The apostle John tells us that it was the none other than the eternal Son of the God, the creator of all that exists, the who is, was, and forever shall be (John 1:3); who was raised from the dead that Sunday morning (20:1-10).  

​This man, Jesus of Nazareth, who not only foretold of his own resurrection, but claimed the power to raise even himself from the dead (John 10:18); who claimed also to be the only way to the Father, freely offers eternal life for mere faith in him and in the power of his resurrection.
 
This man, Jesus, living over 2,000 thousand years ago, had the temerity to proclaim that he himself is the fulfilment of all that the Old Testament prophets had foretold (Luke 24:27).
 
Yet, all of this, and the the truth of Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, does not hinge on the events surrounding his birth, his life and ministry, the many miracles which he performed or even that he died on the cross for our sins.  It all hinges on his having been declared the Son of God, by the Spirit, through the power of his resurrection (Romans 1:4).
 
The resurrection of Jesus changed everything.  Consider the changes in the attitudes and actions of the disciples after they met the risen Lord. Where did those disciples, who had hidden themselves away in fear, following the crucifixion, get such resounding courage after the Lord had been raised?  Look at how the apostle Peter describes the means by which that change was brought about.  ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ (1 Peter 1:3 NIV).

Here are some reminders of what the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth confirmed and achieved:

• The resurrection validated Jesus' claim to be the Son of God and the Messiah, which vindicated his ministry: (Matthew 16:1-4).
• The resurrection proved Jesus' sinless character and divine nature as the prophecies also confirmed (Psalm 16:10; Acts 13:32-37).
• The resurrection substantiated the Old Testament prophecies that spoke of a Messiah who must suffer, die and be raised from the dead (Acts 17:2-3), and authenticated Jesus’ own claims that he would be raised on the third day: (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). 
• The apostle Paul informs us that, if Jesus had not been raised, our faith would be ‘useless,’ the gospel ‘powerless,’ and our sins would remain ‘unforgiven’ (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).
• Jesus himself stated, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ There can be no true life and no hope of resurrection apart from Jesus. 
• Jesus' resurrection reveals that we have a Saviour who transcends death and is the source of eternal life for all who believe in his name. (Romans 10:13).
• The Gospel is confirmed and made effective by the fact that Jesus died, was buried and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

 
The Resurrection is the evidence that Jesus is who he claimed to be. Without the resurrection, Jesus would be just another great teacher, storyteller and miracle worker. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we would have no hope. But, through faith in Christ, and in the power of his resurrection, we have boldness to approach the throne of God’s Grace, where we can find mercy ‘and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ (Hebrews 4:16). 
 
That is why proclaiming the Gospel is not an option for those who believe, it is the message of the grace of God, of hope and reconciliation, of justification and sanctification.  The proclamation of the Gospel is essential, but its effectiveness relies on the fact that there is a risen Lord.

"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom," (Luke 23:42 KJV).

The thief didn't have a prayer to stand on.  He had no power, no redeeming goodness, and no time to fix anything.  Blackness was closing in.  Eternal loss was waiting, just beyond the thin line that separates all men from eternity.   Hanging on a cross, disjointed in his torment, the thief had nothing—but God provided the One thing needful.  The man had Jesus.  He had the Son of God hanging on a Roman cross beside him— this Jesus upon whose every word hung his faltering hope. 

The thief's faith was weak, barely perceptible.  This one who had just minutes before joined his fellow criminal in mocking Jesus now seemed too ashamed to ask Jesus to save his soul. He only asked, "Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom."  Those once thieving hands were now stretched out in full surrender; whether they be blessed or whether they be damned was up to God. 
Then something happened.  Amid the the cruel fate that lay before him, the thief began to realize he was strangely blessed.  He had Jesus! There, nailed to a cross beside him was the Son of God! 

The thief began to feel the convicting power of Christ crucified, "…the just for the unjust," (1 Peter 3:18 KJV) and his heart began to turn.  Suddenly he found he could trust in the power of Jesus who revealed God is gracious, God is merciful, and God is kind.  For the first time he was able to feel the power of God's love turn his heart to Christ.
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But was God powerful enough to forgive his sins? The thief was about to find out.  "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom," was his only plea.  And there, beneath a blood-stained crown of thorns, Jesus spoke these words to his inmost heart, "Verily I say unto thee; today shalt thou be with me in paradise," (Luke 23:43 KJV). 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth…” (Romans 1:16a KJV)

The gospel, by virtue of its own power, gives us the ability to respond. I call it our “response-ability”. We who have a responsibility toward God and have often failed, now have a supernatural power to turn to and believe in. At last we can be saved from sin and self through the power of Jesus.

The gospel ignites a faith that takes God at His word. A faith that runs, not a faith that drags itself half-heartedly. A faith that leaps, not a faith that lugs as it were, a kind of deadness behind it. The Apostles Peter and John met a beggar at the temple one day who was lame from his mother’s womb. He had nothing to give and couldn’t do anything but ask. Peter looked directly at the man and said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping up stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:6-8 KJV).
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Every Christian was once a beggar who had nothing to give and couldn’t do anything but ask. “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7 KJV).
This is the glory of the Gospel.

