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Easter Triumph!  Easter Joy!  Jesus Christ is Risen from the Dead!  He is Risen indeed!  Hallelujah! 

When Jesus began His public ministry He never lost sight of the reason He came.  He came to redeem us from our sins and to give us life, both now and forevermore.  We see evidence of this truth in every Gospel account. 

In His first miracle (changing water into wine at the wedding at Cana), Jesus said:  “My hour has not yet come.”  (John 2:4). 

When the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the works you do.”  Jesus told them, “My hour has not yet come.”  So, Jesus stayed in Galilee.  (John 7:2-9).  Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.  Many tried to seize Him, yet no one laid a hand on Him, because “His time had not yet come.”  (John 7:30; John 8:20). 

Shortly after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Jesus said:  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23).  “Now my heart is troubled, (said Jesus), “and what shall I say?  ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’  No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your Name.”  (John 12:27). 

On the first day of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the disciples asked Jesus:  “Where shall we make preparations to eat the Passover?” Jesus replied:  “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near.  I am going to celebrate the Passover with My disciples at your house.” (Matthew 26:18)  It would be at this meal that Jesus would give new meaning to the Passover by giving us His body and blood to eat and drink. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus begins His high priestly prayer by praying:  “Father, the time has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.”  (John 17:1). 

Jesus was crucified at the “third hour” (9am) on Good Friday.  Mark’s Gospel says “It was the third hour when they crucified Him.” (Mark 15:25).  “At the sixth hour (12 Noon) darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3pm).”  “At the ninth hour Jesus would breathe His last.”  (Mark 15:33-37). 

3 days later Jesus is Risen from the Dead!!!  And, it’s the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead that changes our perspective on life, on death, on all things!!  (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20). 

40 days later, when Jesus would ascend into heaven (Acts 1:3-11), His disciples would ask Him, “Lord, are You at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?  Jesus said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”  (Acts 1:7-8). 

Christ’s Return??   “No one knows of that day or hour.”  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”  “You must always be ready,” says Jesus, “for the Son of Man will return at an hour when you do not expect Him.”  (Matthew 24:36, 42, 44). 

And do this, understanding the present time.  The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over;

the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”    (Romans 13:11-12). 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.