with Rev Dr Chris Walker
The Significance of the Resurrection
“Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.” This is what Orthodox Christians affirm in their liturgy on Easter Sunday. Many other churches now use that liturgical statement also.
Central to the Christian faith is that Jesus was raised by God on the third day. Note that Jesus did not raise himself. The religious and political authorities of the day were responsible for having Jesus executed. They saw him as a threat needing to be done away with. So he was given the death penalty which was carried out in the harshest way. Crucifixion was a deterrent to any who would defy Roman authority. Those who died in such a way were considered cursed according to Jewish understanding at the time. God, however, raised Jesus up on the first Easter Sunday. In doing so God vindicated all Jesus stood for – his concern for outcastes, his healing of people in body and mind even on the Sabbath, his teaching and symbolic actions which gave indications of the nature of God’s reign. The early followers of Jesus affirmed “Jesus is Lord” with the clear implication, “Caesar is not.”
The risen Jesus was the rightful ruler of the world and one day God’s reign would come in its fullness. Meanwhile those who recognised Jesus could come under and live by God’s rule already in the present. Jesus’ resurrection confirmed that God’s future kingdom really was breaking into the present in Jesus. Already people could know something of God’s love, peace, healing and reconciliation in their lives and seek to live by it in their communities. They were indeed called by Jesus to follow him and give their lives for the furthering of God’s reign.
The resurrection of Jesus was a sign of the future. It was an indication of God’s power over the forces of evil and death. If Jesus is raised then death does not have the last word; evil does not triumph over good; cruelty does not prevail over compassion. The hoped for Messiah has come, has lived and died for us, has been raised to be the name above all names. Jesus is Saviour and Lord and the kingdom of God he proclaimed and inaugurated will come.
Paul speaks of the whole creation groaning (Romans 8). John looks to the coming of a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21). It is not a matter of God giving up on the old creation. Rather it will be renewed and transformed. Jesus’ resurrection is a prefigurement of the general resurrection to come. It is a harbinger of the new creation. It provides hope to all who follow Jesus. We too can look forward to resurrection to eternal life in the fulfilled reign of God.
It is important to realise that this is not some kind of non-material, non-bodily existence in a realm that is totally different from this world and this life. While it is a mystery beyond our capacity to imagine, we are given some indications in the Bible. Resurrection is resurrection of the body. The risen Jesus appeared mysteriously to his disciples on a number of occasions. He was not a ghost and was recognisable as the person they knew who was crucified. Paul speaks of the resurrection body as a ‘spiritual body.’ The resurrection body is no longer perishable but it is our transformed body (1 Corinthians 15). The fulfilled reign of God is a transformed and renewed creation. What this involves is hard for us to conceive for it is beyond our experience and in the future. Nevertheless, it does mean the renewal and reconciliation of all things into a realm where God rules supreme with Jesus at God’s right hand so to speak. It will be a dynamic reality which we can confidently hope for.
Meanwhile we are called to live by the values of God’s reign now, practicing the way of Jesus. We do so with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Let me suggest some of the qualities we can foster as followers of Jesus. We can live a simple lifestyle. Instead of going along with our consumerist society we can reject its emphases and wastefulness and intentionally live simply. This also will enable us to release resources for the benefit of others. We are meant to practice real equality as followers of Jesus which means treating everyone with equality, consideration and dignity – whether male or female, black or white, rich or poor. In a world so characterised by violence we are to live by and promote non-violence. So whether it is domestic violence through to terrorism and war, we are to seek non-violent ways of dealing with conflicts. Jesus calls us to love even our enemies and pray for those who oppose us. As Christians we are to be deep people who give attention to spirituality by giving time to such practices as prayer, meditation and scripture reading. We are not just individual followers of Jesus but are to build one another up and be part of communities of faith seeking the common good of the wider community. In these and other ways we can be signs and instruments of God’s rule and followers of the way of Jesus.
Whenever the words “Christ is risen” are said may we with confidence respond “He is risen indeed” and live as people whose hope is in God who raises the dead and promises that his reign will come.
Chris Walker
(National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship)