Engagements of Miriam Pato & Sipho Ngumede and Thandazile Buthelezi & Themba S’khakane
Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from dead.
They pre-embalmed Jesus with heavy spices (up to 30kg or more). They used strips of linen with spices. They rolled a heavy stone of a few tons in front of the tomb. The embalming material was wrapped around Him inside the burial clothes. Once it dried it was like plaster of Paris. But once He arose from the dead the embalming material fell off and the stone rolled from the door, not to let Jesus out, but to let the disciples and others in so they could see that He had risen from the dead.
The enemies of Jesus remembered that Jesus said that He would rise from the dead but they didn’t believe it. They were however afraid that His disciples might steal the body and claim that He arose from the dead. So they arranged for a guard at the tomb. This however turned against them in the end for when He indeed did rise from the dead the guard that was posted ensured that theft could not explain the empty tomb, although they tried that story.
We also see that the angels could not contain themselves but descended from Heaven to proclaim that He indeed had risen from the dead.
Peter and John too, when they arrived at the empty tomb saw the grave clothes lying intact and knew and believed that He indeed had risen from the dead.
Thomas however could not believe until the Lord revealed Himself to him and he touched the Lord’s wounds.
At first the early Christians continued to celebrate Saturday as the day of the Lord, but because Jesus arose from the dead on the Sunday, they eventually celebrated the Lord’s day on the Sunday, the first day of the week, and that’s why we celebrate it on a Sunday.
Are you enthusiastic to tell others about the Lord Jesus? Is that your passion?
One can speak about the Lord Jesus until the sun sets and not tire. Our Hero destroyed the strength of death and hell and conquered!
Our text we find in:
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.
We are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. It should fill us with thankfulness and praise, but here we are told not to celebrate it with the old leaven.
A little leaven (of the old sinful life) leavens the whole lump.
In the church at Corinth a painful thing happened where a young man fell into great sexual sin, not even found among the heathen.
The Corinthians tried to hide the matter and not upset anybody by not addressing the matter thoroughly.
Fortunately some brethren told Paul what happened and that some tried to hide it. Paul therefore rebuked them sharply and told them that they couldn’t keep the Passover with such a things in their midst.
When we celebrate the Lord’s supper we acknowledge our unity, but we cannot celebrate and be one with a person guilty of gross sin that we know of. Such an unrepentant person must be expelled so that he would come to his senses and repent.
Imagine if that person was your brother or close family? How would you have reacted?
Yes it’s good to celebrate Easter, the Lord’s supper, but not with the old leaven in your life.