Introduction

This talk was given at St. Peter’s Church on April 20, 2025. Revd. Mark Fletcher explores resurrection, examining how this historical event transformed fearful disciples into fearless apostles and continues to sustain Christianity’s 2000-year endurance despite persecution and opposition. He challenges listeners to recognize their own resurrection moment and walk forward with hope, knowing that in Christ death is defeated and love has the final say.

Have you ever stopped to consider how astonishing it is that Christianity has endured this far? 2000 years on, in this modern world, the message of a first century rabbi without wealth or political office, who died a tragic death at the age of 33, and yet remains the most influential figure in the long history of humanity.

Over the centuries, Christianity has been suppressed, persecuted, ridiculed, corrupted, and despised. Its demise has been forecast too many times to count, and yet apparently against all the odds, it endures and continues to flourish around the world to this day. And so this day, in every part of the world, even in the darkest and most oppressive corners, joyful followers of Jesus will be celebrating the resurrection and declaring the hope that Jesus brings.

How do we make sense of that? How do we explain it or understand it? Is it the unmatched clarity of Jesus’ moral teaching? Maybe. Is it the legacy of culture and art, democracy and charity, and the rule of law and human dignity? Perhaps. But none of those things explains the impact on the first disciples.

Remember, after the crucifixion, Jesus’ followers are confused and terrified, and they have fled and are in hiding, having denied or even betrayed Jesus. And yet three days later, something has transformed these timid disciples into fearless apostles who will spend their lives declaring the message of Jesus. Declaring that death is not the end, that evil does not have the final say.

That there is ultimately justice in this world, that life is not simply a random cosmic event. That every human being has worth and dignity and that God is for us and not against us. And from this moment the church is born and Christianity spreads like wild fire through the ancient world, especially amongst the poorest and amongst the underclasses.

And within a few years, Christianity was so widespread that Roman emperors were talking about it, worried about its threat to the Roman Empire. There is a moment which changes the course of history. What can explain it? Something happened that day. What was it? Now we may be tempted to dismiss this. We have, I think, this chronological snobbery.

We imagine that people in the past would believe anything, but we now know better. But of course, the ancient world was just as credulous and just as skeptical as ours. When the Apostle Paul went to Rome amongst the intellectuals of his day and mentioned the resurrection, there was uproar. And remember the disciples too.

They are as skeptical as we might be. Remember doubting Thomas. But their incredulity is overcome. And what is their explanation? Each of them would say, we encountered the risen Christ. Peter puts it like this: God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses to it. Do you see what he’s saying is that this isn’t the statement of faith or a religious or a philosophical ideal, but the claim of a historical event, which if true changes everything. And I would suggest that only the resurrection can explain their defiant faith.

If you are tempted to think that they made this all up, there’s a wonderful quote by a dreadful man called Charles Colson, who was special counsel to President Nixon. He was described as somebody as the evil genius of an evil administration, which is a title to be proud of. Years later, he converted to Christianity, repented of his wrong and looked into this, and this was part of what convinced him. He said this:

Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world, and they could not keep that lie for three weeks. And yet the 12 apostles testified that they had seen the risen Christ, and then they sacrificed everything to proclaim that truth for the rest of their lives, and every one of them died for it. Only the resurrection explains their defiant faith.

And this good news they carry to the ends of the earth. These ordinary men and women carried news of what they’d seen across the world. We call this the great commission. Therefore, Jesus said, go and make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And that great commission is what the church has been doing ever since, and it’s what we are doing today. This is what God has called us to and I’d love you to be aware that the most important witness to the good news of Jesus isn’t actually these buildings or what we do here on a Sunday. But it is the expression and the witness of ordinary people like you and I.

It’s not about having the right words or the most persuasive arguments. Simply an expression of the hope that you have found, of the peace that there is to be discovered in relationship with God. As Peter said, always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you. And so those who followed Jesus spoke of the power of the resurrection, but not just in what they’d seen in Christ, but in themselves too.

There’s a wonderful moment where Matthew, who’s the author of this gospel, looks at his own life and sees this moment where the resurrection of Christ broke into his life. So you might know he was a tax collector. And he was there doing this grubby job for an oppressive empire. And then Jesus comes by and calls him to follow him.

And Matthew becomes a disciple and a messenger of hope. And he speaks of that moment and he says, at that moment, I arose. And it’s the same word that we use for resurrection. Matthew knew that he had experienced resurrection in his own life. The same spirit which was at work to raise Jesus from the dead can be at work in our lives too.

Do you know the moment when that happened for you? Can you look back at the moment when life started anew because of what God was doing in you? Now of course the way of the resurrection goes by way of the cross and the grave, and so don’t be surprised if the road that Christ calls you on takes you through hard places.

He calls us to take up our cross and to follow, and in fact, our hope is in the face of our hardships. Our belief is that because of the resurrection, God can transform even the most desperate of circumstances. In fact, one of the most compelling things about the lives of followers of Jesus is the hope that they have even in the face of suffering.

But the resurrection of Christ means that we need never give up. That sickness and death will never have the final say. In Christ death is no longer something to fear, and ordinary things and ordinary people will be caught up in his resurrection as part of the new creation. So walk on in hope and love. Walk on seeking goodness and beauty, and never worry about the odds because in Christ death is defeated and mercy and love will have the final say.

As Jesus promises, surely I will be with you even to the very end of the age.

Hallelujah. Christ is risen.

He is ridden indeed. Hallelujah.