He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures

 

Reflection Easter Day 4^th April 2021

 

Like you, a couple of weeks ago, I sat down to complete my Census return. It was all straightforward. However, there was one part that was a bit tricky for me and that was the bit that dealt with employment. You see Methodist ministers aren’t employees. As far as the taxman is concerned, we are “office holders”. But the census didn’t allow for this. Therefore, as far as the census was concerned, I am an employee of the Methodist Church.

That’s no big deal. But once I’d ticked the box for “employee” other questions popped up. “What is your job title?” Minister of Religion / Methodist Minister. But then there was another question “What does your job entail?”

Where to start? After all there is no job description. In the end I put something like “Proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples” It sounds a bit pompous now I think about it. But this is the important bit of my “job” – even if at times there seems to be too much other stuff to deal with.

I think on Easter Day it is important to get the priorities right. And if I’d been completing the census today, I might have been tempted to try and paraphrase Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 to explain what my “job” entails:

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 1 Cor 15: 1 – 2 NIV

We know the Resurrection stories well. And the first followers of Jesus would have known them well too. In some instances, they would have heard the stories first hand, for Paul reminds the church in Corinth that Jesus appeared to Cephas (that is Peter) and then to the twelve 1 Cor 15:5 And then Paul says Jesus

appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me 1 Cor 15:6 - 8

For Paul, the story of Jesus’ resurrection is the very foundation of our faith

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance^[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Cor 15:3 - 4

As I’m sure you’ve heard before, Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written - we think – to address some issues that were arising in the young church in Corinth. Often about fundamentals of faith. The resurrection has always been hard for people to swallow, even people of great faith. In this first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul has much to say about the resurrection, because apparently it was a problem for members of the early church. There were already those who were refuting the resurrection of Jesus. Paul reminds them that without the resurrection, there is no Christian faith. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are at the centre of it all.

As I’ve already mentioned the proof that Paul gives for the resurrection is that the risen Christ appeared to the disciples, and to hundreds of other people, including Paul. That continues to be the strongest proclamation we can make regarding the resurrection.

People claiming to be "the Messiah" weren't all that uncommon in Jesus' day. There were others who had devoted followers like Jesus did. He was just one among many. Just like Jesus, they routinely died at the hands of Romans. But when they died, their movements died with them. The Jesus movement was unique because it didn't die when he did. Instead, within days of his crucifixion, the movement had been transformed. Within weeks it was proclaiming that Jesus really was the Messiah. Within a year or two, it was taking the message of the good news to all the world. How can this amazing transformation be explained? It surely didn't come about because of a Messiah who had been crucified and buried.

There is a consistent message about the followers of Jesus in the Bible. Down to a person, not one of them believed in the resurrection of Jesus in the beginning. This rings true because the scriptures tell us about it in so many places and in so many ways. It also rings true because we know from our own experience that it's hard to believe. And yet, we know that something happened to Jesus' followers in the Bible, something so convincing that they devoted their lives to sharing the good news of the resurrected Christ with others. In fact, they were willing to give their lives rather than deny its truth. This, from the ones who cowered in fear behind locked doors after Jesus was crucified.

What was this thing that happened to them? The risen Christ appeared to them. We get some of these accounts in the Bible, but no doubt there were other instances as well. As I’ve said, Paul mentions an instance that we don't read about anywhere else in the Bible, a time when the risen Christ appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at once. Now, when over 500 people see something at the same time, you cannot dismiss it as a vision or a dream. There can be no doubt that it really happened.

After Jesus was raised from the dead, hundreds of his followers had the opportunity to see him. They saw the risen Christ. That explains why their lives were so transformed. I'm not sure how there could be any other explanation. After seeing the risen Christ, all the stuff that had confused them in the past became clear for them. Jesus really was the Messiah. From the perspective of the resurrection, the cross was not a shameful death after all but a victory.

The mission of the early church was simply to tell about what they had seen and heard. It was to bear witness to the things that happened.

What I said on my census return out of exasperation was true. My “job” is to preach the Good News, the Gospel. To share what has been handed down to me.

 

"... Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:3b-4 NIV

The biblical witnesses are still announcing the resurrection to us today. That's why we gather this Easter day, and every Sunday actually, because that's why the Christian church changed their sabbath day to Sunday, so every week our worship is a celebration of the resurrection. The resurrection had the power to transform the lives of the first disciples. The truth of their witness to the resurrection still has the power to transform our lives, as well.

 

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!