 |
After Jesus had died on the Cross a wealthy man who had admired him and felt he had been unjustly killed went to to the Romans and asked for his body. He wanted to give Jesus some respect in death. This man, Joseph of Arimathea arranged for Jesus to be taken down from the cross where he would have hung for weeks. He wrapped him in cloth and laid in his own family tomb, a cave hollowed out of rock. A large and very heavy stone was rolled in front.
The Disciples were in hiding. They were terrified and in despair. Jesus the Master was gone. It had all ended. His death was final. There was no HOPE.
If that was the end.........there would remain no HOPE ....just despair and blackness |  |
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
The end..........................?
At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.
They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.
Luke 24 (1-8) - The Message
_________________________________________________
The End or the Beginning?
Just below the crosses within the graveyard you will find the Tomb. Think of the hopelessness of the closed tomb. This is the end of our Easter Journey.
But it is not the end of the story. It remains the beginning of NEW HOPE and NEW LIFE.
Join with the Christians of the town on Easter Sunday morning at 8.30am in the Allison Green as we rejoice as we realise that there is HOPE for all mankind. The Grave will be empty. Jesus is Risen!
___________________________________________________________
