Cut out the trivia of bunnies and eggs - Easter is about 'New Life for Old Life'. Those first followers of Jesus - his disciples - went through all the depths of grief and joy two thousand years ago. What happened? Take time to read the writers of the accounts - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They help us piece together the events as they happened before and after that particular Passover Feast. As you read you'll be confronted, as were those disciples, with the fact that Jesus was executed, was buried and then rose to new life. They were as amazed as we would be - as we still are - by these events.
Over the previous three years Jesus had gone about telling people that they need new life - they need to be born again. It's a catchy phrase - but behind it lies the deeper reality that all is not well with this old life. Look around the world today and you'll see a rich mix of pain, sorrow, suffering, joy, innovation, creativity. It was never meant to be a mix and Jesus came, died and rose again to fix it once and for all.
Yes - put simply we can know, experience and live new lives. As Jesus said - "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
Here's how John recorded the events of that evening when Jesus had risen from the dead (showing that he had the power to give new life) 'That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
Purpose of the Book
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
Come and be filled with New Life this Easter. Come and join us as we learn more about Jesus and live life to the full!
(Scripture from New Living Translation.)
