Resurrection
Resurrection… the picture that word brings to our minds is one of joy, of triumph, and of power. The uncomfortable truth about resurrection is the fact that it occurs only after death.
Death is a condition that, naturally speaking, is final. One might say that it is a place beyond hope. Death occurs in the body, but during our natural lives, there are other kinds of death occurring as well. In some cases, we feel that our life has been taken from us without our permission.
Another death is the kind that we do consent to. For Jesus, the death He consented to was a physical death. For us, it is often death of the will or the death of a dream. And yet, Christ’s death began not at Calvary, but in Gethsemane, if not before. Beneath the olive trees, Jesus said, “Not my will, but thine be done”.
For us, this may be the most difficult part of our death: The part where we still have a choice, and where we, in spite of the fact we have an idea of the consequences, choose to say, “Thy will be done.” At this time, we are in a battle of the will, flesh against spirit. Echoing the words of Jesus in this case brings our flesh a step closer to death.
Once this choice has been made, if it has been made honestly, a Calvary-like experience becomes inevitable. This becomes a time when we struggle with the results of our decision: A time of pain, thirst, and loneliness. For Christ, His experience on Calvary ended with a sense of abandonment. In our fellowship with Jesus, it is not surprising that we, too, will feel this.
This article is about resurrection, so why am I talking about death and pain? It is because for Christ, our Example, the road to triumph led through places of pain, loss, hopelessness and death. It is only when human hope has failed that the true power of the resurrection can be clear.
Yes, I have experienced these things. The happy news is, though, that as I have “taken up my cross” to follow Him, I have also tasted of His triumph. Where hope and joy had died in my life, they have re-emerged. Not tentatively or shyly, but bursting forth from the tomb, filled with indestructible life, in the same way that Jesus did.
Why was death necessary? Why the pain? I believe it is because there are some things that are left behind in the tomb: things that could be separated from us only through the experience of death. Jesus bore our sins on the cross, but we can be sure He wasn’t carrying them on Easter morning!
Our death is not for our atonement: that was already done for us. We have, however, been given the privilege and honor of sharing our Bridegroom’s Gethsemane and Calvary in smaller ways in our own lives. Happily, it does not stop there, and we also share in his resurrection, triumphantly throwing off the chains, leaving death behind, and bursting forth to give testimony to the power of God. What a joy!
