Second Sunday of Easter Year A 16th April 2023
Lectionary Readings: Acts 2 v14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1 v3-9; John 20 v19-31
Faith in Jesus leads to true life.
The readings this week open with Luke’s account of Peter’s speech to a crowd on the Day of Pentecost. Peter, accompanied by the other disciples, speaks boldly, with insight provided by the Holy Spirit.
“Now, listen to what I have to say about Jesus from Nazareth. God proved that he sent Jesus to you by having him perform miracles, wonders and signs. All of you know this. God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. But God set him free from death and raised him to life. Death could not hold him in its power.
What David said are really the words of Jesus,“You won’t leave me in the grave or let my body decay. You have shown me the path to life and you make me glad by being near to me. Sitting by your right side, I will always be joyful.” (a quote from Psalm 16 v10,11).
All of us can tell you that God has raised Jesus to life!” (Acts 2 v22-25a, 27-28, 32).
Peter said in a letter, “Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and hope that lives on.” (1 Peter 1 v3).
In the closing verses of today’s gospel reading, John explains why he wrote this book.
Jesus performed many miracles for his disciples and not all of them are written in this book. But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him you will have true life. (John 20 v30,31).
A footnote in my Bible says, “miracle”. The Greek text has “sign”. In the Gospel of John the word “sign” is used for the miracle itself and as a way of pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
Both John and Peter understood “miracles” as God showing his love for us through the ministry of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.
John is credited with the most famous verse in the Bible, when he records Jesus saying to Nicodemus, God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. (John 3 v16).
Hymn writers, John Bell and Graham Maule, speak of what Christ has done for us.
(Singing the Faith 296 v2,4).
Christ has risen for the people whom he loved and died to save;
Christ has risen for the women bringing flowers to grace his grave.
Christ has risen for disciples huddled in an upstairs room.
He whose word inspired creation is not silenced by the tomb.
Christ has risen and forever lives to challenge and to change
all whose lives are messed or mangled, all who find religion strange.
Christ has risen. Christ is present, making us what he has been –
evidence of transformation in which God is known and seen.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.