Second Presbyterian Church

"What Jesus' Resurrection Means To Me"
Easter Sunday, 2005
March 27, 2005

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2005 » Sermons for March 2005

• Matthew 28: 1-10, 16-20
• I Corinthians 15: 12-22

This past Thursday, at the Maundy Thursday communion service I shared with those present what the crucifixion of Jesus means to me. In a sentence, it meant more than just the physical suffering that Jesus endured, it also meant the spiritual suffering that Jesus endured, because he had been separated from God. He had taken our sin upon himself and God had abandoned him. Jesus, in short, experienced the spiritual suffering of hell, being abandoned by God.

Today I want to share a few thoughts about what the resurrection means to me. The doctrine of the resurrection is one of the most incredible doctrines that we have in the Christian Church. It is incredible because it is so impossible, even to imagine. From the beginning of the Church, the Christian community has struggled with trying to understand the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Some people have believed that Jesus must not have been really human, so he didn't really die. Therefore his resurrection was only apparent. He really didn't die in the first place. Of course this kind of perspective has to ignore all the verses of scripture that witness to Jesus' humanity as well as witnessing to His dying.

More recently scholars have tried to explain away the resurrection of Jesus by asserting that he did not necessarily rise from the grave, but that his kerygma - his message to love God and love neighbor - came alive in the surviving disciples. They assert that this happened so powerfully, that it was as if Jesus himself became alive! Of course, this kind of explaining away of the resurrection has to ignore many verses of scripture that witness not only to Jesus being raised from the dead, but that his tomb was empty!

In our attempt to understand Jesus' resurrection we need to note that he was not resuscitated. Jesus was not resuscitated in the same way Lazarus, the widow's son, and Jairus' daughter were raised from the dead. These were resuscitations of the mortal body. Lazarus, the widow's son, and Jairus' daughter all lived to die again.

The resurrection of Jesus' body was a transformation of the mortal body into the immortal body. It is a great mystery. Jesus' tomb was empty. What was left of Jesus' flesh and bone was resurrected and transformed. It was still a body. Jesus showed his hands and side to his disciples - the marks of the crucifixion were still visible. Jesus demonstrated that he was not a phantom. He ate food after his resurrection. Ghosts do not eat food; they have no body. On the other hand Jesus' body was not bound to the restrictions of this world in the same way we are bound. He could appear to disciples and not be recognized until he wanted to be recognized by them. When Jesus' disciples were in a room together and the door was locked, for fear of the Jewish temple leaders, he would suddenly be there among them. Jesus, as in the story on the road to Emmaus illustrated, could also seem to just disappear.

This was no mere resuscitation! Jesus had been resurrected by God! His body had continuity with the body Jesus had before his death; but it was a resurrected, transformed body. It was a body that would no longer experience death. Jesus is now with God, resurrected, in the body that was raised from death.

What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to me? That Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross - he really died. On the third day God raised Jesus from death back to life. The tomb was emptied. The disciples, men and women, found only an empty tomb with some angels hanging around. Jesus' resurrected body is an immortal body. It shall never see death again.

So, what does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to me? To me it is the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Paul, if Jesus did not rise from death, then we are the most pitiable creatures on earth; we are living a lie. I believe that God raised Jesus from death and that he still lives. Again, what this means to me is that how we view life has radically altered. No longer does death end everything! No longer is death the final answer, but eternal life. No longer does our life on earth have to define full meaning in life. It is only the beginning. Life with Jesus Christ becomes eternal life; it shall never end.

So, what does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to me? It means that God has promised the same for us. We, too, shall receive immortal, resurrected bodies. There shall be a continuity of whom we are, but our mortal bodies shall be transformed into immortal bodies. In other words, when Jesus returns and if he returns after we have died, then our tombs shall also be empty. Don't try to scientifically figure it out; it doesn't compute. But with God all things are possible. And creating life from death is just one of the impossible things that God has done in Jesus Christ. And this process shall continue until all God's creation has been redeemed from sin, transformed into immortality, and life becomes life with Christ forever.

What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to me? In short, it means that the last death shall be death itself. Mortality shall die, forever. This is what defines our Christian faith; Christ died, Christ rose from the dead; Christ shall return. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.