What difference Does Easter Make? - Pt. 5

 

[Jesus said] “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me swill be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:18-21 ESV).

 

The third result of the resurrection is that we now experience unceasing help. Perhaps your life has been different than mine. I have found myself in circumstances when I had no control over the outcome and felt like I was “at the end of my rope”! Common wisdom would tell us to “tie a knot on the end and hold on.” Well, when I’m at the end of the rope, I’m usually dangling over certain destruction, clinging to the rope with both hands. I’m certainly not going to try and take my hands off the rope to tie a knot! Besides, even with a knot on the end, I’m still dangling over certain destruction. Our reading today gives us another perspective… let go of the rope! It won’t save you anyway. Only Jesus can do that. And, He has promised to do so!

 

In union with the risen Christ, we have a new, living, present friend helping us all the time. Jesus said to his disciples before he died, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (v. 18). And at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, in the very last verse, Jesus says, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). So, we experience the presence of the risen Christ by his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. “Your true identity is hidden with Christ in God, and it will be manifest in spectacular glory at his coming.”

 

In John 7:39, before Jesus died and rose, John describes how the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus was not yet glorified, not yet raised and glorified. Now, I think what he meant was not that the Holy Spirit was not at work in the world before the resurrection of Jesus, but that the Spirit had not been revealed or experienced or known as the Spirit of the risen Christ himself. That’s what’s new. That’s our Christian privilege: the risen Christ is in us, with us as our friend, our helper, all the time, all the way home. We don’t need a rope… we need Jesus!

 

What Difference Does Easter Make? - Pt. 4

 

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV).

 

The second result we experience of being joined with Christ in the resurrection is that we receive a new identity. You may remember that I recently had eye surgery to remove the cataracts that had developed over the years. With the new lenses implanted I now have 20/20 vision and do not require any prescriptive correction. I no longer wear glasses! That hasn’t been the case since I was ten years old! So far, the reaction to the “new look” has been universally unsettling for most people. In fact, Mary is not sure she can get used to me without glasses! She suggested I get the optometrist to just give me glasses with no correction so I won’t look different (LOL!). I will admit I am still getting used to not wearing them. Sometimes I’ll catch myself reaching up toward my eyes in an unconscious effort to adjust glasses that aren’t there any longer. I have a new identity of sorts.

 

Well, we have a new, unshakable, glorious identity in Christ. The world looks at us after our conversion to Christ, and outwardly there’s nothing very spectacular. We’re not really physically different. Our true life is hidden. You are a son of God. Let that sink in… we are a son of God. Yet, that heritage is hidden. Listen again to the Apostle Paul: “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ [the risen Christ] in God” (vv. 3-4). That’s where you are; that’s who you are. “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also [the real you] will appear.” That is, you will be finally manifested to the world. You will be glorious just as He is glorious! To the church in Corinth, Paul says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

 

So, in union with the risen Christ, you are not a mere mortal. Your true identity as a child of God is hidden with Christ in God now… but then it will be manifest in spectacular glory at his coming!

 

What Difference Does Easter Make? - Pt. 3

 

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. (John 11:17-26 ESV).

 

There are at least five specific results of our being joined with the Risen Christ. I am going to just write about one of these in each of the next five days. These are very personal to each of us as we face life and its challenges. However, the certainty of our own future resurrection results in the same experience. First, we share in Christ’s indestructible life. Believe me when I write that I am well aware of how unbelievable that statement seems. As I have aged, I have discovered how fragile my body is becoming with each passing day.

 

However, we cannot deny the new security and confidence of hope in our lives that comes with the truth of our reading today. Christians are, in a profound sense, immortal. We will never see the full destructive power of death. Listen to Jesus again as he speaks to the grief-stricken sister of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life… everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). There is is… we shall never die!