​“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:30-32).
 
Jesus was certainly a man of many mysteries, but that all of the mysteries revealed in the New Testament concerning him grew out of the initial mystery of the incarnation.
 
In the New Testament, the word ‘mystery’ is often used to refer to a profound truth which God has revealed but which remains outside of our full grasp.  God, after all, is eternally spirit and we are but mortal flesh.  In this sense, even for believers, Jesus remains ‘a man of mystery’ as there is so much we don’t yet know about him.
 
The incarnation remains an essential truth which has been clearly revealed, but which still stretches our understanding and comprehension.  We do not know how God who is spirit can become flesh, but we do know that he did and that Jesus, born of the virgin, Mary, was both fully God and fully man. This is why Paul refers to Jesus as “the Mystery of God” (Colossians 2:2).
 
The main point to the story, however, is not how a child was born through the power of the Holy Spirit via the ‘miracle’ of human birth, but that, as a result of this event, God became incarnate.  The simple fact is that Jesus was truly unique.  The person we meet in the pages of the New Testament and who remains forever shrouded in mystery, had his origins in this event.
 
Here are just a few of the New Testament scriptures which light on the significance of the incarnation:
 
(Matthew 1:20-23) The annunciation to Joseph revealed how God and man ‘came together’ in the person of Jesus.
(Luke 1:35; 2:7) The annunciation to Mary referred to Jesus as both God’s son and also her son.
 
The apostles John and Paul take us ‘behind the scenes’ as it were, to reveal the magnitude of what really took place when the child, Jesus was born:
 
(John 1:14; 1:1) John tells us how the Word of God, the eternal self-expression of God penetrated our human experience and revealed God to man, in the person of Jesus, to make known the unknowable.
(Phil 2:6-7) Paul reveals how the eternal Son of God ‘emptied himself’ of his former glory to take on human form.  Not laying aside his deity but changing its ‘form’.  Though still fully God, Jesus took on the form and the role of a servant. 
 
The scriptures reveal so much more about the man Jesus, but, principally, what is revealed is that, by means of the incarnation, there came into existence a unique person who was in all points human but in all essentials divine.  It was at the birth of Jesus that a new humanity was born (1 Corinthians 15:45-49), and it is our union with the incarnate Son which enables us now to share in his eternal communion with the Father, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

As believers, we must come to terms with the fact that the resurrection power of Christ does not eliminate our trials pain or persecution, but allows us to triumph over them.
 
Consider the Apostle Paul’s crucified life — it was unwavering in spite of his trials. Regarding his relationship to Christ he wrote, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,” (Philippians 3:10 CSB) and “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” (Galatians 2:20 CSB).
How does such a crucified life equate for us?  For Paul it was this: “We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that Jesus’ life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:10 CSB)  
In identifying himself with Jesus in this ultimate way, Paul was identifying the deepest desire and number one choice of his renewed will — to choose daily to die to the self-life and live wholly for Jesus Christ through His power — no matter the cost. 

​It’s a choice we all make daily as believers, because upon each day’s rising, heaven is witness to whatever power we allow to let reign in our lives. Will we continue to rely on our own strength, or on the resurrection power of Jesus Christ?

“Jesus Wept.” (John 11:35) AV
Sometimes, a few sincere, heartfelt words is all that is required to express our feelings of sympathy; to show that we share the pain and feel the sadness of those who are bereaved.  To “weep with them that weep...” as the Apostle Paul instructs us, is of real comfort to those who mourn (Romans 12:15).

In just two words, one noun and one verb, John makes a statement, in his gospel, about Jesus that is truly profound.  John’s statement, “Jesus wept” is reputed to be the shortest verse in the Bible and yet is sums up the entirety of scripture as it speaks of God’s deep love for man and his identification with human suffering.

Like the two plain wooden beams that comprised the cross upon which the Saviour died, these two simple words convey a complexity of meaning that stretches human understanding and speaks mightily of God’s eternal love for us.
As Jesus stood that day among the mourners, gathered round the tomb of his friend Lazarus, surveying that scene of deep sorrow and sadness, the air heavy with cries of pain and loss; he wept. 

Was Jesus weeping for his friend, Lazarus, soon to be miraculously raised from the dead?  Or were his tears shed on behalf of the mourners at the graveside, who would soon be rejoicing with him?  Or could it be that those tears, flowing hot down the face of Son of Man were being shed for all who mourn and for all who would suffer the pain of loss down through the ages.

Those two simply words: “Jesus wept,” which John records in his gospel, speak volumes of the extraordinary love that Jesus has for each and every one of us.  Jesus was intensely aware of how real and brutal an enemy death is and of its devastating effects on the human heart.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4), Jesus promised, and his tears, shed on behalf of all those who mourn, are a real and present comfort.  These few words, comprising as they do the shortest verse in scripture, are perhaps the most profound of all.

