Don't Forget: Jesus beat death and rose again
Not long ago, I was lamenting with an older friend of mine about the aches and pains that go along with this thing called aging. Near the end of this animated conversation, he laughingly said that these pains may be a nuisance, but they beat the heck out of dying, because we know that nobody ever comes back.
Momentarily stunned, I simply blurted out, “No, that’s not true.”
Puzzled, he asked what I meant.
“There is one who came back,” I said. “Jesus rose from the dead.”
A pained look settled over his face and he grudgingly admitted I was right — if I believe in that sort of thing.
Now, in deference to my friend, I certainly understand why it’s hard to believe in the resurrection. After all, in normal human experience everyone meets up with the Grim Reaper sooner or later; and normally they stay dead. So the claim that Jesus actually died and then rose from death is a stupendous claim. It wasn’t easy at first for the early disciples to accept either.
At the empty tomb on Easter morning, Mary at first thought Jesus was the gardener. Later on, Thomas, the apostle, didn’t accept the eyewitness reports of the others. He insisted that he had to see the body himself, and put his hands in Jesus’ wounds before he could believe. But, according to the Bible, Jesus over a period of some 40 days appeared numerous times to his followers, at one time showing himself to more than 500 people.
Some may wonder why the resurrection is so important for Christians. Let’s explore briefly what would have happened if Jesus had not risen from the dead. First of all, the morning of the third day would have been very ordinary. Mary and the other followers would have found nothing but a sealed tomb with a dead body requiring preparation for final burial. Mary would not have encountered the Risen Christ and Jesus later on that same day could not have appeared to the apostles in the upper room. The presence of an ordinary dead body would have confirmed that Jesus was nothing special ... just another Galilean prophet in a long line of prophets. There would not have been one iota of rejoicing or happiness or inspiration in the lives of his followers.
A permanently dead Jesus could not have ascended to the Father in heaven where he now sits in the place of authority and power. He would have been in no position to send the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the church whose purpose was to give power for witness. Without this power, there would have been no going forth to speak and preach of a Risen Christ. The fearful disciples would have stayed safely behind locked doors.
If Jesus had stayed permanently in the grave he could never have appeared to Paul when the apostle was travelling to Damascus to persecute the Christians. This Paul, dramatically converted to the Christian way by Christ himself, was to become the main missionary of Christianity in his time and the major writer of the New Testament.
I could go on and on. If Jesus had not risen from the grave, there would be today no Christian faith as we understand it. The unhappy, fearful little group of followers would have quickly scattered and faded from history. But they didn’t scatter, they worshipped a Risen Jesus and the rest is history.
One of the greatest practical and immediate benefits of the resurrection of Jesus is how it affects our own view of death as Christians. In very blunt terms, Jesus went through the dark tunnel of death. But he did so as Pathfinder and as Victor for he came out on the other side. His death and resurrection is a model for every follower of Christ. He fought death hand to hand and killed death. The scripture puts it well, “Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?”
Recently my own faith was put to the test. I found myself on a hospital gurney with a heart racing at 190 beats a minute in an irregular pattern. Perhaps I was not in any ultimate danger, but when it’s a heart issue, I always start thinking this could be the moment. I testify that in those moments when I contemplated that the end might be near, there was for me an amazingly wonderful solace in the truth of the Resurrection. Jesus beat death. In Him and by Him, I too shall beat that ancient enemy! He is risen — He is risen indeed!
Published in the Guelph Mercury, March 30, 2013
Royal Hamel is ordained with the Alliance Church and the author of Unmuzzle Your Inner Sheep (Word Alive Press) available soon in bookstores. He can be reached at watchman2003@sympatico.ca.
