Easter Sunday AM

Dear Friends, The resurrection of Jesus recorded in Mark 16:1-8 changed the world. The women were given the first instalment of clear evidence that Jesus had risen from the dead – an empty tomb and the testimony of the angel. It is amazing that Mark gives them a place of prominence. The reason it is amazing is because in the ancient world the testimony of women was not considered reliable. So if Mark was making up this story he would have excluded women to make the story more plausible. But Mark didn’t make up the story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead but just reported the facts. The woman as first witnesses speaks of the reliability of the Bible. We are also encouraged that the angel specifically told the disciples and Peter to go Galilee to meet Jesus. This is a word of grace because all the disciples had failed but Jesus is seeking them out to restore them. This is the great hope of the Gospel that God takes broken people like us and restores us and gives us a fresh start. The great hope of the Gospel is that our sins are forgiven and that the same power that rose Jesus from the dead is at work in us – Eph 1:19-20. God is powerfully at work in us and can change us whether that change is dramatic or whether it moves us from being self centred to other person centre. This too is a miracle. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara