He is Risen. But why?
Healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching justice, peace, forgiveness, and the coming of God's kingdom? Do these sound like capital crimes to you? They did to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders of Jesus time. And because of this, Jesus was beaten, disfigured, and hung on a cross to die. His body laid in a tomb and a huge stone, to stop the body being stolen, rolled across the entrance. But on that very first Easter morning, an angel rolled the stone away, and waited to tell Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Jesus, what had happened. How awesomely terrifying and joyful that meeting must have been for the Marys. Not only had they been visited by and angel, but Jesus, whom they loved dearly had risen from the dead! As they left, Jesus appeared to them before they ran to tell the disciples. The disciples were afraid. They did not want to be associated with Jesus, because he had just been condemned and executed. They had experienced this personally, and were te...