewish calendar, which is also lunar-based.

In fact, they don't always overlap due to differences in the specific rules and calculations used in each tradition. For example, while Easter always falls on a Sunday, Passover can begin on any day of the week.

In addition, variations in the length of lunar months and different methods of intercalation (adding extra months to synchronize with solar years) contribute to the occasional misalignment of the two holidays.

Why don’t Easter and Passover always fall together on the calendar?

Every two or three years the Jewish calendar requires the adjustment of a leap year. During a Jewish leap year an additional month of 29 days is inserted before the month of Nisan. The additional month is needed because the Jewish calendar year has less days than the solar year and begins to slip out of gear with the seasons. The extra month thus realigns the Jewish calendar year with the seasons of the solar year. This is important because the Jewish holidays are closely related to the seasons. For example, the Torah commands that Passover be celebrated in the spring.

Every so often the Jewish leap year will push Passover so far into April that a second full moon following the vernal equinox would appear before the Sunday following Passover. This happens anytime the Sunday following Passover falls later than April 25th on our calendar. On those rare occasions Easter is celebrated the month before Passover rather than the Sunday following Passover.

Wednesday Bible Study The Life of Christ (14)- Resurrection

April 3, 2024

Easter controversies:

Above

How important is the belief that Jesus rose from the dead?

To Christianity?

To you personally?

READ: 1 Corinthians 15:1-34

Watch Video

6 female disciples of Jesus?

Women at the tomb:

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, Salome, the other Mary,

Holman Christian Standard Bible: Harmony of the Gospels:

In conclusion, we simply do not know how many women visited Jesus’ empty tomb. As Luke’s explicit comment makes clear, buttressed by Mark’s and John’s implications, it simply was not the Gospel writer’s intention to name all the women who were present that weekend. Even today, we regularly cite two or three names while failing to report that others were also part of our conversation. Similarly, for at least three of the four Gospel authors, it cannot be said that they intended to name every woman. To make them say otherwise is simply unfair to the texts.

Luke 24:10 … the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to the apostles

Details about ossuary.

Not the earthquake, but an angel caused the soldiers to faint.

Not “gardener” but “warden of the garden” someone to ward off tomb robbers.

The CBL Greek-English Dictionary: This word is a compound of kēpos (2752), “garden,” and ouros, “guard” or “watchman.” It occurs only once in the New Testament, in John 20:15, and is not found in the Septuagint. It appears a number of times in classical Greek, even as the title of a play by Antiphones in the Fourth Century B.C. The closest Hebrew equivalent is nōtsēr, often rendered “watchman.”

John 19:41 establishes the fact that Jesus was crucified and entombed in or near a garden or grove which would probably have been under the care of a watchman or gardener (cf. Jeremiah 31:5f.). That Mary mistook Jesus for a gardener may suggest that she was not predisposed to believe that He could for any reason be alive.

How amazing that the priests and leaders rejected the un-schooled, nonJewish Roman guards’ unvarnished witness to the resurrection of Jesus. They rejected eternal life to have worldly power, position and wealth.

All these leaders had to do was Romans 10:9

Talk about blind! (2 Corinthians 4:3–4)

Made their spiritual condition that much worse.

Words and testimony of women not considered trustworthy. Gospel writers would NOT have used women as primary source. But they are later validated by men.

Cleopas and companion rebuked for lack of understanding.

Some refused to believe unless they saw proof — the risen Jesus.

Our faith tested more than the original disciples?

Chorus to He Lives?

When the apostle Paul mentioned the resurrection of Jesus to the philosophers in Athens, some of them sneered. Some still do. And well they might! After all, such a thing just couldn’t happen. Or could it?

Acts 17:28-34

Refer to: Luke 24:1–43.

1.Imagine you are returning to the grave of a person you saw buried a few days ago. When you get there you find an open pit and an open casket with no body in it. How would you react?

2. Given the first-century opinion that the testimony of women was not worth much, why do you think Luke mentions them (v. 1)?

3. Why does the first explanation of the empty tomb make sense to the women (vv. 4–7)?

4. What was the reaction of the disciples, Peter in particular (vv. 9–12)?

5. In what ways do you identify with Peter’s response?

6. In verses 19–24 what did the two disciples reveal about their hopes for Jesus?

7. Why do you suppose Jesus taught them out of the Old Testament Scriptures (vv. 25–27)?

8. How did the encounter with Jesus affect the two disciples (vv. 31–35)?

9. What evidence for the resurrection is given in verses 37–43?

Of what value is this evidence in the witness of Christ to the world?

Of what value is this evidence in your life?

10. How would you like the fact of the resurrection to shape your daily life?

Christ is risen indeed! Spend time in prayer and praise for this reality.[1]

We all waver in our faith sometimes. However well we know the words of Jesus, we can find ourself listening to other voices. For example, Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”(John 16:33).

As beautiful and powerful as His promise is, we often lose sight of it, focusing instead on everything going on in the world that would whittle away at the peace He provides.

· At what times in your life has God allowed you to see His promises come to pass?

Allow those memories to build your faith.

· List any promises God has made to you that you may have lost sight of.2

[1] Bunch, C., ed. (2000). Jesus’ Final Week: 8 Studies for Individuals or Groups: With Notes for Leaders (pp. 39–42). IVP Connect: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. 2© 2022 by The General Council of the Assemblies of God, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, Missouri 65802. All rights reserved.

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Romans 10:9 “ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

Blinded: 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 (LSB) And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.