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Week:13, Season:1,
2013
Posted on Saturday by PCT
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A Good News worth Sharing
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Scripture：《
Luke 24:1-12
》
24：1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words, 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.
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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. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 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? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”’ 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 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.
I have an adorable daughter who is less than 1 year old. The birth of this child is a miracle to me.
About 1 year ago, the doctor told us my wife had eleven uterine fibroids in her womb. It was impossible for her to get pregnant in a natural way unless she received surgery. We felt really frustrated. As well as praying hard, we started to search for information on the Internet; expecting to find better hospitals and doctors; or a different solution. However, all of the results were disappointing and led to one solution: receiving the surgery.
After two weeks, we discovered that my wife’s period was late. Although the doctor told us it was impossible for her to get pregnant, we still did a home test out of curiosity. As we had expected, we wasted a home test: the two lines we hoped for were not there (when the home pregnancy test shows two lines this means you are pregnant.) But something amazingly happened that hour. I was working at my desk when I suddenly heard my wife’s surprised voice saying, “Hey! Come here and see what’s going on. It seems have another line on the test!” My wife shared the unbelievable news with me. I went to check and found that the home test we had thrown away an hour ago had a subtle second line on it. It seemed we were having a baby after all! The impossibility of conceiving our doctor had told us was suddenly filled with hope and God’s grace. This sudden news made my wife extremely excited and brought me to share her happiness.
When there is good news in our life, we are always so thrilled that we want to share it with all our friends. Isn’t it the same with the great news of Jesus’ resurrection? Have you ever shared this best piece of news with others?
Women spread good news
The news of Jesus’ resurrection was known by the women who stayed with Jesus’ body. In that morning, these women prepared the spices and went to the tomb, but they did not find the body of Lord Jesus. Instead, they saw two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning. In their fright, the women were told by the two figures who could be angels the news that Jesus has risen. They also reminded the women to recall how Jesus had once had told them about his death and resurrection. Then the women realised and believed that Jesus had risen!
Soon after they heard the news they left to tell others. In Luke 24:8-9, “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.” Though they did not see the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes, these women who used to follow Jesus immediately left the tomb to share such great news with the disciples. After that, the news of Jesus’ resurrection gradually spread.
These women give us a great example. In the early morning of Sunday, share the good news of Easter. This simple action began to change the world. Now over twenty billion Christians know and believe that Jesus is risen and are filled with joyful hope in this suffering world. This all began with the women who witnessed the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
Hope that conquers death
Jesus’ resurrection contains one very important concept: he overcame death and brought endless hope to our limited lives. Our sins and imperfections died with Jesus on the cross. Our dying life is full of hope and new birth with Jesus’ resurrection.
The German contemporary theologian Jorg Zink (1922-) uses “creation” to explain resurrection. In his book Resurrection, he argues that we are walking with the resurrected Christ. “In the limited life, we transformed to be part of a new inner life and practice this life for eternity (translation).” A limited life of following Jesus became a new creation which even overcame death.
Famous theologian Jurgen Moltmann (1926-) also considers that the anticipation of resurrection is a “new creation” which contains the abundant vitality of hope. This hope can overcome death and the forces of dark. It is a new created hope whose vitality surpasses the power of death.
Jesus’ resurrection eliminated our sins and gave us a new life. What a great gift it is! Isn’t such a grace beyond imagination and which brings hope to all a wonderful news worth telling?
More than Easter eggs
In Taiwan’s society, it is traditional to send wedding invitations when you are going to get married; to send gifts for Mi Yue when your new born baby is one month old and to set a banquet when you move into a new house. Even a minister’s ordination requires invitations to be sent to many people. We are generous with sharing the good news of our lives, whether the events are big or small. Are we as willing to share the good news that “Jesus is risen” and the great news of hope and salvation with neighbours?
Since Jesus’ resurrection is such joyful good news, as Christians we should allow the Easter truth become a wonderful blessing for the people around us. I wish we could do more than just giving out Easter eggs in our community by telling the good news that “Jesus is risen” all the time!
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For discussion：
1. Do you have any experience of “sharing good news with people”? How did it make you feel?
2. Jesus’ resurrection is the true good news. What can you do to share this gospel with people?
Please pray for：
1. Ask God to give us courage and wisdom and make all Christians and churches willing to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.
2. That the eyes and ears of non-Christians will be opened by God so that they can receive and understand the power of salvation.
Prayer：
Dear God, you are the Lord of life and resurrection. You are the eternal Lord who leads us to surpass the line of death. Thank you that you our sins were nailed on the cross with you to awake our consciences so we could see our desire and pride. Thank you Lord, for your resurrection and giving us the hope of salvation. You gave us new life so we can enjoy a life of grace. May you help our hearts to be always alert and renew our minds. Let us keep following in your footprints. May you help us not to only enjoy the gospel but also to be the ones to proclaim your truth of resurrection. In the name of Christ. Amen.
Something you can do：
1. On Easter Day, invite brothers and sisters, children at Sunday school, teenagers, and members of fellowships to give out Easter eggs and gospel cards in the community. Or try any other way you feel comfortable to share the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.
2. Remind yourself to do one thing daily to proclaim good news in your family, work place, school or society.
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