HE IS RISEN. Indeed!!

Well hello again friends it's Dick Foth and it is stories from the road on Easter Sunday, 2023. Well to be doing a little bit more theology, a little more God talk. Maybe we do another podcast, but for the God talk let me start with October 1990 people's magazine and they were interviewing Larry King who back in the day was a big name in broadcasting both on radio and television. He was the consummate interviewer and someone asked him what his fantasy interview would be and he said, Jesus Christ. I would ask him Larry says if he believed that he was born of a virgin because whatever the answer it changes or reinforces the world. That's kind of a cool question for me when I heard him say that because if Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary resurrection from the dead should be no problem. For some that's an idea or a fantasy or weirdness but for others it's a fact for two thousand years it's been a fact for many others. Easter Monday, which is interesting, Easter Monday is a holiday in 116 nations celebrated by better than two-thirds of the people in the United States. It's a part of an institutional thing. It's part of the fabric of a lot of people's lives. It's tradition but do you celebrate Easter is a different question because it could be a spiritual question or Easter bunny question. It's a different question than do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth who some believed to be the Messiah was executed by the state two thousand years ago in Jerusalem and three days later physically rose from the dead. That's a very different question. And the net effect of that many believe like me like I believe this is that all people every individual can experience forgiveness from their sins and have a new mind and heart and life forever in the glorious presence of the creator of the universe. You say wow that's a that's a leap to think about human beings and then resurrection from the dead. It sounds ridiculous. Sounds impossible. Well some Jewish folks in Jesus' day believed in a general resurrection for all people at the end of time but the one we're talking about here with Jesus and that impact that's that's one of a kind. There's this fellow in the New Testament who's called the Apostle Paul. He was Saul but he was a religious guy who believed that people who thought about the resurrection of Jesus were worthwhile killing. So he was what we would call a religious terrorist in our day and in writing to a church in southern Greece and you've heard me talk about this before in Corinth which is a party town. He puts out a case for the resurrection. This is what he says now brothers and sisters I want to remind you of the gospel I preach to you which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel this good news you're saved. If you hold firmly to the word I preach to you otherwise you've believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as a first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures that he was buried that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that he appeared to see us that's Peter and then to the 12 and I'm skipping a few verses just for the sake of the reading and if Christ has not been raised your faith is futile you're still in your sins then those also who have fallen asleep or died in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are of all people most to be pitted. I find that a fascinating statement. So the question is okay so Jesus was raised from the dead what's in it for me that's a pretty narcissistic thought but most of us have self-interest along the way or somewhere. Well this text suggests that Jesus' resurrection is a prelude to ours. He goes on Paul goes on in verse 50 to say I declare to you brothers and sisters that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Notice the perishable and herethy imperishable. Listen I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep or die but we will all be changed in a flash in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed and then this classic statement death has been swallowed up in victory. Where oh death is your victory where oh death is your sting now that's a perspective resurrection overwhelms death if the resurrection of Jesus is true it sets up another moment down the road for us that's we're celebrating that's what I'm thinking there's a fellow not just any old fellow his name is N Thomas Wright and T. Wright in these the former bishop of Durham in England he a lot of folks read him today scripture scholars a teacher and he has some interesting thoughts and I have this book that he wrote sometime back called surprised by hope rethinking heaven the resurrection and the mission of the church I just want to read you just a few of his thoughts about the resurrection listen to what he says no first century Jew prior to Easter expected the resurrection to be anything out of the large scale event happening to all God's people or perhaps to the entire human race as part of the sudden event in which God's kingdom would finally come on earth as in heaven there's no suggestion that one person would rise from the dead in advance of that event okay then this thought notoriously the accounts of Easter he's talking about the New Testament now do not fit snugly together how many women went to the tomb how many angels are men did they meet there did the disciples meet Jesus in Jerusalem or Galilee or both and so on and if if you who are listening if any of you have read the Jesus story through the gospels you see this is true but surface discrepancy says do not mean that nothing happened indeed their reasonable indication