 

The effect of this certainty in the future is to make our present experience in this world joyful. It is a joyful freedom from fear and a full security, confidence, and hope. Here’s what the Apostle Peter said: “[God] caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).  All of us know there’s a world of difference between living right now in despair, uncertainty, insecurity, and fear or, on the other hand, living right now in security, in confidence, hope, joy, and freedom from fear because we share an indestructible life. This is the result of sharing the fullness of the resurrection life of Jesus. That’s the first effect of Christ’s resurrection on our present experience. There are four more!

 

What Difference Does Easter Make? - Pt. 2

 

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, 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. (Romans 6:1-5 ESV).

 

Those of you who have known me for any length of time also know my “go-to” portion of the Bible for theology is the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Roman believers. Our reading today comes from that book. It starts by teaching us that what happened to us in our conversion to Christ, in our new birth, is that by faith we were spiritually united to Jesus Christ. God established a bond, a union — a living, unbreakable attachment — to Jesus Christ, and the point of this union, this bond, was that Christ’s death and Christ’s resurrection would count as our death and our resurrection.

 

And the key verse of our reading today is “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (v. 5). I can imagine there would be listeners who say, “Whoa, okay, you say we’re united; I don’t know where to look in my experience for that.” If you ask, “How do I personally experience a union with Christ in his death, in his resurrection?” the biblical answer is: by faith in Christ. When the Holy Spirit brings about your embrace of Christ — your believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and Treasure of your life — that is his way of establishing the union between you and the risen Christ.

 

The Apostle Paul explains this even more in his letter to the Galatians when he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). So, there’s the union. I have been united with Christ in his dying. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ [the risen Christ] who lives in me.” And now, here comes the conscious experience of that as Paul describes it: “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” So, by faith, power of God is transferred into our lives through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That secures our future resurrection. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies” (Romans 8:11). So, if Christ is in you now, if the risen Christ is dwelling in you now, you will be raised from the dead. There is the great truth that enables us to face every experience in life with the attitude of an overcomer. Even death has no hold over us any longer. Jesus conquered death and so shall we!

 

The answer to the often asked question, “What’s the worst that can happen?” is not “They can kill you.” Go ahead… kill me… you will only open the door for me to enter into heaven! That’s the difference the resurrection makes!

 

What Difference Does Easter Make? - Pt. 1

 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV).

 

I hope you were encouraged with the past few devotionals dealing with the proof of the resurrection; however, I wonder if you may have come away with a sense of “so what?” Recently I received a message from a reader asking that question. They wrote: “I believe in Jesus whether He was really resurrected or not. Does it really matter?” So, for the next few days I want to explore some differences that the resurrection means for every believer.

 

We can say so many things about the effect of Christ’s resurrection on our present life as Christians. No one has truly exhausted the possibilities of what God may be willing to do in us and through us because of the power of the resurrection of Christ in us. This is what the Apostle Paul referenced in our reading today. Read it again: “[God] is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (v. 20). There’s the connection between this verse and what he said earlier in the letter (cf. Ephesians 1:19): the power that makes it possible for us to do far more abundantly than we even dream we could is the very power of God that he worked when he raised Christ from the dead. This is the power for the abundant life Jesus came to give us (cf. John 10:10).

 

Every other religious sect depends largely on the individual’s effort and leaves them powerless in the face of life’s greatest fear, which is death. Jesus’ work on the cross and his resurrection changes all of that. We have a God who does for us more than we could even dream of, including the elimination of death’s grip on our life. And that’s just the beginning. The resurrection matters enormously! Embrace it! Celebrate it!

 

Prove It! - Pt. 5

 

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. (Acts 1:1-5 ESV).

 

Sometimes we have failed to understand one of the greatest affirmations of the resurrection of Jesus is simply the existence of the Christian church. However, it is one of the strongest proofs for the resurrection. Even the most skeptical NT scholars admit that the disciples at least believed that Jesus was raised from the grave. I like the way William Lane Craig gives us three possible causes: Christian influences, pagan influences, or Jewish influences. We should spend a bit of time looking at the plausibility of each of these.

