My Resurrection Day

Is it relevant?

We perhaps shouldn’t be too surprised that while Easter features strongly in our cultures calendar, any connection with Jesus has become rather loose. I suspect most people would at least know there is a connection with Easter and the death and resurrection of Jesus, but for the most part, that whole story has virtually no relevance to them today. After all, this happened 2000 odd years ago on the opposite side of the planet.

Now, as Christians, as we talk with others, you might find yourself trying to convince the non-believer that the resurrection of Jesus was a real historical event that we can trust took place - certainly I could list lots of good reasons for this. However, it strikes me that for many people, they couldn’t even be bothered having this conversation, because… well… who cares. Even if you proved it, apart from being a really cool story, what difference does it make.

Now as believers, we’ll of course argue that actually, it is very important. After all, this is the centre piece for what we believe. You might have even read in 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul essentially make the argument that everything we do rises and falls on the actual resurrection.

But yet, despite the fact that we might make this statement, it is so easy to start living like it doesn’t. It doesn’t take long before we are just like the person who couldn’t even be bothered to hear the reasons for why the resurrection story is trustworthy because it makes no differnce.

But what difference does it make?

Well, perhaps the first answer that we might come up with is that it tells us about who Jesus is. After all, it tells us that Jesus is more powerful than death. It confirms that Jesus was all that he said he was.

Now don’t get me wrong. That is all very important. In fact, I could spend a lot longer exploring what it tells us about who Jesus is.

But again, it can be easy to fail to see what this means for us today.

You see, here’s the thing. Earlier we had our kids song that we’ve been doing for a few weeks now. The song was called Resurrection Day.

But if you paid attention to the words, you might have noticed that it used the word “My resurrection day”.

Let me just remind you of some of the words. The first line said: “Because You’re risen I can rise”.

It then goes on to say “Because You’re living I’m alive”.

“Because you’re cross is powerful… because you rose invincible… I can get up off the floor”.

Now the person who wrote this song obviously sees a very direct link between the resurrection of Jesus and the way we live today.

So the question I want to explore today is whether there is substance to these lyrics, or whether the songs just using some poetic license.

The resurrection

But before we do that, let’s just spend a little looking at John’s account of the resurrection.

At the end of John 19, we can read about Jesus being places in a tomb. It was a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea who, after requesting the body, put Jesus in a nearby tomb with all of the appropriate Jewish burial customs. It was the day before the Sabbath, in this case a special Sabbath being Passover, and so the work is done before the Sabbath starts.

We then come to chapter 20 and we’re now early on the first day of the week, which would have been the Sunday. They’ve observed the Sabbath rest, and now they want to continue the burial customs.

John’s gospel only records Mary Magdalene in this first part, but if we were to synthesize the account with the other gospels, we can see that they were other women who had been with Jesus with her as well.

But this morning I’ll stick predominantly with John’s account of this event.

It’s still dark because Mary wanted to make an early start, but as she approaches the tomb, she makes a remarkable discovery. The stone which has so deliberately placed in front of the tomb - somehow it had been removed. What’s more, the tomb was empty!

Poor Mary doesn’t know what to make of all of this. She would have been in quite a state. So she runs back and tells Peter and John, the two disciples that were closest to Jesus.

So they run to the tomb. I suspect there minds would have been all fogged up trying to make sense of it but with the shock taking over. These two men arrive at the tomb and it was Peter - who let’s face it, has a reputation for being impulsive - goes in to inspect.

It was the most remarkable sight. For clearly someone had been laid to rest here… but what Peter saw were the strips of linen and the cloth.

John, who’s evidently got more control over his impulses, he finally goes in as well.

There mind is clearly in a fog, because verse 9 clearly tells us that “they still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead”.

What has happened - well, without seeing Jesus, these men return to where they were staying.

Mary’s encounter

But Mary stays. She hasn’t quite made sense of it either. And so she stands outside the tomb crying.

But it is at this point that two angels appear where Jesus’ body had been. They simply ask: “Woman, why are you crying?”

Well, isn’t it obvious. Jesus’ body is missing!

She turns around, and there is Jesus - but yet recognition doesn’t click in.

Jesus ask the same question: What are you crying?

Mary thinks he’s the gardener.

That is.. until he calls her name… “Mary”

I don’t know if you’ve watched the crowd funded TV series The Chosen, but there is a scene in one of the early episodes which imagines this same Mary’s first encounter with Jesus. It’s a powerful scene where simply calls her name: “Mary of Magdala” and everything changes.

Well, this is what is happening here. With her name being called, something clicks.

How much she realised at this point - I don’t know exactly - but yet, something tells me that she recognises that this changes everything.

Jesus tells her to go and tell the others that he is ascending to his Father, who is also their Father, and is also our Father.

So Mary Magdalene goes and tells the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!”

The implication

Now we have the benefit of a long time to reflect on this. With the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we’ve got the writing from Peter and John - the two witnesses here, as well as Paul’s letters, and others as well, who help us understand the significance of what has happened here.

