Holy Week: Easter Sunday--He is Risen!

(Simon Dewey)

Scriptures:

• The women and the empty tomb (Mark 16:1-8; Matthew 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-9; John 20:1-2)
• Peter and John run to the tomb (Luke 24:12; John 20:3-10)
• Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18; Mark 16:9-11)
• Jesus appears to the other women (Matthew 28:9-10; Luke 24:10-11)
• The chief priests react to news of the Resurrection (Matthew 28:11-15)
• The road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35; Mark 16:12-13)
• Jesus appears to the disciples (Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23; Mark 16:14)
• Later appearances:
• Jesus and Thomas (John 20:24-29) 
• Jesus meets the disciples in Galilee (John 21:1-14)
• Jesus and Peter: three-fold affirmation of Peter's love (John 21:15-19)
• Jesus and the other disciple (John 21:2-23)
• The forty-day ministry (Acts 1:1-5)
• The apostolic commission (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8; Mark 16:15-18)
• The Ascension (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19)

Now let's get into the scriptures to read this glorious news!

Peter and John running to the tomb

Mark 16

1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

Liz Lemon Swindle

John 20
11 ¶But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and sawJesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Liz Lemon Swindle
Road to Emmaus 

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Luke 24
28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Has your heart not burned within you as you have studied the scriptures and exercised faith in Christ?
We should always ask Christ to "abide with us" that our lives may be enlightened. 

Luke 24

36 ¶And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

We too are witnesses of these things. We should live in a way that others want to know Christ because they know us. Our lives should be another testament of Christ. 

 Luke 24
49 ¶And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
50 ¶And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

But this is not the end of the story! What are we going to do with this great and glorious news and knowledge? We have a great work to do!

Read John 21 when Christ appears to the disciples in Galilee. There is a life-time of lessons we can learn from this account. 

I love Elder Holland's perspective of this account in his talk, "The First Great Commandment":

My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”13 And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,”14 Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it. It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a handful of Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without “a single synagogue or sword”15 to leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of the world in which we now live.

 

Invitation:
What was Christ’s ‘call to action’ after He was resurrected? It was to feed His sheep. If we love Him, we will be better disciples and truly feed His sheep. We will leave our ‘nets’ and serve His children as He would serve them.

Identify your nets. Recommit to the Savior and be reborn.

Search the General Conference talks for guidance on how to leave your nets and better follow Christ.

REPLACE with a good thing and ask “what can I give?” There is something all can give--give up and give to others. Leave your nets--then serve!

There are two parts to this invitation: forsaking our nets then following Christ. We cannot just give up our nets to only be replaced with a hobby of carpentry or tax collecting. We must replace our time out fishing to following Christ. We must give up our nets while simultaneously giving out our service to God in Christ-like pursuits.

What better way to turn a new leaf, leave our old nets, and become a new person than on resurrection day?!

We all have room for improvement, so choose one net that has been inhibiting you from serving and loving Christ’s sheep, and commit to leave it behind from today on.