fifty days of glory from easter morning to the eve of pentecost by canon mark pearson
TRANSCRIPT
Fifty Days of Glory
From EASTER MORNING to the
EVE OF PENTECOST
By Canon Mark Pearson
Fifty Days of GloryOutline of Readings:
April 23rd—Chapter 1
April 30th—Chapters 2 & 3
May 7th—Chapters 4 & 5
May 14th—Chapters 6 & 7
May 21st—Chapters 8 & 9
Fifty Days of Glory
Chapter 1
Jesus Called to Her by NameMatthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-10
Luke 24:1-11; John 20:1-18
Fifty Days of Glory“These four Gospel narratives are raw
accounts, told and retold from the very first, then written down quite soon after the event and finally enfolded into the Evangelists’ written telling of the Christ story. It is like a news story covered by several reporters. They all observe the same events but each notes particular details. Each brings out different aspects of the story deemed to be of importance to the reporter’s particular audience.”
Fifty Days of GloryFour reasons to trust the Biblical record:
Fifty Days of GloryFour reasons to trust the Biblical record:
1. The accounts do not harmonize;
Fifty Days of GloryFour reasons to trust the Biblical record:
1. The accounts do not harmonize;
2. The simplicity of the story;
Fifty Days of GloryFour reasons to trust the Biblical record:
1. The accounts do not harmonize;
2. The simplicity of the story;
3. How realistically it portrays the heroes of the faith (Mary Magdalene, Peter & John);
Fifty Days of GloryFour reasons to trust the Biblical record:
1. The accounts do not harmonize;
2. The simplicity of the story;
3. How realistically it portrays the heroes of the faith (Mary Magdalene, Peter & John);
4. The story centers on women.
Fifty Days of Glory“The problem is not Jesus coming to us.
He makes every effort to do so. The problem is, will we let Him truly come to us? Several preachers of various denominations have told me their challenge to their people was to remove the rocks from the tombs of your lives. That is to say, take away those tings which keep people trapped from truly knowing Jesus as the risen Lord and Savior of their lives.”
Fifty Days of Glory“But Mary’s first Easter was dark. …
this is symbolic of Mary’s own darkness. Just as Jesus came to Mary where she was emotionally and spiritually, Jesus comes to us where we are. He does not ask us to become more morally pure or more spiritually committed before He reaches out to us. In fact, without His reaching out to us we can never become those things.”
Fifty Days of Glory“When Mary Magdalene entered the
tomb, two figures spoke to her. They were angels looking like men but in ‘dazzling apparel.’ J. Lee Grady wonders if the angels, poised at the head and foot of Jesus’ grave, are like ‘the cherubim that decorated the cover of the Ark of the Covenant—the golden box that housed the very presence of God in the Tabernacle of Moses.’”
Fifty Days of Glory“The Ark was hidden in the Temple, off-
limits to all but the high priest, and to him but once a year. But now, because Jesus had paid the penalty price for our sins, we can enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of the Lamb. Grady continues, ‘The two angels appeared on top of His grave to show us that the glory of the God was now accessible to us.”
Fifty Days of Glory“According to Mark, the angel told the
women to tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus would be going to Galilee and ‘there you will see Him’ (16:7) In our walk with the Lord there is always something present right now and also something that draws us to the next thing. It is both.”
Fifty Days of Glory“We are not to enjoy the present
moment with the Lord in such a way that we fail to hear His call onward. Yes, our eyes are not to be focus on the horizon in such a way that we miss the present moment where God also is. Again, it is both.”
Fifty Days of GloryWhy Didn’t Mary Magdalene Recognize
the Gardener as the Risen Jesus?
Fifty Days of GloryWhy Didn’t Mary Magdalene Recognize
the Gardener as the Risen Jesus?1. She was not expecting Jesus to be there;
Fifty Days of GloryWhy Didn’t Mary Magdalene Recognize
the Gardener as the Risen Jesus?1. She was not expecting Jesus to be there;
2. She was overwhelmed with grief;
Fifty Days of GloryWhy Didn’t Mary Magdalene Recognize
the Gardener as the Risen Jesus?1. She was not expecting Jesus to be there;
2. She was overwhelmed with grief;
3. She was in a panic;
Fifty Days of GloryWhy Didn’t Mary Magdalene Recognize
the Gardener as the Risen Jesus?1. She was not expecting Jesus to be there;
2. She was overwhelmed with grief;
3. She was in a panic;
4. “Jesus was in His resurrection body.”
