Evidence of the Resurrection

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Happy Easter!

On Sunday, we celebrated the crowning event of the Christian faith, the Resurrection of Jesus. Like many of you, I have been celebrating the Resurrection all my life, especially since I was in the church (which has been my whole life). I have often asked the question, “How do we know that Jesus was raised from the dead?”

I have heard sermons and listened to bible studies talking about the empty grave and the rolled away stone. Both are true, but neither answered my question.

So, let me attempt to answer the question for me. See if this might work for you.

Read Luke 24:1-12

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. ⁶ Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” ⁸ Then they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Reflect on Luke 24

Kirk Byron Jones, author of The Jazz of Preaching and editor of The African American Preaching Library writes:

“Handling the resurrection is challenging; being handled by the resurrection is even more challenging.  In Alaine Alsire’s novel, Lazarus’ problem was not being raised; his problem was being raised ‘different.’ He was not the same person. Christian resurrection is not just about coming back to life but coming back to life ‘different.’  We don’t do different well. In social relations, all too often we interpret different as deficient…

Being handled by the resurrection means constantly challenging our fear of the unknown, and even more…constantly challenging our fear ‘of the loss of the known.’ Being handled by the resurrection means learning to relax in the experience of new life. May we enter with God into the work of changing and recomposing our lives. May we rise and cheer such resurrections.”

The Risen Christ

Any reflection I do upon the resurrection brings me to the discovery that the attention of the early church was focused on the transforming power of the risen Christ.  Those early followers of Jesus understood themselves as evidence of the power of the Resurrection to transform lives.

With that in mind, remember that there were people who did not want the ministry of Jesus. So, they attempted to get rid of him by crucifying him. But God raised him up and put him back to preaching, teaching, and healing. The early followers of Jesus, sustained by his presence, were the proof of God’s love in everyday and ordinary relationships.

Proof of the Resurrection

So, on the morning of the Resurrection, God gave us God’s transforming presence.  The proof of the resurrection, then, is not the empty tomb, but the full hearts of transformed Jesus followers. The crowning evidence that Jesus lives is not a vacant grave, but a Spirit-filled fellowship.  Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church. The proof of the resurrection is in our transformed lives and in the transformation of the community and the world.

The power of Jesus’ resurrection is to reshape our lives to live the way Jesus lived and to think the way Jesus thought. The thrust of the resurrection is to help us change our way of living so that it begins to resemble the life of Jesus.  For you and me, the resurrection is the greatest event in all of life. It means that we live all of life in the presence, love, and power of Jesus, the Risen Christ.

The late Dr. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard wrote:

“…the resurrection is a continuing event which involves everyone who dares be involved in it.  Easter is not just about Jesus, it’s about you.  Jesus has already claimed his new life.  What about you?  Easter is not just about the past; it’s about the future.  Your best days are ahead of you.  The proof of the resurrection is in your hands and in your life.”

Respond to Luke 24

So, what does that mean for us?

A quick look at the good news according to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles reveals that the resurrection led the disciples to transform the world beginning in Jerusalem and moving out eventually to Rome.

The evidence of the resurrection was experienced in the good news being communicated in ways people could understand at Pentecost. It was seen in the transformation of Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle, in the acceptance of the Ethiopian eunuch, in the vision experienced by Simon Peter, and the conversation of Cornelious’ family.

Evidence of the Resurrection

So, as stated above, the evidence of the resurrection was not a vacant grave, but a ministry of love and acceptance. The proof of the resurrection is not a rolled away stone, but our transformed lives, our communities, and the world.

So, how will you live your resurrection life today? Who will you love? Who will you accept? How will you work for the good of people with whom you live, work, and play?

How will your community, Charleston, the Kanawha Valley, or West Virginia be different because of who you are as a transformed follower of Jesus Christ?

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. Reflect upon how you were the evidence of the Resurrection. Who did you extend your love and care today? How did you work for the good of people around you? How will your community be different because of the presence of Christ in and through you? As you reflect upon and grow into being the evidence of the Resurrection, what will you do differently tomorrow? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to love others as you have been loved. Ask God to give you the faith to live and lead with quiet trust and confidence. 

Happy resurrection living!