The Vine: April 21, 2025 EASTER
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing”
This is a weekly reflection on the previous week’s sermon text. Each week there will be a devotional related to the scripture for the week, along with questions for reflection/discussion, as well as prayer. Feel free to make this a part of your individual spiritual growth throughout the week or utilize in small group settings (growth groups, Sunday school, etc.)
“ But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.”
On Easter Sunday we gathered to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of history, and all our stories, hinge on this Day of Hope. No wonder the first words we spoke in our worship together were, “He is Risen!” met with the joyous reply, “He is Risen, indeed!”
But the disciples of Jesus never saw it coming. Even though Jesus repeatedly talked about his death and resurrection, they never got it. Maybe they did not believe. More likely, it was just too unbelievable. For example, in Matthew 20:18-19 Jesus told his disciples, “We are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” However, the thought that their beloved companion would suffer, die was too much for them to take in. How much more unbelievable was the promise of his resurrection.
This explains the shock and confusion in Luke’s Easter story. The women were taking spices to anoint a dead body, not a resurrected one. When they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, they wondered who had stolen the body of Jesus, not where the resurrected Lord had wandered. Then the angels shared the glorious news, “He is not here! He has risen!” Luke tells us it was only then that the women finally, “...remembered his words.” In their excitement they ran to tell the others the incredible news, but the disciples didn’t believe them—their words were “an idle tale,” nonsense. But, they would find out for themselves that Jesus was, indeed, alive! And their lives, like ours, would be changed forever.
Easter is our Day of Hope. Jesus is the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world on the cross of Calvary. Every Sunday we celebrate this when we say to one another, “In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God! Amen.” Jesus opened his hands to receive the nails and opened his arms on the cross to put on full display the love and mercy of God. And through his resurrection he has taken a sledgehammer to death. Because he lives, so shall we.
Easter changes everything for everyone forever. In his book, Simply Christian, N.T. Wright explains how the resurrection should change how we live:”
Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengeance. Made for relationship, we insist on our own way. Made for beauty, we are satisfied with sentiment. But new creation has already begun. The sun has begun to rise. Christians are called to leave behind, in the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokenness and incompleteness of the present world ... That, quite simply, is what it means to be Christian: to follow Jesus Christ into the new world, God's new world, which he has thrown open before us.”
We are Easter people called to proclaim the good news of Love and Hope! A new day has come! Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!
Prayer:
God, fill my soul with the hope of Easter. May I embrace the One who embraces me on the cross. Help me walk with the One who walked out of the tomb. Help me to proclaim the glorious hope of Easter in and through my life that others might know you and your love for them and the world. Amen.
Questions for Reflection:
1) Why do you think it was so difficult for the disciples to believe Jesus when he told them that one day he would suffer, die, and even rise from the dead? Do you ever have a hard time believing God?
2) In his book, Luke for Everyone, N.T. Wright wrote, “Easter is always a surprise...No doubt our own resurrection will be as much of a surprise, in its own way, as that of Jesus. From the beginning, the gospel is good news not least because it dares to tell us things we didn't expect, weren't inclined to believe, and couldn't understand.” How does the Easter story surprise you? Does it fill you with awe and wonder or doubts and questions? Who are you in this scripture passage from Luke?
3) How does the resurrection of Jesus change the way you view death?
4) How does the resurrection of Jesus change how we live our lives today?
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