Paul said to the Corinthians, ‘Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.’ (1 Cor 15:1-2) In our Bible studies on Acts, we have seen the stunning turnaround in Paul’s life when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9) Paul was someone who, as he reminds the Corinthians, persecuted the church of God. (1 Cor 15:9) But on the road to Damascus, when he was on his way to arrest more Christians, Jesus met with him in a supernatural way that totally transformed his life. From this point onward, he received the good news. He understood the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, that Jesus really was the promised Messiah, the Son of God.

One of the things we must remember is we can only pass on what we ourselves have received. At the moment, we are being urged to distance ourselves from others to stop us passing on the coronavirus, the difficulty being we often don’t know if we have the virus or not. If we are going to stand firm in life, we need to be sure of the gospel as the power of God for salvation. We can’t pass on the baton to the next generation or to anyone else unless we are sure we’ve got hold of this gospel for ourselves.

Once we have, however – once the truth of these fundamental gospel basics that Jesus died, was buried, rose again and is coming again soon grips our hearts – then we will long to pass it on to others. Like Paul, we’ve got good news and we want everyone to know it!

Today is Good Friday, the day when we remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. This Easter period is so important to our faith, for the death and resurrection of Jesus form the basis of the gospel message, a message which is good news to everyone, absolutely everyone, at every point in history. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and said that he wanted to remind them of the gospel he had preached to them and they had received and on which they had taken their stand. (1 Cor 15:1) We need to hold firmly to the word of God at these times, because this word is eternal. (Ps 119:89)

The gospel basics which Paul expounds are ‘that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.’ (1 Cor 15:3-5) 

1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. We can see from the accounts in all four gospels (Matt 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:26-59; John 19:16-37) just how important this is and how this fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. We see not only facts but the reason for His death: God ‘reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.’ (2 Cor 5:18-19) 

2. Christ was buried. He really did die. All 4 gospels again talk of His burial in a tomb purchased by Joseph of Arimathea. (John 19:38-42, Matt 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56) This confirms the reality of His death. Many people in history have disputed this, but a burial is pretty incontrovertible.

3. that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…Resurrection is a fundamental part of the gospel and without this, we have no hope. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we have nothing positive to look forward to whatsoever. If this life is all there is, we’re a people to be pitied. Paul is adamant that Jesus was raised on the third day, and again, we have this reminder that it was ‘according to the Scriptures.’ God was not taken by surprise by the death of Jesus: Rev 13:8 tells us the Lamb was ‘slain before the creation of the world.’ Isaiah prophesied, many years before Jesus was born, that the Lord would make His life an offering for sin and said, ‘He will see His offspring and prolong His days.’ (Is 53:10) The early apostles didn’t have the benefit of the New Testament Scriptures as we do, but they discovered that resurrection was there in the Old Testament too! – Peter, preaching on the Day of Pentecost, spoke from Psalm 16 and said, ‘Seeing what was to come, he [David] spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.’ (Acts 2:31)

4. … and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. Paul gives us facts and then evidence. Jesus really died. There was a real tomb. His body was placed there with a big stone in front of it as a seal and also with guards. He really did rise from the dead. Not only do we know that because the tomb was empty (which technically doesn’t prove He’s alive, just that He was no longer in the tomb), we know it because He appeared to people. They saw Him! They weren’t expecting to see Him and in many cases (like Thomas, for example), they took some persuading. Our faith rests on solid ground.
   

People often divide life into the secular and the sacred. By that they mean what they perceive to be religious or spiritual (going to church, praying, reading the Bible etc.) and everything else (work, cooking, cleaning, playing, eating etc.)

The Bible doesn’t view life like that. All of life is seen as a gift from God and all of life is meant to be offered to Him freely. That’s why I love the Message version’s paraphrase of Romans 12:1-2:

Our work is one area of life where it’s hugely important to realise the truth of Colossians 3:17:

There’s been a huge amount of talk recently about key workers and understanding that what’s really essential at this time are jobs which perhaps aren’t well paid and weren’t regarded as being that important a few months ago. Hopefully this shift in understanding will remain. Whatever we do, we can do it gladly and in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The Bible is full of key workers whose so-called ‘secular’ jobs made a huge impression on people and even changed the course of history. Joseph, after languishing in prison for crimes he hadn’t committed, ended up being second only in power to Pharaoh, saving nations through his economic strategy during famine. Nehemiah, whose job was to make sure the king didn’t get poisoned by tasting everything before the king did (thus risking his life through his job as many are currently doing), was influential in restoring Jerusalem after the exile. Daniel‘s wisdom led to him becoming a powerful adviser to the king. But there are also examples of what we would consider less important jobs: a girl captured and serving as a slave whose words to Naaman (commander of the army of the king of Aram) led to his healing from leprosy. (2 Kings 5) These people were just doing their ordinary jobs, but were in the right place at the right time to serve God and help others.

