The Power of Resurrection
Had Jesus died during his sleep, under hospice care, at the age of 95, there would have been no Easter. History would not have been divided into BC and AD and there would have been no Christianity.
So what changed history, and the lives of his early followers and our lives today is the manner of his death and what happened after that: It was his crucifixion that fueled the power of his resurrection.
Crucifixion precedes resurrection. Death precedes life. Darkness precedes light. In fact, darkness is necessary for light and growth.
Jesus didn’t just die. Jesus was killed.
What is the difference you might ask.
When somebody dies of sickness or old age we say he died. When somebody is shot by a gun, we say he was killed. If that somebody happens to be a political leader we say he was assassinated. If that somebody is a famous person, we say he passed away. If that somebody was a criminal on death row, we say he was given the lethal injection or he was hanged.
So all deaths are not equal.
Jesus death was not a normal death, a peaceful passing away.
It was capital punishment orchestrated by the religious authorities and carried out by the political authorities of his time. Because be was a threat to both.
He comforted the afflicted and afflicted the comfortable and the comfortable people of his time, didn’t like that.
The religion of his time, represented by the Pharisees and Sadducee were suspicious of Jesus, because he challenged them. He criticized the religion that was so legalistic and devoid of compassion. Jesus called them “brood of vipers and hypocrites.” He compared them to “whited sepulchers.” He was always on the side of the disadvantaged and the downtrodden people of his time. The poor folks flocked to Jesus. The marginalized masses migrated to his presence. The lepers whom society rejected, prostitutes whom society condemned, and Samaritans whom people hated were the heroes of his stories.
Jesus was a fierce critic of the political establishment. He called King Herod a fox. Jesus was a subversive force, and a disruptor of the established systems of religion and politics of his time and that is why he was given the capital punishment…death by crucifixion.
He defeated systems and defied death by the power of his resurrection.
So cross was the symbol of pain, suffering, cruelty, injustice, inhumanity, isolation, abandonment, betrayal, denial, desolation, disillusionment, darkness despair and death.
How could all that negative stuff transform into life, light and love, peace, joy and victory, and justice, and compassion and healing, and communion, and reconciliation, strength and hope and a new creation?
That is the power of resurrection. That is what happens when the power of God is manifested in you and through you.
The political authorities killed him, but they could not end his life. The grave could not contain him, the stone at the mouth of the grave could not block him, the guards at the grave door could not restrain him. He turned betrayal into forgiveness for Judas. He transformed denial into affection for Peter. He turned abandonment into acceptance by God. He turned loneliness into communion with his disciples. He replaced hatred with love. He substituted forgiveness for vengeance.
That is the power of resurrection.
The cursing from the crowd was returned as mercy towards them. The blood and water that flowed from his pierced heart became source of living water for a thirsty world. He transformed the cross which is an instrument of death, to a covenant of eternal life. The cruelty of the soldiers melted in the compassion of Christ. The castigation of the thief on one side of the cross became restoration for the thief on the other side. He exchanged kindness for cruelty. He changed the crucible of suffering into a crucifix of salvation.
That is the power of Resurrection.
The broken heart of Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross was mended at the entrance of his open grave. Her desolation turned into delight and the power of resurrection propelled her feet to run and share the good news with other disciples. Fearful followers became devoted disciples. Peter the denier became Simon Peter the Rock.
That is the power of resurrection.
So on Easter morning, plug your life into the foot of the cross and experience the power of the resurrection of Jesus.
Our resurrection into a new life depends on our participation in the sacrificial life and death of Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus is the promise and the guarantee that we can transform our lives and become a new creation.
