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In a play about the crucifixion of Jesus, playwright John Masefield creates a conversation between Pilate's wife and one of the soldiers present at Golgotha. The soldier tells Pilate's wife that he does not think Jesus has remained dead and buried. When she asks where he might be, the soldier replies, "He is let loose in the world where no one can stop him."

Paul verifies this observation, as he recounts how many times Jesus appeared after the resurrection. No one was able to stop him, not even the guards at the tomb. Nothing was able to stop him, not even locked doors. Jesus appeared to Cephas and the disciples; then, to a large gathering of more than 500 believers; then, to James and all the other apostles. He even appeared to the prime persecutor and marauder of the Christian church, Saul, who later became known as Paul, the principle preacher and missionary of the faith. Let's not forget Mary, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons, who gospel writers Mark and John report was the first to see the risen Jesus.

Jesus is let loose in the world. Witnesses, observe!

It is one thing to appear to believers who want to believe. It only took a gentle conversation in the morning mist of a garden to convince Mary that Jesus was "let loose."

It's another thing to appear to one's enemy and win him over. Saul encountered the risen Jesus in a blinding light on the road to Damascus. For three days he was without sight, fasting. It was not until a Christian stranger named Ananias came and healed him in the name of Jesus, that his heart was turned from hate to faith and he was baptized and ate.

There is a power in Christ's resurrection presence that changes people, empowering them to witness to his unconquerable, undying love.

Newspaper reports would have had a field day chasing after so many witnesses that Paul identifies -- the band of apostles more than once, over 500 men and women at one time, and, of course, Paul himself, who had been one of the most vehement opponents to Jesus and his followers.

Let us move a few years away from these early events and meet another witness to the resurrection of Jesus, a man whose faith was an inspiration to many. His name was Marcellus, a Roman soldier. Marcellus had always wanted to be a legionnaire. When his opportunity came, he did his best to be the finest soldier possible. His superiors noticed his efforts and rewarded him with promotions. Marcellus was such a good soldier that he was promoted to the rank of centurion. What an honor! To receive this promotion, he needed to go through the ritual of bowing to an image of Caesar and proclaiming "Caesar is Lord."

This is where it got difficult. Marcellus was a Christian. He recognized that to go through this ritual would be to deny his faith that "Jesus is Lord." He refused to do so.

His superiors, sympathetic to his feelings, urged him repeatedly to do so. They wanted Marcellus as a trusted and worthy centurion in their ranks. They also reminded him that to refuse to bow before Caesar would invoke the death penalty. They did not want that to happen to one of their best soldiers. Marcellus bravely refused once again.

He was beheaded in front of his comrades. The ranking officer cajoled the troops, that if there were any other Christians they should step forward also. Amazingly, several did, knowing that a similar fate awaited them.

Marcellus had been actively witnessing about the crucified and risen Jesus at the same time he was soldiering. Many came to meet Jesus through Marcellus and became believers. Jesus is let loose and not even the discipline of the Roman Legion could restrain him.

Now, let us stride through history several centuries to another time and another place to meet another witness to the crucified and risen Jesus. The numbers simply multiply throughout the ages. When Jesus is let loose, neither time nor space can contain him.

The time is the thirteenth century. The place is Hungary. Elizabeth was the daughter of the king. A devout Christian from her childhood, Elizabeth had a generous spirit. Her arranged marriage to the son of the Landgrave of Thuringia secured her future in aristocratic society. However, her heart was with the poor and needy. When a severe famine occurred in the region, Elizabeth shared most of her personal fortune and grain with the poor.

Her compassion was not momentary. Seeing the needs of the sick in the community led her to establish two hospitals for their care. One of them was located at the foot of the Wartburg, where three hundred years later Martin Luther would be translating the witness accounts of the resurrection into German. Elizabeth herself would oftentimes be found in the hospitals, tending to the patients.

One time, when her husband Ludwig was away, Elizabeth had opportunity to provide care for a leper in her own home, even allowing him to sleep in her bed. When Ludwig returned, he was at first distraught at the sight, but then quickly recognized that his wife was serving the risen Christ, who had said, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these ƒ you do it to me."

There is power in the resurrection of Jesus to shape people's lives in marvelous ways. Because Jesus is let loose in the world, human lives can be let loose to rise above the worldly distinctions that separate us from one another. In Jesus we can be bonded in a love that crosses all barriers of status, wealth and health.

Now, let us journey to nineteenth century America for a brief visit to a graveyard for a simple witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Surrounding Andrew Jackson's Tennessee home is the family burial ground. One of the gravestones is for Annie Laurie Lawrence. The testimonial identifies her parents and the date of her death. A passage from the Psalms reads: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Then, from the closing of the Book of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Yes, there is the reality of death. But, just as real is the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of this reality, there is hope even beyond the living of our days. When Christ comes again, as he has promised, he will raise us up also to share with him the victory won. With Cephas and James, Marcellus, Elizabeth and Annie, we will witness for eternity the power of the resurrection of Jesus over sin and death.

Paul assures us of this when he writes, "Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so 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."

It is true, then, that even twenty centuries later, we too are witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. Baptism is the Christian's "portal of time" that brings us back to Jesus, which at the same time brings him forward into our lives today. Martin Luther, who shared the same Wartburg that Elizabeth of Thuringia grew up in, describes the Christian life as a daily return to one's baptism; for in baptism, the Christian has been united with the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. To remember one's baptism is to journey once again to Golgotha and the empty tomb to witness the death and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel in which we stand proclaims this drama as the fulcrum of human history and the balance point for our personal lives.

What a joy it is for us to stand with so many witnesses from the first century and from all the centuries between then and now. Jesus is let loose in the world where no one can stop him. We are his witnesses, that others too may believe and find new life in his name. This life is characterized by the forgiveness of sin, deliverance from death and all evil, and the promise of life everlasting. Indeed, come, risen Lord Jesus. Amen.