“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Cor. 15:14) AV
On July 21st 1969, when astronaut Neil Armstrong began his slow descent, from the ladder of the Eagle landing craft to the moon’s surface, an awe-struck, worldwide TV audience watched on in breathless wonder.  I was one of millions of UK teenagers whose eyes were then glued to a small black and white TV screen in the early hours of the morning.

As Armstrong took that final step onto the Moon’s surface, he looked into the camera attached to the Eagle and made one of the most memorable statements of the last century: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
The Apollo moon landing is one the few events in history about which most people have felt "we did it" rather than "they did it".

It was hailed as mankind’s greatest single accomplishment, it was a breath-taking moment, it was truly awe inspiring, it was a momentously historic event...it was nothing.

It was nothing compared to an event that happened almost 2,000 years before, in a small inconspicuous area outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem, from within a new tomb carved out of the rock face, the entrance to which had been sealed by a great stone.

In the chilled and deadly silence of that darkened tomb lay all the hopes and dreams of mankind, his deepest need, his ultimate joy and lasting peace, his salvation and his future hope.  The fate of all mankind lay wrapped and shrouded in the grave clothes that encloaked the battered and torn body of Jesus of Nazareth.  Without the resurrection of Jesus, all would be in vain.

When at last Jesus’ eyes opened to the surrounding darkness, he raised himself up and, setting aside his carefully folded grave clothes, he stepped out of that sealed tomb by his own power (John 10:18).

That event changed everything for every human who ever lived or will live.  Jesus had conquered sin, death and the grave.  His death and resurrection paved the way for all humanity to be reconciled to God and to receive from him life everlasting (John 3:16).

That small step from the tomb was the greatest leap mankind could ever make.  It was the leap from death to life; but we didn’t do it. “He did it!”  And he did it for us.

For centuries, the lion has been used a symbol of power and strength.  He is feared the world over… but not in the local zoo. 

We can even get quite close to a lion, in the safe confines of a zoo, without experiencing any sense of danger whatsoever.  As you gaze at the stately lion through the almost invisible steel mesh of the lion enclosure, you might stand in awe of his mighty frame, his imposing head and crowning mane. 

You may admire his powerful muscles and sinews.  If you are lucky, you may even hear his loud and fearsome roar.  But you are not afraid of him because he is trapped inside a zoo cage.

In the above Bible passage, the apostle Peter describes our adversary as “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  But do we actually see him in this way?  Is he a real and present danger to us, or someone we merely read about in scripture; a character, no doubt fearfully depicted, but trapped within the pages of the Bible?

Peter warns us that such is not the case.  He is a very real threat to us and we must be on our guard at all times.  “Be sober, be vigilant...” he tells us (8).  But then, Peter goes on to show us that Satan can be resisted if we remain strong “in the faith” (9).  Our faith becomes our strength and our means of defence. 
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Peter encourages us to take comfort in the fact that “the same afflictions” are suffered by our fellow believers (9), so we are not alone in our struggle.  Besides, there is another, far more powerful lion, mentioned in the Bible, a reference to Jesus, the promised Messiah, who is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).  Jesus has already prevailed against our foe and gives us victory now, through our faith in him.

“And Jesus said unto them...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matt 17:20 KJV).

Have you ever watched a tiny ant crawling along the ground?  How small it is compared to almost everything else around it.  Yet, the ant remains oblivious to the many dangers and that lie on every side, with obstacles casting formidable shadows across its path as if to constantly threaten its very existence. 

The little creature appears to take no account of its own obvious vulnerability and sees no limitation in its humble frame.  Our little insect friend just soldiers on regardless, busily doing what ants are meant to do, as if there were no tomorrow.  
No point in telling the puny ant that he is not going to achieve very much in life on account of his relatively insignificant size.  He neither hesitates nor falters.  He is clearly going somewhere and he is determined he is going to make it.  There is work to be done and no time to lose. 

Sometimes we feel as if we have very little faith and worry that this means we are weak and ineffective.

But the apostle Paul once said of himself: “when I am weak, then I am strong...” (2 Corinthians 12:10).  For him, being weak meant that he could have total reliance on Christ who was his strength.  So that, in spite of his own weakness, more would actually be accomplished through him, not less.

“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed...” Jesus says; you can move mountains. 

The ant is one of the smallest and frailest of all creatures.  So weak is he that it would hardly take any effort at all on our part to totally crush him.  Yet the tiny insect is mighty in deeds, being able to lift up to five times its own weight (e.g. an elephant is only able to lift a fraction of its weight).

Did you know that, each year, the world’s ants move no less than sixteen billion tons of earth?  That’s a mountain of earth every year.  The inconsequential, tiny ant moves mountains.  Perhaps there is a lesson for us here. 

Do we feel we are too insignificant to make a difference?  Do we feel our church is too small to impact our local community?

Maybe we shouldn’t think too much about the magnitude of the task to be performed or about our own abilities or fitness for that task.  Maybe we should simply trust God and proceed in faith – even faith as a grain of mustard seed.  We may be surprised what God can accomplish through our meagre efforts.