Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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Letter to Empty Tomb Women
“Early Sunday morning, some women went
to the tomb. There was an
earthquake. An angel came and rolled back the stone and
sat on it.
The guards were petrified with fear.
But the angel said to the women, ‘Do
not be afraid.
I know you’re looking for Jesus who
was crucified.
He is not here, for He has risen!’
The angel continued, ‘Go and tell His
disciples
that Jesus has risen from the dead!’
So the women left quickly to tell His
disciples,
still fearful, yet filled with great joy.
Suddenly, Jesus met them.
They stopped.
He said, ‘Greetings!’
They worshipped Him.
Then they spread the good news.”
Dear Empty
Tomb Women,
Many,
many, many years ago when I was in seminary and serving as an unordained pastor
– knowing what that means in a worldly way but knowing what it does not mean
spiritually – at the Delaware Presbyterian Church near the Water Gap on the New
Jersey-Pennsylvania border, I turned on the radio while driving back to the
seminary late one Sunday night and caught a preacher from Newark screaming,
“The only Gospel that some people will ever hear or see is the Gospel according
to you and me!”
That has
stayed with me over the years.
It has
come to mean many things to me.
It means
people who really know Jesus and really love Jesus love like Jesus and invite
everybody else to the party.
It means
people who really know Jesus and really love Jesus imitate Jesus in what they
say and do like Paul who really knew and really loved Jesus:
“It is no
longer I who live but it is Jesus who lives in and through me.”
It means
people who really know Jesus and love Jesus don’t act like He’s still dead and
buried. They’re alive and well and
excited and confident and calm and strong and sane in time because they
know their souls live on long after the last breath.
It’s all
because He beat death.
Annnnnnnd
you were the
first to know it.
You were
the first to tell others about it.
You were
the first Gospelers.
Jesus was
written all over your faces; just like that screaming preacher in Newark
heralded so long ago.
You
couldn’t keep your mouths shut about Him.
He did the
most spectacular thing in history/His-story (beating death) with the most
spectacular message in history/His-story (people who believe in Him as Lord and
Savior will beat death too).
That’s the
Gospel.
Jesus.
Nothing
more and no one else.
You
weren’t jumping up and down with joy about religious stuff like vestments,
furniture, carpet coloring, rituals, ceremonies, and such fragile and temporal
things.
No.
You were
running all around Jerusalem and then everywhere else with the best news ever:
“He is risen!”
That was
the only news capable of finishing off the fear that has gripped souls since
the start; or as Paul later scoffed. “So, death, where is your victory
now? Now that Jesus has risen from the
dead and we will rise with Him by grace through faith in Him, you’re done with
us and we’re done with you! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”
People in the church know there's more evidence for the resurrection of Jeus than the birth of George Washington.
People in
the church have pointed to at least five facts proving His resurrection.
First, the
Church has consistently focused on and referred to the resurrection of Jesus as
the keystone of its praise and practice since A.D. 32.
Second,
the worship calendar shifted for Christians from the Jewish Sabbath (7th
day of the week) to Sunday (1st day of the week) because Jesus rose
from the dead on Sunday.
Third,
there are 27 testimonies to His resurrection called the New Testament.
Fourth,
the disciples were transformed from cowards into bravehearted Gospelers to face
the tests of torture and martyrdom because of His resurrection.
Fifth and
finally, Jesus is alive in/through everyone who believes in Him; or as one of
our favorite songs goes, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!”
Annnnnnnd
it all started
when you were the first ones to see Him on that first Easter/Resurrection
morning.
Imagine if
you kept that news to yourselves.
Actually,
that’s a silly thought.
It’s
impossible to keep Jesus to yourself if you’ve really seen and experienced
and know and love Him.
That screaming preacher in Newark was/remains right.
Just like
you proved, there’s nothing else to do but be a Gospeler once you’ve seen and
experienced and know and love Him.
I guess
that’s why some like you do and others unlike you…
Oh, now I
understand the difference between a religion about Jesus and a relationship
with Jesus.
You were the first to show/prove the difference.
Affectionately,
Part of
the Family
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Blessings and Love!
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