From the Pastor

He is Risen!

“Do not be afraid. He is not here, He is risen!” These are some of the most exciting and terrifying words in all of Scripture. If you put yourself in the story, you could find yourself feeling scared or excited, depending on your current mood when reading the story. This is probably why in all four Gospel accounts the women who hear the words react differently. It’s the same women who go to the tomb, but in Matthew they are full of joy and run to tell the disciples. In Mark, they are terrified and don’t tell anyone anything. In Luke we are told of their fear, yet they do go and tell the disciples. Then in John, some of the women go and tell the disciples about an empty tomb, while Mary stays in the garden crying tears of fear and anger.

Why so many different reactions to the resurrection? Why don’t all the stories agree with the same emotions from the women? Which one is true? Certainly, all of them are true! Not just the truth of the resurrection, but the truth of the women’s reaction to the resurrection. Why all the different emotions? Fear, excitement, joy, sadness, anger, terror? Because the dead don’t rise! Stuff like this doesn’t happen, so it makes sense that we find four different reactions from the women from our four Gospel accounts. I would be more skeptical if they were all 100% the same. Something as otherworldly as the resurrection from the dead deserves the whole gambit of emotional reaction.

But it didn’t happen in another world, it happened in our world, in our time, on our ground, 2,000 years ago… and it will happen again in our world, in our time, on our ground. The only thing that will be different is that our time will become eternal and the only emotions that we will experience will be eternal and everlasting joy and gladness. The emotions of fear, anger, terror, and sadness won’t just be gone, they will be erased from our memory, and we will only know the goodness of God. We won’t have to go looking for Jesus because He will be physically with us for all time without end.

Do not fear, Christ is risen and He is coming back!

Your resurrection brother in Christ,
Pastor Zach Sarrault