 

First, shouldn’t we ask if it could have been later Christian influences? Craig writes, "Since the belief in the resurrection was itself the foundation for Christianity, it cannot be explained as the later product of Christianity." Further, as we saw, if the disciples made it up, then they were frauds and liars--alternatives we have shown to be false. We have also shown the unlikeliness that they hallucinated this belief.

 

Second, what about pagan influences? After all, it is true that there were many myths of dying and rising savior-gods at the time of Christianity. Some have suggested that the disciples were simply deluded by those myths and copied them into their own teaching on the resurrection of Christ. However, serious scholars have almost universally rejected this theory since WWII, for several reasons. It has been shown that these mystery religions had no major influence in Palestine in the first century. Also, most of the sources which contain parallels originated after Christianity was established. And most of the similarities are often apparent and not real. They were a result of sloppy terminology on the part of those who explain them. For example, one critic tried to argue that a ceremony of killing a bull and letting the blood drip all over the participants was parallel to holy communion. Last, the early disciples were Jews, and it would have been unthinkable for a Jew to borrow from another religion. For they were zealous in their belief that the pagan religions were abhorrent to God.

 

Jewish influences cannot explain the belief in the resurrection, either. First century Judaism had no conception of a single individual rising from the dead in the middle of history. Their concept was always that everybody would be raised together at the end of time. So, the idea of one individual rising in the middle of history was foreign to them. Thus, Judaism of that day could have never produced the resurrection hypothesis. This is also another good argument against the theory that the disciples were hallucinating. Psychologists will tell you that hallucinations cannot contain anything new; that is, they cannot contain any idea that isn't already somehow in your mind. Since the early disciples were Jews, they had no conception of the messiah rising from the dead in the middle of history. Thus, they would have never hallucinated about a resurrection of Christ. At best, they would have hallucinated that he had been transported directly to heaven, as Elijah had been in the OT, but they would have never hallucinated a resurrection.

 

These things ultimately point us to the beginning of the Church with the First Pentecost with the Jews and continuing with the Second Pentecost with the Gentiles. From that beginning the Church began to grow expanding through the years to the entire globe. This could not have been sustained for this length of time and with this magnitude of belief. Jesus is indeed risen!

 

Prove It! - Pt. 4

 

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. (Luke 24:36-42 ESV).

 

Perhaps the most compelling of the evidences is that Jesus' disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ. This is not commonly disputed today because we have the testimony of the original disciples themselves that they saw Jesus alive again. And you don't need to believe in the reliability of the gospels to believe this. In, Paul records an ancient creed concerning Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection appearances that is much earlier than the letter in which Paul is recording it:

 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

 

It is generally agreed by critical scholars that Paul received this creed from Peter and James between 3-5 years after the crucifixion. Now, Peter and James are listed in this creed as having seen the risen Christ. Since they are the ones who gave this creed to Paul, this is therefore a statement of their own testimony. As the Jewish Scholar Pinchahs Lapide has said, this creed "may be considered the statement of eyewitnesses."

 

Now, I recognize that just because the disciples think they saw Jesus doesn't automatically mean that they really did. There are three possible alternatives: they were lying; they hallucinated; or, they really saw the risen Christ.

 

If the disciples knew that Jesus had not really risen, but they made up this story about the resurrection, then why did 10 of the disciples willingly die as martyrs for their belief in the resurrection? People will often die for a lie that they believe is the truth. But if Jesus did not rise, the disciples knew it. Thus, they wouldn't have just been dying for a lie that they mistakenly believed was true. They would have been dying for a lie that they knew was a lie. Ten people would not all give their lives for something they know to be a lie. Because of the absurdity of the theory that the disciples were lying, we can see why almost all scholars today admit that, if nothing else, the disciples at least believed that Jesus appeared to them. But we know that just believing something to be true doesn't make it true.

