Acts 10:34, 37-43; 1 Cor Rom 6:3-44; Mark 16:1-7
Alexander the great went to
Corinth, to see the great philosopher, Diogenes of Sinope. Alexander was
thrilled to meet him. He wished to do him some favour. But Diogenes replied,
“Give me a little of immortality.”
Dear brothers and sisters man’s search for
immortality is as old as man himself. In the Biblical accounts of creation we
read that the serpent tempted Eve with the promise that if she ate the fruit
she would become like God. And Eve could not resist that offer. She disobeyed
God’s command with the desire to become like God.
The Epic poem from Mesopotamia, “Epic of
Gilgamesh” describes the attempts of Gilgamesh to learn the secret of eternal
life. He under took long and perilous journey to find the secrets of immortality.
Finally he was told, “Gilgamesh, what you seek, you will never find.”
So it was concluded that human life comes to
an end with death. Therefore it is engraved on the tombstones, “Here lies
Caesar”, “Here lies David”, “Here lies John”.
But there is one tomb in the world that is
empty, and the tomb stone does not bear any engraving on it. That is the tomb
lent to Jesus by Joseph of Aramathea. The occupant of the tomb has overcome
death and came to life again.
At dawn, when the women reached the tomb of
Jesus two men stood by them in flashing raiment and asked them “Why look among
the dead for someone who is alive?”
The angels conveyed to them that Jesus has
risen from the dead. And he is no more to be searched among the dead.
Shakespeare is dust, and will not come
To question from his Avon tomb,
And Socrates and Shelley keep
An Attic and Italian Sleep,
They see not. But O Christians
May you not meet in spite of death,
A traveler from Nazareth?
The accounts of Jesus’ resurrection enkindled
the spirit of Peter. Only Peter went out to experience it by himself. The story
of his denial of his Master was not a thing that could be kept silent; and yet
he had the courage to face those who knew his shame. He ran to the tomb. He
bent down and saw the binding cloths. He went back home amazed. Peter realized
the messianic prophecies and the teachings of Jesus.
The Psalmist says, “For thou wilt not leave
my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:10). In other words,
though the Messiah had been buried, He would be resurrected according to the
appointed time of God. He would not be in burial forever but rather He was
there to fulfil the Scriptures concerning His death. He must be resurrected
from the dead to prove that the power of death could not overpower Him.
During the ministry Jesus did frequently
inform His disciples about His death and resurrection. In fact Jesus made the
comparison between His resurrection and the life of Jonah in the belly of the
fish, similarly the Son of Man would be resurrected from the dead after three
days (Matt 12:40).
Peter began to realize the relation between
these teachings and the reality of resurrection. Peter is now confident of his
faith. His sermon bears adequate testimony to that fact. Peter declared, “You
killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are
witness.”
The words, “Jesus is alive!” were enough to
create a great spiritual hunger in the disciples where emptiness existed
because of his death. May these words wipe out the darkness in us and enkindle
our spirits.
Satish