After looking at the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday we followed up the next Sunday by looking at the reaction of Christ’s followers to this event, and if we look closely we can see ourselves in their reaction. What we see, is Mary at the tomb looking for the corpse of her Lord and the disciples hiding out somewhere behind locked doors “for fear of the Jews.” What is amazing about their reaction is that they all assume Jesus is dead and gone, when he clearly told them what was going to happen many times and in different settings: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day raised to life”(Matthew 16:21).

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The pinnacle of the Easter weekend as celebrated by the Church is the Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the miracle of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of resurrection as I have never seen a person who was dead come back to life, but over the years, as I’ve read the scriptures and the accounts of those who verified this event, I’ve realized that the reality of what I’ve experienced personally (in my relationship to Christ) is actually grounded in a historical event; An event that was confirmed by many witnesses from varied backgrounds and cultures in the second century. more…

Many of us have heard the story of Jonah and the whale in Sunday school.  I have often wondered if this is only an allegorical story in the Bible, symbolizing a spiritual truth, but we know from the gospel of Matthew that Jesus referred to the story of Jonah as an actual historical event (Matthew 12:40).  In the account of Jonah, this prophet of old teaches us the danger of being familiar with the words of God and not His heart.

          God gave Jonah the task of preaching to the city of Nineveh, a city filled with his oppressive Syrian enemies.  After initially running from the task God had given him, which included a near shipwreck and a mysterious large fish, Jonah finally relents and preaches to the city.  more…