 

That brings us to the second of the theories: the disciples were wrong and had been deceived by a hallucination. The hallucination theory is untenable because it cannot explain the physical nature of the appearances. The disciples record eating and drinking with Jesus, as well as touching him. This cannot be done with hallucinations. Second, it is highly unlikely that they would all have had the same hallucination. Hallucinations are highly individual and not group projections. Further, the hallucination theory cannot explain the conversion of Paul, three years later. And perhaps most significantly, the hallucination theory cannot even deal with the evidence for the empty tomb.

 

Since the disciples could not have been lying or hallucinating, we have only one possible explanation left: the disciples believed that they had seen the risen Jesus because they really had seen the risen Jesus. So, the resurrection appearances alone demonstrate the resurrection. Thus, if we reject the resurrection, we are left with a second inexplicable mystery--first the empty tomb and now the appearances. The answer… Hallelujah… He is risen!

 

Prove It! - Pt. 3

 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV).

 

One last bit of information that will be encouraging in your unwavering faith, sometimes in the face of those who would merely scoff at the idea of Jesus’ resurrection. The truth is that because of such weighty evidence for the empty tomb, most recent scholars do not deny it. D.H. Van Daalen has said, "It is extremely difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of theological or philosophical assumptions."

 

Of course, there are still those who simply refuse to accept Jesus’ resurrection any more than they would the Easter Bunny. I'm sure you've heard of the various theories used to explain away the empty tomb, such as that the body was stolen. But those theories are ridiculed today by all serious scholars. In fact, they have been considered dead and refuted for almost a hundred years.

 

No one of any reliability can believe the Jews or Romans had a motive to steal the body of Jesus. They wanted to suppress Christianity, not encourage it by providing it with an empty tomb. The disciples would have had no motive, either. Because of their preaching on the resurrection, they were beaten, killed, and persecuted. Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate lie? No serious scholars hold to any of these theories today. All the critics are as Criag suggests: "…they are self-confessedly without any explanation to offer. There is simply no plausible natural explanation today to account for Jesus' tomb being empty. If we deny the resurrection of Jesus, we are left with an inexplicable mystery."

 

The resurrection of Jesus is not just the best explanation for the empty tomb, it is the only explanation!

 

Prove It! - Pt. 2

 

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. (Luke 24:1-9 ESV).

 

Today we begin to dig a little deeper in “proving” the resurrection. I surmise that most of my readers will find this a bit tedious as you already have a firm belief in place concerning this foundational tenet of faith. However, I hope you will use this information with some of your friends when they question your faith in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Our first evidence is found in the reporting that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion. There are some basics that support this report by the Gospel writers.

 

First, the women told the disciples immediately. When they verified their story, they began to tell everyone that Jesus was resurrected. All this happened in Jerusalem mere days after his death and burial. Paul Althaus writes, the resurrection proclamation "could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned."

 

Second, the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit the empty tomb. In Matthew 28:11-15, there is a reference made to the Jew's attempt to refute Christianity be saying that the disciples stole the body. This is significant because it shows that the Jews did not deny the empty tomb. Instead, their "stolen body" theory admitted the significant truth that the tomb was in fact empty. Other Jewish sources also support this fact (ie. The Toledoth Jesu). Further, we have a record of a second century debate between a Christian and a Jew, in which a reference is made to the fact that the Jews claim the body was stolen. Remember that the Jewish leaders were opposed to Christianity. They were hostile witnesses. In acknowledging the empty tomb, they were admitting the reality of a fact that was certainly not in their favor. Paul Maier calls this "positive evidence from a hostile source. In essence, if a source admits a fact that is decidedly not in its favor, the fact is genuine."

 

Third, the empty tomb account in the gospel of Mark is based upon a source that originated within seven years of the event it narrates. This places the evidence for the empty tomb too early to be legendary. Michael Horton wrote: "Caiaphas, who we know was high priest at that time, was still high priest when the story began circulating." For "if it had been written after Caiaphas' term of office, his name would have had to have been used to distinguish him from the next high priest. But since Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 37, this story began circulating no later than A.D. 37, within the first seven years after the events." So, the early source Mark used puts the testimony of the empty tomb too early to be legendary.