So while at the mention of Mary’s name, something clicks for her, I want to just think a bit more about what this means for us today. My hope is that afterwards, when you think back on that song, Resurrection Day, we don’t just think this is someone using a bit too much poetic license, but rather that it speaks of a deep truth that we can be live because Jesus is living.

So I’m going to make four points based on reflections on the resurrection. It’s not an exhaustive list, but just some reflections that will hopefully help us see that the resurrection is still very relevant to our lives today.

Confirms our salvation

The first reflection I want to make is actually one that we more naturally associate with Good Friday rather than Easter Sunday. That is that the resurrection is the victory that was needed so that we could break the bonds of sin.

Now, perhaps you might think, but wait a moment, wasn’t it the cross that paid the price for our sin? And yes, the cross was the punishment that was needed.

But let me make a statement which on first hearing might sound controversial.... The cross was not enough.

You see, the cross was necessary. Without it, we don’t have justice. The cross gave us justice. But with the resurrection, we get victory. The bonds of sin that held us down are broken.

There is a victory in this that says, not only are your sins paid for, but you do not have to be bound by your sinful nature.

Now of course, we all know unfortunately all too well that indeed, our sinful nature still does exist. And we find it comes out all too frequently. But the fact that we can even begin to master it, is only because of the victory Jesus had when he broke through death and rose again.

And so with this first reflection, we can see that the resurrection is an essential part of our salvation.

Assurance for the future

The second reflection is about our future. The resurrection gives us the assurance that there is a future hope for us. The resurrection of Jesus gives us a glimpse of our own resurrection.

When Mary saw the risen Lord Jesus, she had a foretaste of the new creation that is promised.

And so, because Jesus rose on the third day, we have hope that this world is not everything. And isn’t this just wonderful news?

I don’t need to make a case for how messed up things are - just watch the news for five minutes.

But because Jesus rose, we know he has the power to make things new. He has told us that he will make all things new and so we are left with an assurance for the future. And Easter Sunday is our reminder of this.

Truly Alive

SO the first reflection is that we no longer need to be bound by sin. The second that we have assurance for the future. My third reflection is actually to say that this is not just a future hope that we have, but there is a present reality to it as well. You see, because of the resurrection we can be truly alive now.

Many of you will have experienced this already. You see, if I asked a medical doctor, I dare say they would be able to give me a good definition of life. I’m no doctor, but I suspect the answer would involve something about having a heart beat and some brain activity.

But yet we know there is something more, and it’s something that perhaps a little difficult to completely put our finger on.

In John 3, Jesus gave us a mental picture which I think helps us understand what I’m saying. He used the phrase “born again”. We often use this as a bit of a catch phrase to describe someone who is genuine in their beliefs, but yet it alludes to this idea that I’m talking about.

Because of the resurrection, we can be truly alive today. You can be born again, not in the sense of going back in your mother’s womb, but in the sense of being spiritually alive.

And I believe this is the sense that the song “Resurrection Day” is trying to get at when we have the line “Because your living I’m alive”.

I don’t think Mary Magdalene would have fully grasped it, but I think this is the sense she felt when Jesus called her name just outside the empty tomb.

She already had been redeemed. Earlier in Luke’s gospel we’re told that she been released from demons. But now, because Jesus has risen, there is a new life that started for her at that moment.

We think of eternity starting when we get to heaven. The reality however, is that eternity starts the day you are born again. Because of the resurrection, you are a new creation now.

A new perspective on life

The fourth and final reflection I want to make today flows out of these previous reflections. And that is that because of the resurrection, our perspective on life is changed.

We gain a new perspective on what it means to be alive. We gain a new appreciation for the value that God puts on life.

And so, the resurrection then should inform our ethics.

You see, I might often talk about how many of our ethics will derive from the doctrine of us being made in the image of God. That is to say, because all humans are made in the image of God, we are to treat them as image bearers.

Well, the resurrection takes this another step. Because of the resurrection, there is a new dimension on human life. It’s a dimension that says that life can change. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit, people can be a re-creation.

When we look at many people, we don’t see them as image bearers of God, often because they have fallen so far. But the resurrection should change our view about that.

Conclusion

And so we can see that the resurrection story should be making a huge difference to us today.

It tells us that we don’t need to be mastered by sin.

It gives us the hope and assurance for a future with the risen Jesus in the next age.

But that we can be truly alive now and experience that new life now.

But the resurrection also helps us to see the world afresh. To see it as Jesus does.

Sure we will still see the chaos and sinfulness that surrounds us. But we’ll see a kingdom coming, in fact a kingdom come, where change can and does occur. And we can change our attitudes accordingly.

This resurrection story is not some quaint story from long ago. It is the single most important thing that has ever happened to this world. It changes everything.

And so when that song gets to the chorus and says: “this is my resurrection day”, it’s not getting its theology wrong by putting ownership on it. Rather it is recognising that this resurrection day completely and utterly changes things for me.

This is my resurrection day… nothing’s gonna hold me in the grave.

This is my resurrection day… nothings gonna hold me down.

My prayer is that those words are not just nice words to sing. But that it can be true. As we reflect on the resurrection of Jesus, we truly can see how we can be alive and have hope for a most glorious future.

Let me pray...