Rev. Kenneth Fellenbaum

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Milford, Connecticut, United States

Bible Verse of the Day

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Assurance & Hope

Jesus appeared to His disciples on the evening of the day that He arose from the grave. In the afternoon Jesus appeared to two disciples who were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus. At supper when He took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it, they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. They found the eleven, along with the others assembled, and they said, "It is true! The Lord has risen." Then they related what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

"While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "'Peace be with you.' They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.'When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?'They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, 'This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms'" (Luke 24:36-44 NIV).

On Easter, and every Sunday for that matter, we celebrate Christ's resurrection from the dead. For us as Christians, this is one of our Cardinal beliefs and has been for the two thousand years of the Church. But think with me for a moment what the resurrection meant to the disciples in the First Century. Even though Jesus had told them on a number of occasions that He would go to Jerusalem where He would suffer and die and on the third day come back to life; they apparently had not grasped the meaning of His words. We do not read, for instance, that any one of them got up on the third day and went looking for the Lord. Instead, they had gone to attend His body at the tomb. They were still in shock over the turn of events that had led to His arrest, trial and crucifixion in a very short period of time. When Jesus met with them, He assured them that He was indeed alive; that He had risen just as He had said.

What if Jesus had not come back to life? He would have been like any other religious leader who had lived and taught but then died and passed from the scene. While His followers might have passed along His wisdom they would not have been able to offer the eternal hope that is ours because He is alive. Without the resurrection we would indeed still be in our sins and we would be left without the hope of life after death (see 1 Corinthians 15:17-20; John 11:25-26).