Here at Lancaster First UMC, I am privileged to be part of two weekly bible study groups that study the scriptures for the upcoming Sunday worship services.
April 24 Sunday Sermon – “This Day in History”
Acts 10:34-43
- Telling the Gentiles about Jesus
- After the resurrection/ascension of Jesus, the apostles shared the good news of Jesus by telling stories. These stories emphasized 1) God’s covenant with Israel and 2) Had Jesus at the center.
- In this passage, the apostles are telling the Jesus story in Caesarea which was a Gentile city. The apostles are fulfilling the commission Jesus had given them before he ascended to his throne.
- The story of Jesus even when told to a non-Jewish community (gentiles) always involved telling the context of God’s covenant with Israel.
- Why was a gentile like Cornelius receptive to this particular story? 1) The Jesus’ message in and of itself is powerful because it’s about how Jesus is King of the world 2) It’s a message of peace and not of violence 3) God has chosen us to live out this good news 4) God welcomes all people to be part of his kingdom.
- Upon hearing this good news, the Holy Spirit comes upon Cornelius and he believes. This is a significant story because it shows that there are no ethnic or cultural barriers with God. All are welcome!
John 20:1-18
- John is very good at connecting the story of Jesus and the crucifixion/resurrection account with the Genesis creation story: 1) Creation of humans/Jesus before Pilate 2) God rests/Jesus’ body placed in tomb 3) First Day of Creation/New Creation
- Mary Magdalene is the first apostle. She was the first to see the risen Christ.
- Mary tells the disciples and they run to the tomb. There is a lot of running in John’s Easter account!
- The burial cloths are folded and neat in the tomb, as if the body hadn’t been unwrapped but had simply disappeared! Archeologists have found only one other tomb with burial clothes left in a neat way like this. Because of Roman revolt, the family didn’t have time to remove the bones from the tomb.
- The empty tomb points to new creation and the launching of a new world. Jesus’ resurrection was a surprise to the disciples because it was supposed to come at the end of time with the rising of all of God’s people at once.
- Focus of sermon – The other disciple saw and believed even though he didn’t actually see Jesus’ resurrected body. What does it mean for us to believe in Jesus’ resurrection since we haven’t seen the risen Christ?
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