After assuring doubting Thomas that he, Jesus, truly has a body that is alive, Jesus makes a powerful remark that I love. Jesus talks about you and me. Look at John 20, verse 29.
“Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
You and I live in the same place Thomas started at, the place of not having seen Jesus alive. Jesus knows that there will be many others who will not get the privilege Thomas had of eventually seeing his scars in person. That’s us. Jesus knows how much more difficult it will be for us to believe without that physical evidence, and therefore Jesus said we have a special blessing. Not sure what blessing. But I like the sound of it.
It is not easy to believe that a dead guy came back to life. That is what we believe. Jesus didn’t just come back to life spiritually, he came back to life in his body. He didn’t fall into a coma, he was really dead, and really came back alive. His disciples didn’t hallucinate or see a ghost. They saw the risen physical Jesus.
He defeated sin, death and the devil, and through his resurrection you and I can receive forgiveness and be reconciled to God, which means that we can experience abundant life now and have the promise of eternal life in heaven.
Jesus’ resurrection truly changes everything. This is why in the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul constantly talks about Jesus’ resurrection. This is why when Paul was testifying before the Roman governor Festus in Acts 26, and Paul is talking about Jesus’ resurrection, Festus interrupts Paul and says, “You’re out of your mind, Paul.”
Paul says, “But I am not. It is all true.” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that numerous people saw the risen Jesus. Then he says this about Jesus’ resurrection:
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
You and I can experience this victory too. I’m not saying that we will have a perfect life because of Jesus’ resurrection. I’m saying that just as resurrection is new life, Jesus wants us to experience new life. He wants us to experience abundant life, with the good things of the Spirit flowing freely out of our lives. This is why I talk about the Fruit of the Spirit so much. Jesus’ resurrection makes it possible for us to be reconciled to God, makes it possible for us to be transformed people, makes it possible for us to have transformed relationships. Jesus’ resurrection changes everything.
This is why Paul talked about the resurrection constantly, and so should we. I encourage you to make it your goal to ask people this week about the resurrection. Say, “Can I ask you a question? We were talking about something in church this week, and I wonder what you think about it? Jesus’ resurrection. What do you think about it?” And pray that God’s Spirit will be at work in the conversation.
I think we need to be people who have Jesus’ resurrection always on our minds. Always forming our lives.
So as we conclude this week’s series of posts about the new life that is possible for us through the resurrection of Jesus, hear this prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1: “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”
Photo by Mahdi Dastmard on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 