that something remarkable happened so remarkable that the first witnesses were bewildered into telling different stories about it if you're in the legal system if you're in the police force you know that eyewitness accounts of the same event very greatly depending on where you were standing what you heard how much attention you were paying one of the strange feature of the stories is more often marked upon and that is the presence of the women as the principal witnesses in all four gospel stories front and center the first witnesses the first apostles set ones if you would were females female first stories we find in the gospels I just think that's not only fascinating for that day and age when women were not paid so much attention to if you will it's front and center in the good news story and final thoughts from NT right are the challenge is in fact the challenge of new creation to put it at its most basic the resurrection of Jesus offers itself to the student of history or science no less than the believer of the theologian not as an odd event within the world as it is but as the utterly characteristic foundational event within the world as it has begun to be the claim advanced is of this magnitude Jesus of Nazareth usher's in not simply a new religious possibility not simply a new ethic or a new way of salvation but a new creation a new creation the power and glory of the most high god setting us free to know and to be with them so over the centuries millions have come to know that freedom and that hope I have no clue by the way who I speak to at this moment but have you ever considered the possibility of being like a new creation well let me give you a snapshot of two people who did one was named George George Handel was the German fellow living in London in the 1740s he was depressed he was broke he was a musician he was cut off from his friends but this moment in his life in those days happened that in a few days he wrote an oratorio which back in the day was a musical presentation the told a story not unlike Fiddler on the roof that Ruth and I got to see in Denver a few days ago but it's that kind of presentation and one part of that oratorio that he wrote in 1742 grabbed folks and people today still pick up on it it's called the hallelujah chorus it's first performed in Dublin on the east coast of Ireland on the Irish sea at the new music hall in Fishamble Street at noon on April 13 1742 six years later 1748 on the west coast of Ireland out in the Atlantic it's a huge storm it was March the 10th 1748 and a ship was foundering it was about to sink and a 23 year old sailor schooled in faith at his mother's knee years before up to the age of seven he thought his life was over his name was John John Newton was his name 10th of March says Newton as a day much to be remembered by me for on that day the Lord came from on high and delivered me out of deep waters and he records this as Newton hurried to his place at the pumps trying to save this ship he said to the captain if this will not do the Lord have mercy upon us his own words startle him this was the first desire he said I had breathed for mercy for many years that moment would become a lifelong journey that would bless the world so the words to the hallelujah chorus were sung in April of 1742 30 years later in 1772 John Newton penned these words to amazing grace amazing grace how sweet the sound it saved a wretch like me he was a slabor I once was lost but now I found was blind but now I see it was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed and now tilting toward resurrection day the last two verses yay when this flesh and heart shall fail and mortal life shall cease I shall possess within the veil a life of joy and peace when we've been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first began and to those sentiments I say hallelujah which means praise God the way it's a Hebrew word it's become universal across language and cultures and nations it's a blessing word I've never heard anyone cuss by saying hallelujah hallelujah is the absolutely right and delightful response to the resurrection of Jesus I have two favorite Englishmen I have several but these are two of them JB Phillips who is a pastor and London back after World War II and NT right from Durham JB Phillips in paraphrase in scripture says that hallelujah means three cheers for Jesus and NT right in writing about Easter week says Easter ought to be an eight day festival with champagne served after morning prayer or even before with lots of hallelujahs extra hymns and spectacular anthems that's it this resurrection Sunday if you want to respond to any of the thoughts just shared just add a comment on social media or send a message on our website and we'll include the link in our show notes it's a dick-foat signing out on this Easter Sunday morning and declaring he is risen oh and imagine yourself if you will in Fishamble Street music hall in Dublin on April 1742 for the first time in history you're hearing this oh you're listening to this podcast so I know you've got a curious mind here's a helpful fact you might not know yet drivers who switch and save with progressive save over $900 on average they make it super simple pop over to progressive.com answer some questions and you'll get a quick quote with coverage options tailored to your choices plus you'll see which discounts you may qualify for like the online quote discount or savings for paying in full in fact 99% of progressive auto customers earn at least one discount see if you could save when you switch to progressive you'll feel good about making a 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