"Jesus Is the One Who Is Raised from the Dead" John 20: 1-18

The theme on Easter is, of course, resurrection.  Some thoughts for this year's Easter sermon.

1. the crucifixion of Christ was a public spectacle.  The Romans did crucifixions in place where there was heavy traffic so that people could see the gruesome death and be reminded not to go against the Roman government.

2. In the Gospel of John,  Jesus' resurrection scene takes place in the solitude of the early morning garden.  How do all the people who know he is dead find out he is now alive?

3. The defeat is final.  One might say that not only was Christ convicted and crucified, but that God was convicted of letting Christ die.

4. But God raises Christ from the dead.  Usually, we talk about Jesus being raised from the dead, which means that someone else (God) did the raising.  It's God's decisive act.

5.  Being back in the garden takes the reader back to the Garden of Eden, where humans turned from thier perfect relationship with God and sought to be like God.  Christ has died and been resurrected to take us back to the right relationship with God.

5. How does the resurrection impact your daily life?