If in the last reflection I was “stuck at the Cross”, then the Resurrection “unsticks me”. The Resurrection is freeing.
Without it, there is no Good News.
Ever since that first Easter Day, Jesus’ followers have faced not just skeptics, but also the scornful.
Matthew goes out of his way to point out:
1. The tomb is empty.
2. There are witnesses of the risen Jesus at the tomb.
3. There are witnesses of the risen Jesus beyond the tomb.
4. The Scriptures are fulfilled in remarkable ways.
5. Then, there are the lives, the transformed lives.
6. And finally, there is the Spread of the Gospel!
Why go to such lengths? Because it matters—the truth of the Resurrection is the most important event in the history of all time—the truth brings Resurrection Power.
Many have wrestled with the question of whether the Resurrection is true. I love Chuck Colson’s famous quote: “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
The most forceful way the truth comes home, is when each of us turn to Jesus—in faith.
It is the Power of the Resurrection that unsticks me—that frees me—frees me from sin.
The Resurrection is hugely important in that it frees us from sin—but it does not stop there. The Resurrection frees me to a new life of following Jesus.
New Life is meant to be lived; lived with and for God; lived in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Has Jesus’ Resurrection “unstuck you” to New Life?