Easter – Year C
Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People
RCL Readings – Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; I Corinthians 15:19-26; Luke 24:1-12
ACNA Readings – Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118, 14-17, 22-24; Colossians 3:1-4; Luke 24:1-12
Seasonal Introduction. He is risen! He is risen indeed! These words encapsulate the joy and hope of our faith this Sunday. Resurrection Sunday marks the end of Lent and the beginning of a new season, known as Eastertide. Easter is more than a day; it is a season! Today, the Easter season starts with Resurrection Sunday and continues until Pentecost. It is a season of great blessing in Israel as this is the season of spring and the season of harvest—the season that proves the blessing of God to the righteous and wicked alike.
Common Theme. Resurrection is the common theme, as it should be. We have journeyed with Jesus through the wilderness. We have sat at His feet at Passover and heard the new commandment to love as He has loved. And we have come with Him to Jerusalem to face the cross. This journey is actually important to us as his disciples. Without Passover, Easter makes absolutely no sense. Without the death of the Messiah, you cannot have a resurrection; and without a resurrection, you cannot have the gospel. The gospel can be stated in one sentence—Messiah has defeated death.
Hebraic Context. The concept of resurrection is not something new to the New Testament. There isn’t a lot of teaching on resurrection in the Hebrew Scriptures, however they do record several physical resurrections. Elijah resurrects the child of a widow that he was staying with in Zarephath (1 Kings 17). Elisha does something similar to the son of a Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4) and then there is the extremely lucky (or, perhaps, unlucky) unnamed man who, when thrown into the tomb of Elisha, comes back to life (2 Kings 13).
Resurrection does appear in the prophetic scriptures, such as the resuscitation of the dry bones (Ezekiel 36). By the end of the 2nd century II Maccabees 7 is explicit concerning the resurrection. As seven brothers are martyred for their faith in God, they (and their mother) continuously look to God for their strength but also, by God’s grace, the hope of everlasting life. After six of her sons were killed before her, the mother turned to her youngest and final son and said “Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again with your brothers.”2 This elderly mother of seven seems to base this belief on an early Scriptural text, I Samuel 2:5-6, “The LORD kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.”
This belief is reflected in the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10.1, where it states that those who do not believe the Scriptures declare that there is a resurrection of the dead will have no part in the world-to-come. The medieval Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides included the belief in the resurrection in his 13 principles of the Jewish faith: “he who says there is no resurrection has no share in the world to come.” The Amidah, the standing prayer, which is recited three times a day includes the statement of God, “You resurrect the dead. You are powerful to save.”
When Jesus approached Martha and told her Lazarus would rise from the dead she responded, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Judaism understood and believed in the resurrection, but it was part of the Messianic age to come—an eschatological event. The disciples were also confused when Jesus spoke of His coming death and resurrection. It was only after those events that they understood that Jesus wasn’t talking of some far off event but something that would be present and influence the entirety of their lives.
Jesus declared Himself as the resurrection and the life, inviting belief in Him as the source of eternal life. It's natural to view resurrection as a future event (like we so often view heaven or the world to come), but Jesus' words challenge us to recognize its present reality as well. We can be transformed by living in a present reality of the resurrection, as the martyrs have. Even the disciples, who knew of the future resurrection, surely would have found strength and resolve in God had they better understood the immediacy and present reality of Jesus’ victory over death. We too should embrace Jesus' victory over death for that is good news forevermore—but also right now. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!