Christ is Risen indeed!
This is the traditional cry of Easter morning that echoes down throughout the ages. It reminds us that whilst Christ died, death could not hold him. Each of the gospels provides an account of that first Easter morning. These differ from each other in some significant and insignificant ways. But they all have a strong insistence on the fact that Jesus’ body was not there and that they were told that he had risen. To reinforce the point that the gospel writers are making, they provide names of the witnesses, names of people who were probably known to their communities and therefore had great credibility.
The belief that Jesus was alive caused a profound change in the nature of the early church. They continued the work of Jesus; they acted on his teachings; they parted from their ancient beliefs and established a new pattern of relating to God; and they acted with greater courage. In short the resurrection of Jesus changed their very lives and it changed the world in which they lived.
The fact of Jesus’ resurrection changes the world in which we live in today. Jesus is called the first fruits of creation. 1 Cor. 15:20 says, “but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s the first crop of the harvest of those who have died.” Since he is the first fruits, we will follow. The early church understood that Jesus’ resurrection is the promise and guarantee of their, and our, future resurrection.
For the early church though, resurrection did not mean going to heaven or living in some other-worldly, out of body existence. They understood it as a return to bodily life in this world. This new life will be a life animated by the Spirit of God. This is the life that we are living here and now.
We are people of the resurrection. Christ’s resurrection has changed the nature of this world and our lives. We share with Jesus in his defeat over sin and death and the new reality that he has brought about in this present world. Yet there is still a further stage of resurrection, when Christ will return and we will see him in all his glory. Until then we live in the reality of the hope that we have for the future. The life we live now, and the world we live it in, is not heaven’s waiting room, it is heaven being revealed on earth. We are therefore called and equipped to express the kingdom of God here on earth. We do this as we live and grow as disciples in all aspects of our lives, both personal and public. In the way we work as employees and conduct business. In the expectations we have of government and our participation in the political process. We express the kingdom of God through our participation in the mission of God’s church and our own personal holiness. We do all this through the power of the Holy Spirit who is God’s ongoing presence in our lives.
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