“Resurrection! Life! He is risen!”
These are the joyous exclamations of the season. The realities we celebrate during holy week are truly glorious. Stunning. Even staggering. So staggering, in fact, that we can easily sail straight past such stupendous outcrops without taking the mental energy to notice their sheer magnitude and grandeur.
If you’ll allow me, I’d like to point out a few of these landmarks we know so well we sometimes forget to see.
First, Jesus was.
Let that reality sink in for a moment. It hasn’t even been two thousand years since Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem and slept and ate and breathed in our world.
This isn’t even debatable. No ancient history specialist could reasonably refute it. I know of none who even tries. If you want to know why, I outlined some of the reasons in Did Jesus exist? and Did the Jesus of the Bible exist? This is a stunning, world-altering reality.
Second, Jesus rose.
He was dead. Then he became alive. He strolled through a lovely garden in the morning a few days after he died. He spoke with friends. He spoke with strangers. He hung out and reminisced with his friends. He made new memories with new friends. The resurrection actually happened.
Third, Jesus is.
If Jesus was. And then rose. And didn’t die again. Then he still is. Not on this planet. He went up into the sky. But he is. Actually. Somewhere. And he will be. Here. Eventually.
What happened that morning when Jesus exploded from that cavernous cage has implications to today. He literally, actually, really is. And if he is, then what he is matters to us today. His resurrection is the unassailable proof that he can and will follow through on his promises. He promised that our bodies would explode from our buried black boxes and enshrined urns and that is exactly what will happen. He lives and so shall I!
Rejoice with me this Resurrection Sunday as we celebrate the returned victor, our living Lord. Rejoice with me today in the vision of our master, once trampled and broken, now again exalted to the throne of glory forevermore.
Grace to you.
About Jason Harris