Resurrection: The Power of It

 

 

In Christ we are not focused on power; we are focused on Love, as our Lord has commanded us.  But we find that this Love is the most powerful force in the universe, delivering us from all evil forces. After Jesus’ resurrection He told His disciples that “All power in heaven and on earth is given to me…And I am with you always, even to the end of the age” [Mt. 28:18]. And this power was to be used to teach all people about the Kingdom that He had established—a Kingdom of Love, Peace and Joy, existing in a Spirit of familihood—the Spirit of Christ Himself. In Christ we find all that we need. We discover the liberating Truth of His words and His promises. He said, “I have overcome the world” [Jn. 16:33] and in Him we also overcome the world [1Jn. 4:4].  Millions of Christians throughout two thousand years of history have discovered the truth of Christ, and the power of His Spirit to live lives characterized by faith, hope and love; and to face death with courage and hope.  And this has happened despite four periods of major persecution in the first one hundred, fifty years of its beginnings, and the fact that it was considered heretical by the religions existing at its onset. Any Christian can tell you, from a personal perspective, that a major reason for the success of Christianity is the Love that they feel emanating through Christ and His teachings. Something about Him resonates deeply within us. It's interesting [and enlightening] that even the people and religious groups that discount Christianity have great difficulty finding anything negative to say about Christ Himself. The one teaching that many seem to balk at is His statement about being “the way, the truth and the light” and that “no one comes to the Father but by me”[ Jn14:6] .  It seems that, even though they agree that His teachings are excellent, and the world would be immensely better off if we heeded them, they cannot accept Him as the doorway to the Father—or Creator. The Resurrection speaks to this, and it crowns the perfection of Christ’s mission. The Resurrection is more verifiable historically than anything that happened that long ago. There are more copies of Greek New Testaments than any other manuscript of its age; and all four Gospels and the Epistles speak of the Resurrection. Many intelligent men, including historians have studied the events surrounding the Resurrection—some with the intent of disproving it—and have come up with no viable disputation of its validity. Many unbelievers converted to the Faith in this process. Every theory of how such a story could have been falsely propagated and yet found such deep and wide acceptance by so many in such a brief span of time falls ultimately in the ash heap of unreason. Those who lived with Him—His disciples—died because they believed the truth of His resurrection, and refused to recant. The Gospel writers wrote from first-hand experience. Paul, whose writings began within twenty-five years of Christ’s crucifixion, speaks of those who were still living at the time of his writings who had witnessed the Resurrection [1Cor.15:4-6]. Anyone reading his epistle would have had the opportunity to speak to those who witnessed it, to disprove or confirm it.  Paul was putting his credibility, moreover his life, on the line regarding the Resurrection of Christ, which, I repeat, had occurred only twenty-five years earlier.  The credibility of the Resurrection empowered many early Christians to persevere through the persecutions, and, bolstered by Jesus’ commandments regarding love, emboldened them to minister to people with contagious fatal illnesses who had been abandoned by those without faith.  This courageous love attracted many to Faith in Christ, and, coupled with the joy we see in those who have been set free in Him, continues to bring many into the Kingdom.

It makes sense that a loving God would not want His children, created in His image and given foreknowledge of death, to live in fear of it.  Jesus’ teachings are so pure and selfless, His birth so unpretentious, His life so beautifully lived in the dark arena of human suffering; how can we not trust Him and those He discipled to be honest about life after death? And how perfect of our heavenly Father to confirm it all by raising Him from the dead as a testimony to the human family of His place as Savior and Friend. If you have doubts about the Resurrection, I encourage you to do an intellectually sound in-depth study of it.  Our Faith is founded upon it.

 

Lord, I sometimes have doubts about Your resurrection. But there is so much evidence, and Your teachings resonate such Truth for the human family, how could I think You or Your devoted followers would be deceptive about anything? Please help me resolve my doubts and come down firmly and finally on the peaceful and secure foundation that frees me from the fear of death. Thank You for not leaving us in the darkness about death. Today please empower me to be a joyful, peaceful servant to the glory of Your Kingdom.


“The disciples . . . were convinced of the resurrection because Jesus appeared to them in person. He invited them to touch the nail prints in His hands. He cooked breakfast for them and ate with them. He talked with them about the future of the church. He appeared to 500 of them at the same time and ascended into heaven before their very eyes. That’s why every single disciple was willing to die for the truth that Jesus had literally conquered the grave. The evidence for the resurrection both in the Biblical record and the historical accounts of the disciples’ martyrdom is so overwhelming that those who honestly examine the record usually conclude it happened just as recorded in Scripture. Easter is not a religious myth that’s been embellished over time, it’s an actual event that is the hinge of history”–Bob Russell.


"When Jesus was crucified, his followers were discouraged and depressed. So they dispersed. The Jesus movement was all but stopped in its tracks. Then, after a short period of time, we see them abandoning their occupations, regathering and committing themselves to spreading a very specific message--that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God who died on a cross, returned to life, and was seen alive by them.
"And they were willing to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming this, without any payoff from a human point of view. They faced a life of hardship. They often went without food, slept exposed to the elements, were ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned.  And finally most of them were executed in torturus ways. For what? For good intentions? No because they were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had seen Jesus Christ alive from the dead."
J.P. Moreland quoted by Lee Stroble, The Case for Easter, in the "Conclusion".