This week we are continuing in our series looking at the question, \u201cDo You Know Him?\u201d Last week, David was helping us to think about knowing Jesus as the Crucified One, and we follow on from that this week, getting to know Jesus as the one who was raised to life. <\/p>\n
Why is this so important to our Christian faith? Why is it so important that Jesus\u2019 was raised from the dead, and that he lives now? What difference does it make that Jesus is the Risen One? There are lots of answers to these questions, but it seems to me that that Paul gives a really helpful summary of these reasons in his letter to the Christians living in Corinth. Towards the end of his first letter to them, he writes this, <\/p>\n
\u201cIf Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, listening carefully, you\u2019ll have realised that Paul doesn\u2019t list the positive results of Jesus\u2019 resurrection. Instead, he points out what the implications are if Jesus wasn\u2019t raised from the dead. That is, our preaching and faith would be useless, our witness is false, we are still mired in our sins, those who have died are lost, and we are to be pitied. So, if we think about this is a photo negative, and develop the positive image then we can draw out what Paul sees as crucial to the Christian faith of knowing Jesus as the Risen One. It is knowing Jesus in his resurrection that our preaching is effective, our faith is strengthened, our witness is true, we are rescued from our sins, those who have died in Christ are secure, and our hope in Christ is well founded.<\/p>\n
These are the primary building materials of the Christian faith, and they all rest on the foundation of the reality of Jesus\u2019 resurrection, his return to life. He is alive today, and because of this we can have the assurance that we can be free of our sins, we can live our lives in fulness, because we draw our life from his life. He defeated death, something no-one else has ever done. We can trust him and rely on him. We can be confident in telling other people about him, and inviting them to come and see. <\/p>\n
When people encounter the Risen Jesus, their lives can be changed. We\u2019ve seen that in our own lives, and in countless lives through the ages, right back to the first disciples, and their encounters with Jesus directly after he was raised to life. We heard an account of a couple of those encounters in our reading from Matthew\u2019s eye witness account of the good news of Jesus. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look again at verses nine and ten. The women had gone to the tomb on that first Easter Sunday, ready to minister to Jesus\u2019 body, to embalm him. There was an earthquake, an angel had appeared, Roman soldiers had fainted at the sight of it, the tomb was empty and the angel had sent them to take a message to the other disciples. They are hurrying to do that when, suddenly, Jesus himself met them.
\n\u201cGreetings,\u201d he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can you imagine what was going on in their heads and hearts, they must have been experiencing massive emotional whiplash \u2013 heads spinning, hearts pounding, not knowing which way was up, and then Jesus meets them, and they fall down at his feet and worship him. They knew that people do not return from death. They weren\u2019t naive or credulous. They knew that what had happened was beyond any human explanation, they knew that Jesus had proved he was who he said he was. They knew that only God was to worshipped, and so in worshipping Jesus they were showing that they knew that he was God. They were awe struck, love stuck, glory struck. This is the impact of meeting with the Risen Jesus. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen Jesus said to them, \u201cDo not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.\u201d
\nHow often does Jesus tell his friends not to be afraid? So many times. An encounter with the Risen Jesus will change lives, it will challenge, it will turn understandings upside down, and all of these things can be frightening. To suddenly have our perspective on everything changed can be exciting, but can also be distressing. Jesus doesn\u2019t deny their emotions, or reject their worship, but he does tell them not to be afraid. Everything else might be moving, but he is solid, he is trustworthy, we can have faith in him and walk into the new thing with courage. <\/p>\n
Then Jesus renews the instruction of the angel. He commissions them to go and tell his other disciples to meet him, they are the apostles to the apostles. These women and the evangelists, the ones entrusted with the good news of the resurrection. They are sent to tell others. In that culture women were not believed to be reliable witnesses in a court room, they were not the powerful, well educated ones. Their qualification was that they had seen the Risen Jesus, and now they were sent to tell others how to meet him as well. <\/p>\n
As we read on, we hear how that meeting went, but before we get to that, we have this little interlude about the soldiers and the religious leaders. They all knew what had happened \u2013 they knew about the risen Jesus \u2013 but they hadn\u2019t met him, they didn\u2019t know him. They knew how important it was, but they weren\u2019t willing to acknowledge that they had been wrong about Jesus \u2013 so they doubled down -and tried to cover it up.<\/p>\n
The other disciples went to Galilee, as they had been instructed and met Jesus. In contrast to the women\u2019s reaction, in verse 17 we see a mixture of emotions, of faith and doubt. \u201cThey worshipped him, but some doubted\u201d We can be real about the fact that we often see this mixture in our own hearts and minds. Resurrection is not a normal thing. Even those who saw it with their own eyes had some doubts. The question is, what do we do with them? It seems to me that the healthiest thing to do is to bring them into the light. To bring them to God, and to say, \u201cI\u2019m not sure about this, will you help me see this clearly. Will you give me faith? Will you help me to trust?\u201d In the end we know that these disciples fulfilled Jesus\u2019 commission, as they trusted, obeyed, and followed him.<\/p>\n
When we read verses 18-20 we often focus on the commission given to us, but today our focus in drawn to the two aspects of who Jesus is that surround this commission. Jesus is the one who has received all authority and he is the one who will be with us always. It is knowing Jesus as the one who is with us and who has the authority that enables us to fulfil the commission we are given. It is Jesus\u2019 resurrection that demonstrates his authority, even over death, and the fact that he is alive again, and still, that means that he can be with us. <\/p>\n
The Risen Jesus is the one who calls out our worship, who calms our fears, and who sends us to invite others to meet him.<\/p>\n
Do You Know Him?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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