Garry continued his series on the life of Joseph this morning, preaching from Genesis 45:25-28, when Jacob finds out that Joseph is alive again.
Jacob had understandably been shattered by the news of Joseph’s death (Gen 37:34-35); the death of a child is something which affects a parent for the rest of their life. When he had had to let Benjamin return with his brothers to Egypt, it badly affected him, but on their return, he is told the stupendous news that Joseph is alive. This complete reversal of his world for so many years was not easy to come to terms with.
In the same way, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had their worlds turned upside down when they realised that the stranger walking alongside them was Jesus Himself. (Luke 24:19-24) The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.
We might find the news of the resurrection too good to be true; we live in a world of fake news and may well find it hard to believe that anyone could be raised from the dead. But the gospel accounts of the resurrection ring with eyewitness astonishment and truth. It’s impossible to bring life from death, and there were many ‘explanations’ for what had happened, including the idea that the disciples must have stolen Jesus’s body or that He had merely swooned on the cross and not really died. Yet those who have investigated the resurrection (including Frank Morrison who investigated to disprove this and ended up writing the book ‘Who Moved The Stone?’, an insightful, well-researched and moving book affirming reasons to believe in the veracity of this story) affirm the truth of the life-changing news of resurrection.
Just as Joseph was revived by news of his son being alive, so we can be revived and restored by the news that ‘the God who died came back to life and everything is changed’ (‘Christ Is Risen’) Transformational hope can be ours. We have a God whose love for us is never failing, a God who is with us through our darkest times, a God who is ever faithful. More amazing than the fact that Joseph was alive is the truth that Jesus is alive. Christ is risen and lives forever more, and so everything is changed.