 

Fourth, Jesus' tomb was never venerated as a shrine. This is striking because it was the first century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy man's bones. There were at least 50 such cites in Jesus' day. Since there was no such shrine for Jesus, it suggests that his bones weren't there.

 

Fifth, the tomb was discovered empty by women. This is important because first century women were considered worthless. Craig says, "if the empty tomb story were a legend, then it is most likely that the male disciples would have been made the first to discover the empty tomb. The fact that despised women, whose testimony was deemed worthless, were the chief witnesses to the fact of the empty tomb can only be plausibly explained if, like it or not, they actually were the discoverers of the empty tomb."

 

I’ll have more tomorrow! Today, let your faith stand strong in the face of all skeptics. Jesus is not there! He sits on the throne waiting for the final coming!

 

Prove It! - Pt. 1

 

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:1-6 ESV).

 

The historical evidence for the resurrection of Christ is very good. Scholars such as William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, Gary Habermas, and others have done an especially good job of detailing that evidence. I will do my best in the coming days to give you the Reader’s Digest version of some of their thoughts and show the strength of the historical evidence for the resurrection of Christ. This requires that we use a method commonly used today called "inference to the best explanation." William Lane Craig describes this as an approach where we "begin with the evidence available to us and then infer what would, if true, provide the best explanation of that evidence." In other words, we ought to accept an event as historical if it gives the best explanation for the evidence surrounding it.

 

When we look at the evidence, the truth of the resurrection emerges very clearly as the best explanation. There is no other theory that even comes close to accounting for the evidence. Therefore, there is solid historical grounds for the truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. As we begin, I should point out that in establishing the historicity of the resurrection, we do not need to assume that the New Testament is inspired by God or even trustworthy. Of course, I do believe that the New Testament is the absolute truth of God; however, I want to focus here on three truths that even critical scholars admit to be true. In other words, these three truths are so strong that they are accepted by serious historians of all stripes. These three truths are:

 

§  The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion.

§  Jesus' disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ.

§  As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection at its center, the Christian church was established and grew.

 

Virtually all scholars who deal with the resurrection, whatever their school of thought, assent to these three truths. We will see that the resurrection of Christ is the best explanation for each of them individually. But then we will see, even more significantly, that when these facts are taken together we have an even more powerful case for the resurrection. Even the skeptic will not have to explain away just one historical fact, but three. These three truths create a strongly woven, three chord rope that cannot be broken.

 

These things in combination with personal faith brings us to the undeniable truth that Jesus was indeed resurrected. Trust in Him!

 

Really, Don?

 

His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:29-33 ESV).

 

There have been many times when my “story-telling” has been accused of “ministerial exaggeration.” Perhaps that is a justifiable act if I am describing the size of the fish I have caught… after all, aren’t they always bigger in our memory than in actuality? I suppose I should expect some incredulity as I write about the resurrection of Jesus. People have been questioning that for over 2,000 years. However, it is a question that demands an answer. Without an answer can I have a concrete hope for my future? What do I have to look forward to? At times, don’t we all discover that our hearts are sagging and a sense of heaviness intrudes on us? This is why Jesus spoke so plainly to his disciples in our reading today. So, let’s answer the question… “Really, Don?”

 

Biblical eschatology gives us solid reasons for expecting a personal continuity of life. Eternal life for the individual is not an empty human aspiration built on myth, but an assurance promised us by Christ Himself. His own triumph over the grave is the church’s hope for our participation in His life. However, we have heard so much ridicule and mocking about pie-in-the-sky theology that I’m afraid we’ve lost our appetite for it.

