April letter 2026

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Dear Friends

The first Easter is the biggest moment in the work which Jesus came to do. On the cross where he was executed, Jesus’ final words were ‘It is finished’. His work was complete. His death on the cross had clinched it.

That is why Easter is the time when Christians have the most to celebrate. Jesus completed what he came to do. At the age of 33, he had fulfilled the plan which he received from his Heavenly Father.

A few months before, once Jesus’ followers had come to the point where they correctly acknowledged who he was, this plan was clearly outlined. So after Peter said ‘You are the Christ – God’s King’, Jesus said it is time to tell you the plan.

It was this: Jesus must suffer many things and be rejected by the religious authorities. He must be killed and after three days rise again. Jesus’ thumbprint/blueprint of the plan is in Mark’s Gospel chapter 8 from verse 31:

“Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”

There was probably a stunned silence.

The Apostle Peter thought this was a bad plan, and he took Jesus aside and told him so.

Jesus responded robustly by taking Peter to task: Whose side are you on? The devil!

Jesus said, “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men”.

And then Jesus put some personal detail on how others could join the plan: “If anyone would follow me, they must deny themself and take up their cross and follow me.”

I know there are people in this world who think the way to save the world is to use military force to seek to remove those who sow discord and terror. But surely this is a path to more discord and terror.

I know there are people who think the way to change the world is to enact militant activism or authoritarian dictat in order to influence the changing of laws and so make everyone do what you want them to do. But that sort of moralistic manipulation solves little and instead creates resentment and resistance.

Jesus’ way of changing things for the better was generous love and self-sacrifice. He was not interested in the worldly ways of influencing others.

Influencers may think they are influential, but Jesus knows what changes the heart and soul. Enforcers think they can enforce a new order of things, but force doesn’t change things for good in a way that lasts.

How is the world changed for good? Jesus says his self-sacrifice for us is the clincher. And our self-sacrifice for him is the follow-up. That changes our hearts and souls and lives for the better.

We all need the message of Easter and the salvation brought by the cross of Jesus Christ.

How is the younger generation of Iranians seeking to change their nation for good? Through the self-sacrifice of thousands of young people who know the cost and are prepared to pay it. It is no coincidence that many of those young Iranians have become Christians (in defiance of their authorities’ repression).

Why are significant numbers of our younger generation starting to come to church? It is likely because they have a growing subconscious conviction that the ways of Jesus Christ are the best ways forward in our broken world. They wonder instinctively if the good old ways were wiser. They want to look to the cross of Jesus. They want to see what the Bible says.

At St Luke’s we want to help people know Jesus and his ways. Come to one of our special church services over the Easter weekend.

And try a short course. We are running a Christianity course on five Wednesday evenings, starting 22nd April. Would you like to join us? Or do you know someone who would be interested? Let us know.

The warmest and deepest of Easter greetings to you.

Rob