Pascha

I. The Earliest Record of Jesus’ Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:3-8
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter (Cephas), then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles (Lk. 24:36-53; Jn. 20:19-23; Mt 28:16-20). Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me."

This document was possibly written as early as ten years after the Resurrection of Christ (Veselin Kesich, The First Day of the New Creation, p. 12).

Authority of Witness: Peter became a prominent leader of the early Church because of this encounter with Christ; he became a spokesman. Likewise, James was the head of the Church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 1:18; 2:9). This is James, not one of the twelve, but the Brother of the Lord.


II. Common Characteristics of the Appearances

  1. There are no natural limitations to the movements of Jesus. He comes suddenly, He appears, and then vanishes. Why?
  2. Jesus is recognized following a moment of doubt or vacillation. Why?
  3. The Disciples are sent on a Mission after they have recognized Christ.
    • To Witness and Build the Church:
      • "Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:16-20).
    • The Ordination; the power to retain or loose is a priestly function:
      • "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, a spiritual power. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any they are retained" (Jn 20:22-23).
  4. Christ always appears to friends. Why? "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also&ldots; He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him" (Jn. 14:18-21).
  5. The Appearances at the meals: (Lk. 24:13; Jn 21:1-14; Mk 16:14; Act 1:4; 10:41). Read also: (Lk 24:13; On the Road to Emmaus.) The Liturgical setting implies the Eucharist: The Heavenly Banquet—The Kingdom is Here! Forgiveness and Reconciliation between Christ and the Disciples.
Old Testament encounter with God in a meal setting: Gen. 18:10-15.


III. The Women and The Resurrection

Women were the first to witness the Resurrection:
  1. The Women Disciples: "And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their means" (Luke 8:1-3).
  2. The Women at the Foot of the Cross: "But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."
  3. Mary (Magdalene) anointed Jesus for Burial. "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me&ldots;she has anointed my body before hand for burying. And truly I say to you, wherever the Gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her." *Note: She is not named until John 12:3 and in the 4C. Ephraem of Syria identified this Mary with Mary Magdalene.
  4. Mary Magdalene was the first to realize the coming Passion of Christ; thus she was granted the first realization of the Resurrection.

IV. Why Were The Women Absent from St. Paul’s Account?

The Letters to the Corinthians are an official document which required official witnesses: they had to be men. In Judaism women were excluded from giving testimony because according to Gen. 18:15, a women is a liar.

In Christ, all relationships find equality and restoration—"For as many of you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:27-28).


V. The Empty Tomb On The Third Day

The fact that the tomb was empty is a manifestation that the resurrection has already occurred. Again, Christ turns everything upside down. What was once a place of death, has now become a place of Life!

The reaction of the women reveals a miracle had occurred:

"The first three witnesses of Christ’s resurrection are witnesses to an astonishing manifestation of God’s power, glory, and authority. Their first reaction to this dazzling manifestation is ecstasy and immeasurable awe" (Bishop Traketellis, Authority and Passion, p. 11).


VI. The Moment of Resurrection and Iconography

An unwritten Law of iconography is that what is chosen for depiction must be based upon scripture. The actual moment was not witnessed by anyone. · Theological in Nature: The Decent into Hell is mentioned (Matt. 27:52; Acts 2:27, 31; Eph. 4:8-10; 1 Pet. 3:19-4:6).

Historical in Nature: The women went on the first day of the week to anoint his body (Jn. 20:1; Lk. 24:1; Mk. 16:1; Matt. 28:1).


VII. The Resurrection is an Act of God Not Man

God must announce it:

  • The angels proclaimed it
  • Christ proclaimed it (Jn. 20:11-18).


VIII. The Burial Napkin is a Sign of Death—It is Left in Christ’s Tomb


IX. The Altar on Easter Night Becomes the Tomb

The Gospel is proclaimed from the Altar Table


X. Holy Saturday Morning

Fasting: This day is to be kept in a strict fast, only bread and water.