 

The promise of heaven is indeed glorious—a promise that not only anchors the soul but fires the soul with hope. Life is not an outrageous horror, though we witness outrages daily. The outrage is not the bottom line. The sting of death has been overcome. The victory of Christ is not established by platitudes or conjured-up positive mental attitudes. Jesus is not Santa Claus. His call to joy is rooted in reality: “Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Therein resides our future hope. He stared directly into the face of death and death blinked. In the coming days I will give you some of the extracanonical (non-Biblical) proof that has been amassed through the centuries since the resurrection. Today renew your heart with your personal experience of the reality of Jesus. Find hope in the knowledge of what you KNOW of Him in your life. No one knows better than you of that reality! He has indeed overcome the world… and we along with Him!

Why Easter? Pt. 4

 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39 ESV).

 

One last justification for Easter remains. Christ’s resurrection empowers his present ministry. The resurrection of Christ is important because of the connection between Christ’s resurrection and his present and future ministry. The death of Christ was the purchase of our salvation, not the application or consummation of it.

 

The Scripture describes much more to be done for our experience of the glory of God and the fellowship of Jesus. Christ’s saving work goes on in his resurrection body as he intercedes for us, and when he comes again in glory to establish his kingdom. The goal of our eternal life is to enjoy and magnify the living Christ as he rules over his church and gives himself in service and fellowship to his bride. It is a salvation of living fellowship. If he weren’t alive, we wouldn’t have any salvation. There would be nothing to enjoy forever and ever that is supremely satisfying. So, with no resurrection, we get no fellowship, no salvation, no joy.

 

There are many texts that provide this truth. Should you want to read them, you may find them here: Romans 6:9; 8:34; Ephesians 1:20-23; Acts 17:31; and Colossians 1:18. Consider these texts:

 

The resurrection of Jesus is all-important because his death would be ineffective without it; and because we would have no hope of resurrection without it; and because the ministry of Jesus that he is performing right now, and will perform forever for our everlasting joy, would not exist without the resurrection. Together with the death of Jesus, his resurrection is the all-important event in the history of the world. That is why we celebrate!

 

Why Easter? Pt. 3

 

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:20-25 ESV).

 

We must also understand that Easter is that time we declare Christ’s resurrection guarantees ours. The resurrection is important because of its connection between Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection. Our reading today see the Apostle Paul declare: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20). That means the resurrection is viewed as one great harvest, and Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits, the first stage of the resurrection that guarantees our resurrection.

 

The Apostle Paul also wrote the following: “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5).  Our resurrection will be owing to our union with Christ, who was raised. If he wasn’t, we won’t be. And, he wrote: “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:14). So, Christ’s resurrection is important because ours depends on his. If he wasn’t raised, we won’t be either.

 

There have been so many times throughout my own ministry when this core belief was the only word of hope that I could offer to family and friends of those who had experienced the pain of grief. In my own life, at the death of parents and siblings, I am not troubled because I know the empty tomb is the guarantee that death is once for all defeated. There is not sting in death, only brief separation (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:55). Death died that early morning when the earth shook and the rock rolled away for Jesus to stroll out of the tomb!

 

Why Easter? Pt. 2

 

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:16-25 ESV).

 

Let’s be very clear at the outset of this truth: Christ’s resurrection vindicates his death and frees us from sin. There are two clear passages. The first is our reading today: “[Christ] was delivered up [to death] for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (v. 25). That means that the resurrection was God’s sovereign act to write boldly across the universe that the triumph of Christ’s death was a finished work. The death of Christ successfully completed the foundational work of our justification. Nobody would be saved without God’s declaring us just and righteous before his throne of justice. And Romans 4:25 says that the death of Christ so completely and successfully secures this justification that God put his omnipotent stamp of approval on it by raising Jesus from the dead. The bodily resurrection of Jesus vindicated the saving success of the death of Jesus.

 

The second text is also in the letters of Paul (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:14–18). Paul is talking about bodily resurrection when he says, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (vv. 14, 17).

