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Good Morning Dear People of God!  We began our Holy Week pilgrimage with our Palm/Passion Sunday worship service.  If you were not able to attend, I recommend watching the recording.  I did from Patagonia, Arizona, and it was wonderful to 'be there' from afar, listening to Pastor Becky's message and hearing the Passion read in its entirety from Luke.  

This morning I am sharing the devotional from Augsburg Fortress that I appreciated and hope you do too!  Blessings to you this day and continue to praise the Lord in all that you do and in any way you can!

Peace and Love, 

Pastor Andrea

Getting Our Hopes Up

Devotional for the week of April 10, 2022

Many of us were warned when we were young, “Don’t get your hopes up,” in case the things we were hoping for and working toward didn’t come to fruition. “Why open yourself up to the sting of disappointment?” is the practical wisdom contained in this common aphorism.

When Jesus went into Jerusalem and was greeted by the joyous crowds, he knew it would lead to the cross. It doesn’t take divine omniscience to understand that stirring up populist sentiment and openly confronting political authorities does not often end well. The suffering and death that Jesus was set to experience was the opposite of what the crowd hoped for him, and it may be the opposite of what we think we want in a messiah too. But the hope offered by Jesus in his suffering and death, while different than what we might expect, never disappoints. God’s promise embodies life that is stronger than the shadow of death. Even amid fear and betrayal and torture, God will bring about healing. Even amid the finality of death, God will bring resurrection and new life.

As we come to the close of our Lenten journey, we can confidently keep our hopes up, knowing that the new world being born in God will never disappoint. It may look nothing like we expect or dream about, but we can trust that God’s work will always defy our expectations in ways that are more life-giving and world-transforming than we could ever imagine for ourselves. So, get your hopes up! God’s work will never let you down.

This week (other meetings/gatherings will be taking place as well but here are some things to note):  

Friday, April 15 

  • Friday, April 15, at 9:30 a.m. we conclude our Women's Bible Study on "The Sermon on the Mount" using Amy-Jill Levine's book; discussing Chapter 6 in the book "Living into the Kingdom"  (Matthew Chapter 7).  Join us in person downstairs of the Fellowship Hall or via Zoom.  Questions — contact Carol Smith.  If you wish to watch the videos that accompany the studies, go to Amplify Media (use the church email zionsluth@gmail.com and password — praynow4Covid19. Join the study via  Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83136424723?pwd=TkxsQVllMmo2bVlSekN0dGZqbzF1Zz09 or phone in by dialing 1-312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 831 3642 4723 Passcode: 865505.
  • Good Friday worship service at 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary.  Worship leaders:  Pastor Andrea Doeden;  Assistant:  Julie Wersal; Ushering: Mike and Becky McNeil;  Reading: Pamela Nelson-Serafini. Join via Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85828866230?pwd=WVltVTV1bjN0MldJYS9oWjhLUU13QT09. OR Dial  +1 312 626 6799  Meeting ID: 858 2886 6230. Passcode: 187981

Sunday, April 17 Easter Sunday

  • NO 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning Bible study 
  • 10 a.m. Worship with Holy Communion  ALLELUIA!!!  CHRIST IS RISEN WE SHOUT!  Come together to celebrate the life we have in Christ and with Tracy Wahls as she is baptized into Christ.  Please join us, either in person OR via ZOOM ('hybrid' worship).  If you will be worshiping via zoom, log on or call in using these links: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/91739214242?pwd=b1QrZzk0QzBtM1RXZnZuaVFVMDNmZz09  OR Dial   +1 301 715 8592     Meeting ID: 917 3921 4242.   Password: 731771.   (For those of you who will be worshiping in person, masks are requested indoors because we want to sing during worship.  Please bring your own, thanks!)
    • Worship leaders:  Pastor Andrea Doeden;  Assistant:  Lisa Rygiel;  Organist:  Connie Pallone;  Ushering: Paula Little and Ruthie Culpepper;  Reading: Becky McNeil;  Communion prep/cleanup: Kathy Nicolai
    • Easter Flowers:  
            • Lynn Chase in loving memory of her Mom, Fran Chase
            • Cherie Holder in loving memory of her brother, Brandt Bradbury
            • Paula Little in loving memory of her parents, Dorothy & Jack Leaper
            • Mary McKenna in loving memory of her sister-in-law, Diane Allan
            • Pamela & David Serafini in loving memory of their son Emmanuel (Manei) Serafini who would have been 30 on March 20
            • Doug and Linda Thiege with thanks to everyone who makes Zoom possible for Zion’s
  • Fellowship with Easter Brunch after worship (approx. 11:15 a.m.) in the Fellowship Hall.  Gather after worship for the wonderful conversation! We are going back to our pre-pandemic pattern of having 2 people "host" this time -- the most important part of this is to clean up afterward to be honest.  The need is not to feed everyone but to facilitate this time and space.  If you are willing, please sign up.  This week we thank Paula Little and Julie Wersal who are the hosts.    
  • Bread & Belonging will not meet this Easter Sunday.