  1. Genesis 1:1-13 (The Third Day) After the third day God commanded the earth to produce its first fruits of creation.
  2. Isaiah 60:1-16 (The Promised Land is Opened) "Arise shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you&ldots;Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut&ldots;You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer&ldots;"
  3. Exodus 12:1-11 (Christ is the New Passover) The Lord’s Passover
  4. Jonah = "Dove" 1:1-4:11 (After Three Days He will Arise) "Three Days in the belly of the Whale."
  5. Joshua 5:10-15 (The Sabbath is Fulfilled in Christ) "the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate the produce of the land&ldots;"
  6. Exodus 13:20-15:19 (Salvation is Completed) "see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today." The Song of Moses: "I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously&ldots;he has become my salvation; that is my God&ldots;Who is like thee, O Lord, among the Gods? Who is like thee, majestic in Holiness, terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders."
  7. Zephaniah 3:8-15 (The Kingdom of Heaven is Here) "The Lord is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more."
  8. I Kings 17:8-24 (The Sabbath is restored—no want for food).
  9. Isaiah 61:10-62:5 (The Marriage between Christ and the Church) "He has clothed me in a garment of salvation&ldots;as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."
  10. Genesis 22:1-18 (God so Loved the World) Abraham sacrificing his only son on the third day.
  11. Isaiah 61-1-9 (Death has been destroyed) "To proclaim liberty to the captives&ldots;I will make an everlasting covenant with them&ldots;"
  12. 2 Kings 4:8-37 (He is Risen) Elisha brought back to life the son of the woman.
  13. Isaiah 63:11-64:5 (Redemption is Freedom from Sin) "O Lord, our Redeemer from of old is thy name&ldots;in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?"
  14. Jeremiah 31:31-34 (The Last Supper) "I will make a new covenant with them&ldots;I will put my law within them; and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people&ldots;For I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sin no more."
  15. Daniel 3:1-23 (Christ is the King of Life and Death) The three youths in the furnace were not burned but were saved by a "fourth person in the fire" who was called "like the son of the gods." · "The song of the Three Children verses 1-66 (Apocrypha Book)


XI. The Bodily Resurrection

The Body of Jesus from Nazareth was resurrected: we will be given "new bodies" in the resurrection.

I Cor. 15 · We are raised with "bodies" as Christ was bodily raised.

We will be given "Spiritual Bodies" (1C. 15:44).

Body = the whole person body and soul:

"We must then offer to God the passionate part of the soul, living and active, that it may be a living sacrifice&ldots;How can our living body be offered?&ldots;When the look in our eyes is gentle&ldots;when our ears are attentive to the divine teachings, not hearing them only, but, as David says, "remembering the commandments of God to accomplish them" (Ps. 103:18)&ldots;when our tongue, our hands, and our feet are at the service of his divine will" (Gregory Palamas).

Our Baptism unites us with Christ in every way!

"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead&ldots;we too might walk in newness of Life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Rom. 6:4-5).

The Gnostics proclaimed only the "spirit" is resurrected not the flesh. This was a misinterpretation of St. Paul who said: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 15:50). When St. Paul talks about "flesh," he means man in his weakened state alienated from God. When he uses the term "body," he refers to a redeemed person living by the spirit, clothed in Christ.

St. John Chrysostom on the "Body"
"The body is one thing, corruption another&ldots; the body is corruptible but it is not corruption; the body is mortal, but it is not death. Rather the body is a work of God, while corruption and death, on the other hand, first came into being through sin (man)&ldots; What is foreign to us, however, is not the body, but corruption."

At the resurrection, it is not the body that is abolished but corruptibility.

Saturday Morning Hymn:

"By death do you transform mortality and by your burial, corruption. With Divine power you make incorruptible the nature You have taken, rendering it immortal; for, O Master, Your flesh saw not corruption, nor was your soul left in hell as that of a stranger."

Life After Death:

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5:1).

  • What is the "Building?"
  • Cremation and the Orthodox Church?

"Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling upon Death, and has bestowed life to those in the tombs!" (Resurrection Hymn).

"Come to me all you families of humankind sullied by sin, and receive the remission of sins. For I am your forgiveness. I am the Pascha of salvation. I am the Lamb sacrificed for you. I am your redemption. I am your life. I am your resurrection. I am your light. I am your salvation. I am your king. I lead you to the heights of Heaven. I will show you the Father eternal. I will raise you by my right hand" (Meliton of Sardis, 2C.).