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1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.
To understand the magnitude of the resurrection, we must understand the context. Remember, sin brings death. The resurrection defeats death. His resurrection is life for us. Death is the absence of life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Before the resurrection of Jesus, there was no hope. Death was not only certain but the only outcome. Not only physical death either, but spiritual death. This is separation from God. When we choose sin, we choose separation from God. Through the resurrection, though, Christ defeats death even spiritual death and we have newness of life!
The world crucified Jesus. Sin led to its ultimate conclusion is death to God. It seeks to have complete autonomy. The world declared God guilty in a sham trial and punished Him by executing Him on the cross. But God used the world’s execution as a sacrifice for sin. God declared Jesus not guilty and innocent by raising Him from the dead.
16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
He was vindicated or justified in the Spirit. God is the judge, and He would have never declared the innocent Son of God as being guilty. This justification was from what the world declared Him to be. He was declared justified for our sake, that we who are truly guilty could be declared innocent.
23 But the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The resurrection is everything in Christianity. Without the resurrection, we have a philosophy, but the resurrection makes it a living reality. Christ Jesus is alive!
Not all of the apostles believed the resurrection when first hearing. There is a famous story of St. Thomas that is important for us to review.
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Thomas had to see with his own eyes and touch with his own hands. He then calls Jesus, Lord and God. If Jesus were a prophet or a good teacher, He would have rebuked Thomas and He had done previously to Peter when Peter was wrong, unless what Thomas said was the truth. Thomas’ declaration that Jesus is God was true and is true. The Lord Jesus then told him, that blessed are those who believe without seeing.
The resurrection is the stamp of truth to Christianity. The Easter proclamation is that Christ has risen and is alive! This is the truth that the apostles bore witness to even to the point of death. Only one apostle, John the Beloved, was not martyred for his faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. People do not lay down their life for philosophies. They lay their life down for truth following in the footsteps of the ultimate martyr, Jesus Christ.
The world crucified Jesus and declared Him guilty, but God declared Him innocent by raising Him from the dead! His resurrection brings us life and justification. This is the truth that makes Christianity. It is a truth worth dying for. We die daily to ourselves because of it.
Live repentance. Be zealous. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
July 30, 2025, Wednesday Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, St. Peter Chrysologos
Be Zealous 
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