Easter 2023.

  

Easter Sunday, 2023

Bethany Lutheran Church

Springdale, Arkansas

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Hymn #195   Luther            Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bonds                                 

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

The Introit

He is risen, Hallelujah! Why seek ye the Living among the dead? Hallelujah!

Remember how He spake unto you, Hallelujah! the Son of Man must be crucified and the third day rise again. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Psalm. Thou crownedst Him with glory and honor: Thou madest Him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

The Collect

Almighty God, who through Thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life, we humbly beseech Thee that, as Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual  

The Gradual

This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.

V. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.

V. Let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Hallelujah!

     

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #192         Awake My Soul with Gladness - Gerhardt

Witnesses of the Empty Tomb

The Communion Hymn #199          Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657            Beautiful Savior

Prayers and Announcements

• The Easter and Calla Lilies are in memory of our members, friends, and family who have passed into everlasting life, donated by Alicia Meyer in memory of Gary Meyer, by Norma Boeckler in memory of Walter Boeckler.
• In our prayers - Lyne Cruz, Kermit Way, Callie, Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader, and those suffering from emotional stress.
• Pray for our country as major trials continue and people suffer from foolish government interventions.

KJV 1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

KJV 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. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.  

Witnesses of the Empty Tomb

KJV 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.

Easter Sunday in the Gospel of Mark is the great lever, as people judge this day, based on the divinity of Jesus Christ and His resurrection - or not.

150 years ago, Britain and America released - at the same time - their Revision of the King James Version. Scholars on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean gathered for 10 years and produced a new KJV for the first time, 1881. The apostate leaders had two great targets - the divinity of Christ and the empty tomb. The Gospel of Mark is simply packed with stories of the divinity of Christ, so they erased the phrase "the Son of God" in Mark 1:1. Roughly 5,000 ancient manuscripts had "the Son of God" but the apostates removed that from the Greek New Testament edited in secret by Westcott and Hort. (I have the copy in Greek.)

The opponents then worked against the empty tomb so that, when I was in school, the empty tomb was being attacked by ordained, Lutheran PhD professors of the New Testament, both deceased now. 

The modern translations - no surprise - erase and change verses to downplay and remove the divinity of Christ and faith in Him. The denominations refuse to mention the precise and beautifully written KJV, and they allow their "scholars" to use two phony fraudulent sources - Sinaiticus (the leather-paged forgery supposedly being burned by Tischendorf to warm the monastery library) and Vaticanus the version kept by the Vatican, a Greek translation of the Latin, making it late rather than early.

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.

The ladies coming to the tomb were not scholars - they simply wanted to honor the death of Jesus with the final preparations. They were so hurried in their devotion that they never thought of the tomb being closed with a huge stone, fashioned so that several men needed to move it.

At first that seems to be lack of faith, but in fact they proceeded onto the tomb when no one else was headed there and they did not turn back due to their lack of muscle power.

That can be seen from the perspective of being in a rush to finish what they wanted to do, full of grief and tears. But it really shows God at work while they are consumed with worries and sorrows. 

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.

This is such a remarkable verse. The women had one thing on their minds, honoring the dead Teacher. This was entirely different and was surely told many times in person by those women.

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.

This how God works. We have one thing in mind and yet an entirely new perspective becomes true in a moment. This is the first stage of the revelation. He is crucified and He is risen. Implied - He is alive! He is not here! Behold means - look! Your brain says one thing but your eyes see an empty place, so He cannot be here.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

Peter is not excluded, even though He denied Jesus three times. He is not named for being the first Pope, as some would claim, but for his fall from grace which had been anticipated. This is a strong reminder that Peter let fear take over and expel his faith in the Savior, but that faith would be restored three-fold (Gospel of John) through the absolution of Jesus.

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.  

This is the transition to the conclusion of Mark, which harmonizers with the others. We know that the inner circle gathered there and Jesus appeared that day and a week later. There were doubts and confusion, which is normal, since the Roman Army was outside their door (figuratively speaking). They must have been well led by the Spirit and the risen Christ. Miracles were not over but just starting as the Apostles saw the Ascension and began spreading the Gospel through persecution and Rome's highways and ports.

The loss of a loved one begins very much like the walk to the tomb, early in the morning. Everyone was confused but determined to do what was right. The unknown becomes a fact over time. The reality is that we are a tiny fraction of the whole, but that amounts to everything. 

A family friend lost her mother less than a year ago. I told her how terrible loss is at first, but the pain is slowly replaced by peace, joy, smiles, laughter. Eternal life is not a thought but a reality, and everything in the Scriptures point toward that truth. Everything is in harmony with the revelation of God. 

I created a happy corner, which I can see from my computer desk, favorite photos of three girls (Christina, Bethany Joan Marie, Erin Joy) and Sassy. Each one was a part of many lives and each one remains with us in many ways. 

Our lives do not end with loss but with gain. Life is ephemeral, like a dream, sometimes a nightmare, but eternal life is based upon the Rock, the Foundation of the Eternal Christian Church and our abode forever.

I am entering the fourth quarter now, the only one that counts (in football). The only worthwhile thing I can do is to preach and teach the Word of God as it is - supported by the heroes of the Reformation - Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz - as Biblical teachers.