HE IS RISEN!
The Rev. Harold Shepherd, CD, M.A., S.T.M., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D.
March 27, 2005

Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and sisters and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20: 1-18

Today we celebrate an event that changed history- Jesus’ resurrection. But, as Christians, what is its significance? Paul wrote in Philippians 1: 20-24: “ I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.” When addressing one of the thieves crucified with him, Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, today yo will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43). Given that our souls go to be with God at death, why does it matter if Jesus rose physically from the dead? Isn’t it sufficient that his spirit ascended to the Father to be seated at his right hand? There are many within the Church who consider the teaching of physical resurrection to be a mythological expression of the realization that Christ is still with us by the power of his Spirit. Physical resurrection adds nothing to the faith. Paul rejected this. In I Corinthians 15, Paul writes at verse 14: “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” For Paul, the physical resurrection of Jesus is an essential component of our faith. He writes at verse 20: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being.” Christ’s resurrection is a sign of God’s pledge to us to nullify death brought about by the sin of Adam, restore us to fellowship with God, and raise us to new life in him. The undoing of death is a sign of God’s victory over sin that has brought about our reconciliation with God through the new covenant. It is true that our souls go to be with God at death, regardless of the question of resurrection. However, Jesus’ resurrection serves an outward and visible sign of the true nature of the Kingdom of God that undoes Adam’s legacy of sin and death. Furthermore, it makes a powerful statement that God has vindicated his faithful servant and publicly proclaimed him to be Lord. His words are not those of wandering Palestinian Rabbi, but rather have the authority of one sent by God to reveal his ways. As with Daniel’s Son of Man, Jesus is God’s faithful servant exalted by God to represent him. Resurrection, then, is closely linked to the Messianic hope of Israel. During his earthly ministry, some believed because of what they saw and heard. At Jesus’ baptism, God announced that this is his son. Now, in the resurrection, God has powerfully proclaimed that this is his chosen agent, the Messiah, by mighty deed. As the crossing of the Red Sea served as a sign of God’s faithfulness to the old covenant, so is Jesus’ resurrection a sign of God’s faithfulness to the new covenant. Without the resurrection, Jesus was another Jewish Rabbi with good moral teachings. Paul was right. The resurrection is central to our faith because through it, God has raised Jesus up publicly to establish the reign of God through reconstituting the people of God by a new covenant. In this way, Easter is inextricably linked with Manudy Thursay and the Last Supper.

But, can we believe in resurrection in our skeptical world? First, let us consider the historical sources. The earliest accounts of Jesus resurrection are not in the Gospels, but in Paul’s writings. We know from Galatians that Paul met Peter on a number of occasions in both Jerusalem and in Antioch. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15: 5-8: “[Jesus] appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” The reality of these appearances were such that they transformed a group of people who were cowering behind locked doors in fear of being arrested to people who changed the world. It is implausible that Christianity could have been born without something truly miraculous having occurred. The number of witnesses shows that this was not something that was the figment of one person’s imagination. It was something objectively experienced by a large number of people. Through it, the despair that had gripped them was replaced by a profound joy when the recognized that Jesus is indeed the Messiah sent by God to establish his reign on earth. He was with them and would never leave them. The power of early evangelism came directly from their witness to the resurrection. Christian origins are incomprehensible without it. Because he lives, so shall we. Thanks be to God