Graduate 148: Five Reflections for the Church, Part 1
The glory and challenge of Easter.
Composed: 19 April 2009.
He is risen!
Jesus Christ has conquered the grave! Against all odds and opposition, against the plans and devices of the Pharisees and Sadducees, against the best efforts of the Roman military, against all the powers of Satan, He has broken the power of sin and death!
On Easter Sunday, the pastors at my church spoke about the initial impact that this news had on the people who heard it. The Roman guards, the women at the tomb, the disciples, and religious leaders were all, alike, filled with fear. Christ's resurrection had completely undermined all their expectations. Some of the people wanted Him dead. Others wanted Him to remain alive, but none of them believed that His purpose and agenda could be so radically different from theirs. Paul would later say of Him that He "was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake". (Romans 1:4-5, italics mine) Even His disciples did not fully grasp that Jesus' mission was to reach the world—and to reach the world through His disciples.
The question that confronted the people then, and the question that we face now: What will you do with this resurrected Jesus? What will you do with this risen messiah and Lord who simply refuses to stay dead, who will not pander to the expectations of even His own well-meaning followers, but rather insists on pursuing His own agenda, challenging everyone He encounters, and who has the audacity to claim that, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth"? Will you try to ignore Him? Will you try to explain Him away? Will you continue to try to live life as usual? Or will you acknowledge that Christ's resurrection really changes everything and surrender your life to Him and commit to following Him in obedience? The commission that He spoke then is still for us today: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 17:18-20, italics mine)
The glory of Easter is not limited to the single event of Christ's resurrection or even to that forty-days that followed leading up to His ascension. Rather, the glory of Easter encompasses all that the resurrection began. We have received the call to bring the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to the world. And we can do so in confidence, without fear, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. What a great time of year to be reminded, not just that Jesus Christ has called us, but also that He is the one who empowers us to accomplish the work He has given us.
" 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:55-58, italics mine)
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Composed: 19 April 2009.
He is risen!
Jesus Christ has conquered the grave! Against all odds and opposition, against the plans and devices of the Pharisees and Sadducees, against the best efforts of the Roman military, against all the powers of Satan, He has broken the power of sin and death!
On Easter Sunday, the pastors at my church spoke about the initial impact that this news had on the people who heard it. The Roman guards, the women at the tomb, the disciples, and religious leaders were all, alike, filled with fear. Christ's resurrection had completely undermined all their expectations. Some of the people wanted Him dead. Others wanted Him to remain alive, but none of them believed that His purpose and agenda could be so radically different from theirs. Paul would later say of Him that He "was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name's sake". (Romans 1:4-5, italics mine) Even His disciples did not fully grasp that Jesus' mission was to reach the world—and to reach the world through His disciples.
The question that confronted the people then, and the question that we face now: What will you do with this resurrected Jesus? What will you do with this risen messiah and Lord who simply refuses to stay dead, who will not pander to the expectations of even His own well-meaning followers, but rather insists on pursuing His own agenda, challenging everyone He encounters, and who has the audacity to claim that, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth"? Will you try to ignore Him? Will you try to explain Him away? Will you continue to try to live life as usual? Or will you acknowledge that Christ's resurrection really changes everything and surrender your life to Him and commit to following Him in obedience? The commission that He spoke then is still for us today: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 17:18-20, italics mine)
The glory of Easter is not limited to the single event of Christ's resurrection or even to that forty-days that followed leading up to His ascension. Rather, the glory of Easter encompasses all that the resurrection began. We have received the call to bring the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to the world. And we can do so in confidence, without fear, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. What a great time of year to be reminded, not just that Jesus Christ has called us, but also that He is the one who empowers us to accomplish the work He has given us.
" 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:55-58, italics mine)
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 3:19 PM
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