Easter Hymns
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!
But the pain which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation hath procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He's King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as His love, Alleluia!
Praise Him, all you heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia!
The Strife is O’er
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor’s triumph won;
O let the song of praise be sung:
Alleluia!
Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst;
And Jesus hath His foes dispersed;
Let shouts of praise and joy outburst:
Alleluia
On the third morn He rose again;
Glorious in Majesty to reign;
O let us swell the joyful strain:
Alleluia!
He closed the yawning gates of hell;
The bars from Heaven’s high portals fell;
Let hymns of praise His triumph tell:
Alleluia!
Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee,
From death’s dread sting Thy servants free,
That we may live, and sing to Thee:
Alleluia!
The Easter Anthems
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us ; therefore let us keep the feast ;
Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:7
Christ being raised from the dead will die no more ; death has no more dominion over Him.
For in that He died, He died unto sin once ; but in that He lives, He lives unto God.
Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin; but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:9
Christ is risen from the dead ; and become the first-fruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death ; by Man came also the Resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die ; even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son ; and to the Holy Spirit ;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be ; world without end. Amen.
The Collect for Easter Day
Almighty God, who through Your Only-Begotten Son Jesus Christ has overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of Everlasting Life ; We humbly ask You, that, as by Your Special Grace going before us You put into our minds good desires, so by Your continual help we may bring these desires to reality ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Who Lives and Reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle Colossians 3:1-7
3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
The Holy Gospel of St John 20:1-7
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
I would like to begin by wishing all those who read this web presentation a very Happy and Blessed Easter as we celebrate the most Holy Day of the Christian Year, the Resurrection from the dead, of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus inaugurated a New Life for all Christian Believers.
Each Believer in the Holy Gospel can approach God, in prayer, directly through the Lord Jesus, and each Believer now possesses the Blessed Promise of Eternal Life with the Lord Jesus, and all other Believers, in God’s Everlasting Kingdom.
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul's Epistle to the Colossians Chapter 3, Verses 1-7.
In this portion of his Epistle St Paul strongly exhorted the Colossian Christians to react in a positive and life-altering manner, to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus:
“1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
The Colossian Church is commanded to “set their minds on things above” as a result of having been raised with the Lord Jesus.
Their old nature, with all its lust, greed, and all other evil thoughts, has been put to death with the Lord Jesus.
With the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection a new life has begun, a new life in which the old thoughts, desires, and actions, are buried with the Lord Jesus, and our minds are commanded to be fixed on the New Life, as we live each day in pursuit of the things pleasing to the Lord Jesus, Who now sits at the Right Hand of God.
St Paul then declared that our New Lives are now forever “hidden with Christ in God.”
This revelation by St Paul, means that the world, (Satan’s kingdom) which is populated by non-believers, will not be able to discern, and comprehend, the Spiritual Life that we now share with the Lord Jesus, as their minds are unable to perceive the Heavenly Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ:
“3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
When the Lord Jesus returns to this world, with the great Glory of His Heavenly Host, we will rise to meet him the air, and all the world will see and know the Glory of the Lord Jesus, the Mighty, Eternal Son of God.
Our Epistle Reading concludes with St Paul’s command to the Colossian Church, and to us who read his Epistle, to rid ourselves of our old nature with it’s vile thoughts and actions, which he terms “idolatry” as it once consumed all our thoughts and desires, so that we worshiped it:
“5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
St Paul warned that the “Wrath of God” is coming on the world who practices the evils detailed in Verse 5 of our Epistle Reading.
St Paul bluntly declares to the Colossians, and to us,“ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
What St Paul is telling us is that we are saved by the Grace of God and the living of a New Life is an essential part of showing to God our thanks for His Graciousness.
May God always give us thankful hearts for His Gift of Salvation the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and may we always turn away from evil thoughts and deeds, with God’s help, sought through Prayer, and may we daily set our minds on things above where the Lord Jesus Reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 20, Verses 1-7.
St John detailed, in this portion of his Holy Gospel, the account of the discovery of the empty tomb.
Mary Magdalene was the first person, associated with the Lord Jesus who saw that His tomb had been opened. She assumed that the Lord Jesus’ body had been removed by persons unknown, and relocated to another place, also unknown.
After the initial shock she ran and reported the discovery to St Peter and St John:
“1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
On hearing Mary Magdalene’s news St Peter and St John (the Disciple Jesus Loved) set off, at a run, to verify Mary’s claim, and to inspect the tomb.
The St John outran St Peter and reached the tomb ahead of him, but did not go into the tomb. He looked into the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there:
“3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.”
St Peter caught up to St John, who was standing at the tomb’s entrance, and passed him by and went straight into the tomb. Like St John, St Peter also saw the strips of linen lying there.
St Peter also saw the cloth that had been wrapped around the Lord Jesus’ head:
“6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.”
The observation that "the cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen,” indicates that the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection Body had passed through the linen and the head cloth without disturbing their positions.
This gives us a glimpse of what Power our Resurrection Bodies will have, as St Paul declared in his Epistle to the Philippians Chapter 3, Verses 20-21:
“20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
St John joined St Peter inside the tomb and also saw the cloth, with the linen that he had previously seen, and he believed, with St Peter, the report of Mary Magdalene that the Lord Jesus’ body was indeed gone:
“8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.”
The placement of the head cloth was most significant !
In order to understand the significance of the folded head cloth / napkin, which was wrapped around the Lord Jesus’ head, we need to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the master and servant. All Jews knew that when the servants set the dinner table for the master, they made sure that it was set the way the master wanted it.
When the table was set, the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating.
The servant would not touch the table until the master was finished.
If the master was finished eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers and mouth, clean his beard, and wad up the napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, that the master had finished.”
But if the master got up from the table, folded his napkin and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not touch the table, because the folded napkin meant, that the master was coming back!”
During Easter we must remember that Jesus Christ is “Not Finished.” He is coming back for his faithful servants who will share Eternal Life with the Lord Jesus in His Glorious Kingdom.
Although St Peter and St John had witnessed that the body of the Lord Jesus was gone, they did not understand the Scriptures that foretold the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
One passage of Scripture, among many, that foretold the Resurrection of the Holy Messiah was Psalm 16 Verses 9-10, in which God’s Messiah rejoices in the Faithfulness of God to deliver Him from the power of death and decay:
“9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
The Mighty God had honoured His Promise to prevent death having any power over His Beloved Messiah, and Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Faithfulness, in delivering His Messiah from the power of death, would soon be revealed to the Disciples and the other members of the Lord Jesus’ earthly followers, and then to all people.
A New Era in the history of the world had dawned.
Our Faith in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus has clothed us with the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and we will be found most pleasing to our Holy God when we stand before Him on the Great Day of Judgement.
Our Priceless Reward is our adoption as God’s Children, and Eternal Life with the Lord Jesus in God’s Everlasting Kingdom.
Let us give praise, honour, and thanks to our Heavenly Father for the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, from the power of death and the grave, and also for our deliverance, with Him, from the fear and power of death.
On the Great Day of God’s Holy Judgement we will stand before our Holy God Clothed in the Holy Righteousness of Our Mighty Saviour, and we will be able to sing His praises for evermore.
Let us also look forward, with confidence to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, and the Final Judgement of all things so that His Eternal Kingdom may be established and we, with all of God’s chosen people, may dwell with Him forever. Amen.
Bishop Ian