 

Jesus died to remove the guilt of our sins. And Paul is saying that if he’s not raised, you’re still in your sins. He goes on to say that “those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Corinthians 15:18). In other words, Paul’s preaching of the cross is pointless if Christ was not raised from the dead. “Futile,” he says. And we know it means bodily resurrection because the rest of 1 Corinthians 15 makes it clear that’s the kind of resurrection he’s talking about. You are still in your sins; they are not forgiven; the blood of Jesus is powerless, useless, a failure; it aborted — if Christ was not raised from the dead. The resurrection is important because of its connection to the death of Christ. Without an empty tomb we have no hope ourselves. Easter declares that empty tomb!

 

Why Easter? Pt. 1

 

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:5-13 ESV).

 

We are about a month away from Easter Sunday which falls on April 20^th this year. As I finished the Book of Hebrews, my thoughts drifted to taking the next month and explore as much about Easter as we could. Some of the thoughts will be practical in nature, while others may seem a bit theological and academic. My desire is that each one of them bring you hope and encouragement in your journey. We live in chaotic times. It is only in Jesus and His work of grace that we may rise above chaos and experience the hope of eternal life.

 

First, in preparation for these devotionals let me give three reasons from the New Testament that the resurrection is essential to God’s purposes in creation and salvation, let me just say clearly that affirming the bodily resurrection of Jesus is essential to being a Christian. The Apostle Paul says in our reading today: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (v. 9).

 

I am well aware that Luke writes this: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). But when he said that, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,” he did not mean, “Believe on a dead man.” When he said, “Believe in the Lord,” he meant, “He’s Lord — he’s Lord.” You can’t read Paul’s letters and think that Jesus was Lord, and now he’s in the grave. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit.” He is Lord. You can’t be a Christian if you only believe in a dead human being who was Lord. You can’t. He is Lord. And Jesus is Lord is the fundamental early-church confession.

So, here are three reasons why the resurrection — and, consequently, Easter — is so important.

 

First, it’s important because of the connection between Christ’s resurrection and his death. Second, it’s important because of the connection between Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection. And, third, it’s important because of the connection between Christ’s resurrection and his present and future ministry. Each of these will provide a platform for us in the coming days. Today, prepare your heart to be renewed with the resurrection of Jesus and the difference that makes in our daily life! Easter is essential for all we hope for!

 

One Last Word from Hebrews

 

I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you. (Hebrews 13:22-25 ESV).  

 

Like all good preachers, the writer ends his letter with a final appeal and blessing. My prayer today for each of you who have read any or all these devotionals is that you hear the writer’s earnest plea that be filled with grace.

 

Christ shed the blood of the eternal covenant. By this successful redemption, he obtained the blessing of his own resurrection from the dead. That is even clearer in Greek than it is in English, and here it’s clear enough: “God… brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus… by the blood of the eternal covenant.” This Jesus — raised by the blood of the covenant — is now our living Lord and Shepherd. And because of all that, God does two things: First, he equips us with everything good that we may do his will; and, second, he works in us that which is pleasing in his sight.

 

The “eternal covenant,” secured by the blood of Christ, is the new covenant. And the new covenant promise is this: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). Therefore, the blood of this covenant not only secures God’s equipping us to do his will, but also secures God working in us to make that equipping successful.

 

The will of God is not just written on stone or paper as a means of grace. It is worked in us. And the effect is: We feel and think and act in ways more pleasing to God. We are still commanded to use the equipment he gives: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But more importantly we are told why: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13).

 

If we are able to please God — if we do his good pleasure — it is because the blood-bought grace of God has moved from mere equipping to omnipotent transforming. Amen!

 

 

 

Jesus - the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever - Pt. 2

 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.  (Hebrews 13:8-10 ESV).

 

You may not be sufficiently in awe of this statement that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. It does almost read as an afterthought for the writer as he closes his letter. However, it is one of the most essential declarations in all the New Testament. Let me try to put the significance of each time period in a single sentence.

