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The Passion and the Empty Tomb: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
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Easter 2007
He is Risen!!!!!!
Luke 23: 44 - Luke 24: 12
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Luke 24:1-12
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with 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; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."
Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to the like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Luke 23: 44 - 24: 12 (NIV)
Glory to You
What shall I give you, Lord, in return for all Your kindness?
Glory to You for Your love.
Glory to You for Your mercy.
Glory to You for Your patience.
Glory to You for forgiving us all our sins.
Glory to You for coming to save our souls.
Glory to You for Your incarnation in the virgin's womb.
Glory to You for Your bonds.
Glory to You for receiving the cut of the lash.
Glory to You for accepting mockery.
Glory to You for Your crucifixion.
Glory to You for Your burial.
Glory to You for Your resurrection.
Glory to You who were preached to men and women.
Glory to You in whom they believed.
Glory to You who were taken up into heaven.
Glory to You who sit in great glory at the Father's right hand.
Glory to You whose will it is that the sinner should be saved through Your great mercy and compassion.
Ephraem of Syria (ca. 306-373)
Biblical account of the betrayal of Christ, his death and his resurrection
The Power Of Love
How did you do it, Jesus?
How did you stand the pain?
You must have seen it coming through the pouring rain.
What was your crime, Jesus?
What were you guilty of?
The Son of Man was teaching us the power of love.
He was only reaching us with the power of love!
Your Mother, she was weeping right there on the hill,
Your Father, Jesus, He was keeping perfectly still.
Pilate said, don't call me. I'm not at your command,
How did you do it, Jesus, no one lent you a hand.
You looked toward the robbers up on a cross like you.
We will meet in Heaven, hear My words, they are true.
My Father sent Me, I am the sacrifice.
My Spirit's never ending here in Paradise.
As the ground was shaken, the darkness returned,
A million mirrors breaking up the sins of the world.
How did you do it, Jesus, how did you rise again?
Were crucified, yet, you seek no one to blame.
How did you do it, Jesus, how did you rise above?
The Son of Man was teaching us the power of love.
He was only reaching us with the power of love.
©Veronica Cressey (Perth Western Australia)
Contact the author for permission before using in any electronic or print format.
Easter Morn
They hung him high between two thieves,Way up there on Golgotha's hill,
And the blood he shed bought eternal life
For the whosoever will.
In sorrow they took his body down,
From the cross on which he died,
In a linen sheet he was lovingly wrapped,
And his body placed inside
A clean, new tomb, where never man lay.
At the entrance was placed a huge stone.
And their hearts were sad as they walked away,
For Jesus their Lord was gone.
As the women walked to the tomb that day
Wondering within themselves,
How they could roll the stone away
And to whom could they turn for help.
As they approached the tomb
where the Lord had been laid,
A wondrous sight met their eyes,
The stone was gone, but where was their Lord?
For his body was not inside.
Who could have taken him, where had he gone?
They stood there perplexed and amazed,
When suddenly, they noticed near,
Two men in white arrayed.
In fear and trembling the ladies stood,
Not knowing what to expect
But the words they heard made their hearts rejoice,
While tears of joy they wept.
He is not here! He is alive!
He has risen just as he said!
Now go spread the news to those he loved,
He's alive! He is no longer dead!
Now this message has traveled around the world,
Jesus lives! He is no longer dead,
And one day soon he's coming back,
Tell this message again and again.
© Gertrude Jefferies
Contact the author for permission before using in any electronic or print format.
It Was My Sin
It was my sin that crucified my Lord.
It was my sin that pierced Him with the sword.
It was my sin that nailed Him to the tree.
It was my sin that caused His agony.
It was His love for me that took Him there.
It was His love for me that cross to bear.
It was His love for me, so full and free.
How can I not love Him..He died for me
It was His life that taught me how to live.
It was His life that taught me to forgive.
It was His life that taught me how to love.
It was His life, God's gift from up above.
It is my love for Him that keeps me strong.
It is my love for Him keeps me from wrong.
It is my love for Him He first loved me.
How can I not love Him, He died for me
© Patti
Contact the author for permission before using in any electronic or print format.
The Ram
Drops of sweat
trickle down his cheeks
as the heat of the sun
continues to scorch
his battered skin.
With ropes tightly wound around him,
movement's nearly impossible.
Strength sapped.
Body lacerated.
How long must he endure?
His mouth dry as driftwood
and lips desert-parched;
he pleads for a single drop
even for just a jiffy.
He supplicates for his life;
his eyes imploring for mercy
in a scoffing crowd
of oppressors and bigots.
But like the fluted language of grass
that no one seems to notice,
he falls on deaf ears...
Scissor words lash out
from mouths wreathed in a miasma
of fiery consonants and vowels
ultimately snipping his world
to shreds.
He looks up to the sky,
the sun floating its feathers
upon the sapphire sea
of vast emptiness -
his only redemption.
Then, like a shriveled petal of a daffodil
worn out of decadence,
his frigid vessels clam up --
refusing to convey
the water of life, no more!
His body flitters to the ground
in a miniature seascape of sound.
His belly grazing the earth.
A snapping point!
His mission is done.
Rachelle Arlin Credo was born and raised in the Philippines. She works as an entrepreneur and writes during her leisure time. She has had her work published in Arabesques Review, The Front Porch, Static Movement, Women's Journal, Events Quarterly, Lily Literary Review, Poetic Hours and Zygote in My Coffee among others.
Feel free to check her website at http://www.rachelle.co.nr
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