Fifty Days of Glory“There are few things in life more
precious than hearing our names uttered by a familiar voice. There is power, comfort, hope and assurance in the moment.” Though His body was now different, we assume Jesus’ voice was the same. The same voice that had commanded seven devils to come out of her is the voice that calls her by name by the tomb. The sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Mary knew His.
Fifty Days of GloryChristianity is:
Fifty Days of GloryChristianity is:
1. Theological truths and personal faith
Fifty Days of GloryChristianity is:
1. Theological truths and personal faith
2. Obedience to Moral Law and love of God and neighbor
Fifty Days of GloryChristianity is:
1. Theological truths and personal faith
2. Obedience to Moral Law and love of God and neighbor
3. A call to help the least, the lost, and the lonely
Fifty Days of GloryChristianity is:
1. Theological truths and personal faith
2. Obedience to Moral Law and love of God and neighbor
3. A call to help the least, the lost, and the lonely
4. Collective and personal.
Fifty Days of GlorySome people don’t want a “personal”
relationship with Jesus because:
Fifty Days of GlorySome people don’t want a “personal”
relationship with Jesus because:1. They do not know who God really is;
Fifty Days of GlorySome people don’t want a “personal”
relationship with Jesus because:1. They do not know who God really is;
2. They believe a personal relationship is presumptuous;
Fifty Days of GlorySome people don’t want a “personal”
relationship with Jesus because:1. They do not know who God really is;
2. They believe a personal relationship is presumptuous;
3. They want to avoid relationships which will cause them to be wounded.
Fifty Days of Glory“A man who was merely a man and said
the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be a either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…But let us not come to Him with any patronizing non-sense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Fifty Days of Glory“Mary wants to hold Jesus, not unlike a
little child whose daddy is going away on a business trip. Harry Griffith wisely notes, ‘When we find that which is lost, we all want to hold it close and make sure it is real and will not be lost again.’ Mary is saying, ‘Don’t leave me again.’”
Fifty Days of Glory“Jesus’ reply was not, ‘Don’t touch me,’
but rather ‘Don’t hold me.’ It was permissible to touch the risen Christ. He was not a ghost. Though He had a resurrection body, it is still a physical body, and Mary and Thomas and anyone else could touch it. ‘…He wants to be touched and experienced as the Christ.’”
Fifty Days of Glory“The Lord who took little children in
His arms has not ceased to value embracing those who love Him. Christians do not say in the Nicene Creed, ‘I believe in the immortality of the soul,’ but rather, ‘I believe in the resurrection of the body.’”
Fifty Days of Glory“What Jesus was saying is ‘Do not keep
me here.’ When we encounter Jesus in a special way we want to freeze the moment, just as Peter did on the Mount of Trans-figuration. Jesus was telling Mary He must move on, to make Himself visible to various individuals and groups, and, in forty days, to ascend back to the Father. He was telling her that she, too, must move on in her work for Him.”
Fifty Days of Glory“Mary had just called Jesus Rabbouni,
which is the way she had known Him previously. Jesus is moving her along in how she relates to Him. The old relationship is now out of date. Something wonderfully new is now in place. The Jesus whom she had known became the stranger in the garden so when she rediscovered Him it would be in a new way. The same Jesus wants us to know Him in deeper, newer ways as well.”
Fifty Days of GloryMary is asked to be a witness.
There are two meanings of the word “Witness”:
1. Someone sees or experience an event;
2. Someone who gives testimony about an event they have seen or experienced.
Fifty Days of Glory“Mary is not asked to give specifics as to
how the Resurrection may have occurred. She is simply asked to announce that it happened.”
“Our Christian witness today is similar. What have we seen God do in our lives and the lives of people around us? Most likely we are not experts in theology, but we do not have to be. We are to tell people about what God is doing.”
Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:
2. When have you encountered the Risen Christ without recognizing Him?
Fifty Days of GloryDiscussion Questions:
2. How and why is voice recognition often superior to eye witness and/or circum-stantial evidence, and how does this apply in our own prayer life?
Fifty Days of GloryNext week:
Chapter 2—“On the Road to Emmaus
&
Chapter 3—“Be Known to Us in
the Breaking of Bread”