 

Yesterday: It is crucial that Jesus Christ be the same yesterday as he is today because yesterday is when Jesus Christ showed us in history what he is really like.

 

Today: It is crucial that Jesus Christ be the same today as he was yesterday because today is where we have fellowship with him and relate to him as the person we know by reading about his life and work yesterday.

 

Tomorrow: It is crucial that Jesus Christ be the same tomorrow as he was yesterday and today because all our hope for everlasting joy hangs ultimately on relating to him, not just his gifts.

 

God has chosen that we know Jesus Christ - and God, in and through Christ - by reading about him in a Book that records his life and work from yesterday. God does not ordain that we know Jesus by skipping the historical, once-for-all self-revelation of the incarnation and substituting mystical avenues of communion now. The Christ of today must be the same as the Christ of yesterday or we cannot know the Christ of today. We know him and commune with him through the Word of God about him from yesterday.

 

And what we know about him from yesterday enables us to know him personally now, by his Spirit. The Spirit takes the things of Christ and makes them real and personal and present and powerful and precious in our lives now. This historical, factual Christ whom we have come now to know and love and cherish and exult in is the Christ we will increasingly know and enjoy forever and ever - if he is the same forever. And that is why forever is so important. Believe in this Jesus! He truly is better!

 

Jesus - the Same, Yesterday, Today, and Forever - Pt. 1

 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.  (Hebrews 13:8-10 ESV).

 

The most significant thing to notice in these verses is that the writer to the Hebrews clearly calls the Son of God "God." God says to his Son, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever" (v. 8). Therefore, the writer ascribes to him the work of creating the universe. "The heavens are the work of Your hands" (v. 10). And then he draws out the implication: the creation, which seems so stable and permanent and changeless will, in fact, "be changed like a garment," but "you are the same, and your years will not come to an end." The sameness of Jesus Christ is the sameness that comes from being the eternal God.

 

So, his sameness is the sameness of God. His unchangingness is the unchangingness of God. The visible universe with all its laws that so many count on to be unchanging is like a shirt compared to God: it was put on at creation, and it will be taken off when God is through with it. What the world regards as the baseline of stability is not. God is. And Jesus Christ is God.

 

This raises the crucial question about the changelessness of God, or what we call "the doctrine of God's immutability." We base this doctrine on texts like Malachi 3:6: "For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed." And, texts like 1 Samuel 15:29, "Also the Glory of Israel [God] will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." You may point to those texts that say God changes his mind. Yes, there are such texts in the Scripture. In fact, one of them is right here in this same chapter of 1 Samuel 15, which is why this text about God's changelessness is so crucial. The Hebrew word for "change his mind" in 1 Samuel 15:29 is the same as the word used in verse 11 and verse 35 for "regret" (NASB) or "repent" (KJV). In verse 11, God says, "I regret [or I repent or change my mind] that I have made Saul king." And in verse 35 God says, "And the Lord regretted [or repented or changed his mind] that He had made Saul king over Israel."

 

It says God does change his mind about Saul, and in verse 29 it says, God "will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." Here is my suggestion about how we can see this. When the writer says that God repented or regretted or changed his mind about making Saul king, he realized that he has said something very liable to misunderstanding. So, he adds verse 29 to limit and clarify what he has said: “For He is not a man that he should change his mind [or repent or regret]." In other words, God's changes are not like man's changes. Changing for God is from one situation to another, but not the kind of changing a human mind would do. God is not man to change like man changes.

 

A man can look with joy on a person and on a situation one day and look with disapproval on that person and the new situation the next day. So can God. He rejoices over a person's behavior one day and may grieve over it the next day. His mind changes. However, there is a great difference. Man brings to every situation limitations that God does not. The most relevant one is that man brings finiteness and lack of knowledge. God does not. That should give us great comfort. That brings hope to us in ways that allow us to shake off our fear.