Jesus is Raised: Faith Finds Hope

Hearing about Jesus’ Resurrection

The disciples experienced Jesus’ death as a tragedy that made the possibility of his being the Messiah impossible.

All they had seen, all they had done together, all they had hoped for, and all that was promised to them was gone.

They had seen or heard the news of Jesus crucifixion; Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried him and sealed the tomb.

Some of the Sanhedrin paid off the soldiers to say that the disciples stole his body.

Some ask about the details: What did Jesus do between Friday and Sunday? Who was at the tomb first? How was the stone rolled away? How were the Romans not aware? Where is his body?

Today, we might ask, if Jesus is alive today, why can’t I see him, feel him, or hear him?

None of the New Testament writers describe Jesus after the resurrection.

The resurrection is not just about Jesus but about God, whose activity is not subject to the scrutiny of courts of law. It’s a faith story.

Jesus did not raise himself, because he was already dead. But, neither was his resurrection automatic.

Jesus said many things about who he was: the Son of the Father, the Son of Man, the Light of the World, the Light of Life, and the Only Way to the Father.

Jesus foretold his own resurrection 3 times.

The Father raised Jesus from death to life out of his own goodness, not bound by any rules, made by God or humanity.

The previously dead saints were raised after Jesus had been raised from the dead, not right after Jesus’ death.

To believe in God is to believe in Jesus’ resurrection.

To believe in God is to believe in Jesus’ authority over all.

To believe in God is to believe in the message of the angels, “He has been raised.”

Those who believe are raised from the dead the moment they believe.

The moral laws of God were fulfilled by Jesus’ life and affirmed in resurrection.

Jesus now addresses his disciples as brothers, rather than servants.

Jesus returns with his disciples to a mountain in Galilee to commission them and assure them of his presence.

On the mountain, instructions are given with expectation of obedience to the mission of God.

This is what it means to be a disciple, but this is what it means to love Jesus.

It is in hearing the words of life from Jesus that we are moved to respond.

We find the presence of God in the mission of God, restoring Creation and restoring the human family.

Our Mission: Go make disciples throughout the world, baptizing them in the name of God: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus is made our Lord and head and is embodied through us to the world.

That is where we see him, hear him, and feel him; in the love we have for each other.

This is why our hope is not false but is grounded in proven acts of love.

Brothers and Sisters, we who believe are given a new Life, a new Name, and a new Mission in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Let us live free as the children God, Body of Christ and temple of the Living Spirit of Jesus, now and forever.