I’m praying for God’s people who are working in hospitals, care homes, shops, deliveries, government and other jobs to realise they are serving God, not just people, as they go about their ‘everyday, ordinary lives’ and to take every opportunity they have, in God’s timing and under His guidance, to speak and serve in His name. I heard today a testimony of a Christian man in Northern Ireland who was in hospital with coronavirus and seeking God for healing who was blessed and helped by a cleaner who talked to him freely of God’s love and help. Our ordinary, everyday lives really matter and there are opportunities for us all to speak God’s word to others, even at a time like this. Perhaps especially at a time like this. The Biblical truth is that we are all key workers in the kingdom of God, all Christ’s ambassadors, all entrusted with the message of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:17-21)

Good Friday.

The name always jars.

It’s only ‘good’ because we know the ending.

The challenge for us is to live in the daily sorrow with faith and hope. When we don’t know the outcome. When we don’t know resurrection is coming.

We could say those early disciples should have known. Jesus had been explicit enough with them, after all. He had talked of resurrection enough that the Romans decided to put a guard and seal on the tomb just in case someone tried to steal the body away and proclaim further insurrection through resurrection. But the disciples weren’t in any position to mount a coup d’état. They were crushed.

Everything had been hurtling to a climax in just a few hours. Imagine their feelings: disbelief that the betrayal came from within their own ranks, fear and denial, hope that the trial might result in acquittal, the agony of watching a loved one die, the sense of helplessness and hopelessness. And the questions. Those hollow, unanswered questions. Why, God? Why did You let Him die? Why didn’t You come with Your crowds of angels and rescue Him? Why?

For anyone who has been bereaved, this is familiar territory. Numbness. Denial. The sense that the world has changed irrevocably. I wonder where they all went, these women standing on Golgotha. Did they eat food that tasted like cardboard? Did they listen to other people laughing without a care in the world and want to scream? We don’t know. But Good Friday always makes us pause at the weight of sorrow.

We want to step ahead, to run to the empty tomb, to proclaim the victory. But we do well to pause here.

For most of life is spent here, in the valley of the shadow of death. In not knowing the answers. In having hope crushed and in not really understanding, for the most part, what on earth is going on.

When death comes, we feel life is impossible. Each morning, we wake to the sick knowledge that it wasn’t a dream or a nightmare; the loss is real. For many today, this is the reality of coronavirus or even cancer or heart disease or road accidents (statistics which aren’t being thrust on us in the same way.) People are not consoled by the thought of a loved one having lived a good life or sacrificing themselves for the greater good. They weep and they ache.

But death is not the end.

It takes faith to believe that.

It takes a miracle-working God to achieve that.

As we linger at the cross, we only see loss and sorrow and failure. But this is the place where the work of salvation was finished.

And for that reason, today is ‘Good Friday.’

Every morning we choose to get dressed. What we wear may well be determined by multiple factors: what day it is, where we are going, the chores we have to address. If we’re at work or school (if only!), we may have to wear a uniform; if we’re decorating, we may want to put on older clothes which are paint-spattered already. If we’re going out for a meal or to an official function, we may want to put on our best clothes; if we’re spending the day with children, we may want more relaxed garb.

Then there are the fashion factors we may consider about what we are going to wear: matching colours and styles, accessories, shoes and so on. It’s surprising how young children can be when they start to notice these things and decide what they want. My granddaughter already likes to wear a ‘pretty little dress’ rather than more practical tops and leggings!

Over this Lent period, I’ve tried to consider things we should consider eschewing and embracing, not simply ‘for Lent’, but for life. It’s relatively easy to change our behaviour for 40 days; it’s much harder to change over the longer-term period. All long-term change requires our cooperation with the Holy Spirit so that we allow His power to reign in our lives.

Paul makes it clear what we should wear every day in terms of our attitudes and lifestyles: ‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’ (Col 3:12) He tells the Ephesians, ‘to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.’ (Eph 4:23-24) Essentially, to eschew (put off the old self) and to embrace (put on the new self) need to be part of our daily living as Christians. Easter makes this possible.

There are some great children’s videos telling the Easter story out there. Here are a few links you may want to use to tell the story.

1. Andrew McDonough (author of the ‘Cecil The Sheep’ stories which we often use in assemblies, church and Family Fun Days) is producing videos each day in self-isolation showing children how he draws the stories and re-telling the stories, especially the Easter ones. You can watch them here. Check in each day as he’s adding new ones each day.

2. The story of Jesus’s death and resurrection told in Lego can be found here.

3. A cartoon version of the story can be found here. It lasts about 5 minutes.

4. A longer version from the Beginners’ Bible is found here. This lasts about 26 minutes.

5. The Bible Society have videos about the Easter story available to view online. One is the ‘Super Cool Story of Jesus’; another is ‘Three Friends And The Miracle Man’. You can find them here.