 

Other announcements/dates to put on your calendar:

Sunday, April 24, we will gather for worship and welcome Bishop Jim Gonia as he blesses our congregation and me, Pastor Andrea, and gives thanks for our 10+ years of ministry together.  We will celebrate with a wonderful potluck afterward so please make plans to join one another, some of my family and friends!   

You can still join Zion's Afghan sponsorship team through Lutheran Family Services-Rocky Mt!  Pamela & David Serafini have stepped up to be our primary contact people so join the team and let them know your level of planned engagement.  

The flower ministry blesses our worship space and people!  We are returning to our weekly blessing of the altar so please coordinate with Lynn Chase to sponsor the flowers.

Prayer Shawl Ministry:  Are you interested in knitting one/some to share?  Join the knitters who bless so many.  I saw Doris and Joni working together  

This week I encourage you to read the Gospel of John as we gather with believers of all places and across time...

MONDAY, APRIL 11: John 12:1-11

1Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

9When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus

TUESDAY, APRIL 12: John 12:20-36

20Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

27“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—"Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” 

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13: John 13:21-32

21Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; 24Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” 28Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

31When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 14: This Thursday is called “Maundy,” which means “command,” from the verse in John’s gospel in which Jesus commands us to love another as he loved us.  We hear about the Passover lamb, Jesus’ last meal with his disciples before his death, and Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.  

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

1Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

31b“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 15 Good Friday: Why do we call this day Good? In John’s telling of Jesus’ passion, Jesus is “I am,” the God who reigns from the cross, the king who discusses theology with Pilate. Listen for the differences between John’s passion and Luke’s passion that we heard on Sunday. At this service we pray for everyone we can think of, and we confess that it is our sin that crucified Christ. If it is helpful for you, you can come forward to reverence the cross as part of your prayer.  

John 18:1--19:42

1[Jesus] went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.2Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” 5They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. 7Again he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” 9This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken, “I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.” 10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. 11Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

12So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. 13First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

15Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17The woman said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

19Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23Jesus answered, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” 24Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

25Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

28Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” 31Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” 32(This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” 35Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 

38Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him. 39But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 40They shouted in reply, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a bandit.

19:1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.” 5So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” 6When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” 7The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”

8Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10Pilate therefore said to him, “Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” 11Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 12From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.”

13When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. 14Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” 15They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” 16Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. 

So they took Jesus; 17and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’ ” 22Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” 23When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

25And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

28After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.” 29A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. 32Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35(He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) 36These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” 37And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”

38After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 

39Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16 HOLY SATURDAY:

Forgotten by most Christians for about 1400 years, the Easter Vigil is being restored to its place as a central worship service of the year (however we will not have a service).   Read the Gospel of John and if you are interested, look up all the passages that are assigned for this day.  

John 20:1-18

1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.

 

11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Easter Sunday APRIL 17:

What does it mean to be Christian? Christians are those who are enlivened by their faith that the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ can transform themselves and the world. Each Sunday we gather to praise the resurrection, but Easter is our annual blow-out celebration. This year we hear the gospel from Luke, we share the meal of the Lord, and we sing Alleluia over and over again.

The Readings in the Bible

Luke 24:1-12

Luke, writing in about 85 ce, has edited out some of the resurrection narrative details in Mark (the women’s questions) and Matthew (the earthquake) and adds several others: the proclamation by the two men (as at the Ascension, in Acts 1:10); reference to the suffering and death of the Son of Man; a longer list of named women; the disbelief of the male disciples; and Peter’s visit. The reference to the death of the Son of Man and the testimony by the women to “the eleven and all the rest,” “the apostles,” render this account of the resurrection a full Christian narrative: the word of God that Christ died and rose again comes to the community. In Luke’s gospel, all resurrection appearances occur on one day: an ascension forty days later is only in Acts.

Acts 10:34-43

In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, the second part of Luke’s two-volume work, the evangelist extends the power of the Holy Spirit, who was first encountered in the angel’s announcement to Zechariah (Luke 1), to the apostles’ preaching of the cross and resurrection, first in Jerusalem (Acts chap. 2–8), then in Judea and Samaria (chap. 8–9), then to the Gentiles (chap. 10–15), and finally to the ends of the earth (chap. 15–28). Luke’s narrative demonstrates how, with the blessing of the Spirit, the church expanded throughout the Greco-Roman world, especially through the efforts of first Peter and then Paul. Acts describes the church in a positive light. Its twenty-eight sermons and speeches convey Luke’s message to his readers in the late 80s. In chapter 10, the story of Peter’s testifying to the Roman centurion Cornelius, Luke included a summary of the Christian proclamation, concluding with his customary emphasis on the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

This passage from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth, written in about 54 ce, follows vv. 1-11, the earliest written account extant of Christ’s resurrection appearances. The excerpt includes Paul’s timeline tracing evil through human history: before Adam, after Adam, after Christ, and at the end of time, after the destruction of all evil. Paul does not tie sin and death to Eve, but rather to Adam, who functions as a symbolic parallel to Christ. Paul anticipates the completion of the resurrection as arriving at the eschaton.