We all have memories of days in our life when ‘everything changed’ – pivotal days where our lives changed drastically. This is equally true in our walk with God. Maybe it was the day we first made a decision to follow Jesus, the day we joined a local church, or the day we first prayed and felt God’s presence in a tangible way. Whatever it may be, these days are important ‘cornerstone’ days in our walk with God that can shape us spiritually and give us fuel for the journey of life ahead.
There was, however, a day 2000 years ago that towers over and above any other day since. It is a day that we may not have been alive to witness first-hand, but its ramifications and implications continue to cast a light onto each era of civilisation, including ours today. It is, of course, the day of resurrection Sunday. The day that Jesus Christ rose from the grave, defeating death and ushering in a new world; a world of forgiveness, hope and eternal life. It is the day where everything changed, in our world, in our lives, and in our future.
The resurrection of Jesus is a historical event that can be analysed and assessed as such. In fact, many authors have written books on exactly this topic – the historicity of the resurrection. But, for Christians, it is so much more. Resurrection Sunday is not simply a day in history 2000 years ago, but a spiritually world-changing interruption of the status quo, in which God broke and transcended the wildest of boundaries to demonstrate his deep love for humanity.
Resurrection Sunday is where we see God show, in crystal clear clarity, that he is not bound by the laws of nature nor the limits of logic. He transcends boundaries in ways that don’t make sense, ushering in a new world, a new reality that each of us is invited into. As Tom Wright says in his book The Day the Revolution Began, resurrection is saying ‘yes’ to the ‘new world’ of life that was won on the cross; the new heaven-and-earth reality that was initiated on Easter Sunday.
In common Christian parlance, it is often Thomas who receives the somewhat bad wrap of being associated as a ‘doubter’. After Resurrection Sunday, Thomas famously refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. But Scripture tells us that there were others who doubted, including Mary Magdalene and Mary (Jesus’ mother) who “did not believe”. One can imagine that this was a common reaction to the announcement of Jesus’ resurrection – who could truly believe that someone had risen from the dead?
Resurrection is logic-defying. Generally, dead people don’t rise from the grave. So, it is entirely understandable that the early followers of Jesus needed some convincing to believe!
Resurrection also broke the religious boundaries of the time. At a time when gods were considered to be prominent, posturing, transcendent beings of brute strength, it would have been entirely counter-cultural to tell a story of a god taking on human flesh, dying, and then rising again. It is a story of divinity that would have been completely alien in the religious climate of the first century Ancient Near East.
But, ultimately, God is a logic-defying God. He is a God who made covenants with Israel despite their failings, he is a God who parted the sea, healed the sick, hardened hearts, wrestled with Jacob, invited the foreigner and the sojourner, guided the Israelites with cloud and fire, flooded the earth, and spoke through prophets. God’s ways don’t fit nicely into theological boxes! He is a God who doesn’t fit into our pre-conceived definitions of what a god should look like.
Resurrection Sunday, however, is a day that makes sense. It is not a day of confusion but a day of clarity. Yes, resurrection doesn’t make sense in our modern minds of logic, but it makes complete sense when we consider the world around us. We live in an age of anxiety, purposelessness, deep questioning and reflection, and into that world Jesus’ resurrection brings clarity, forgiveness, answers, meaning and life.
The Easter story is a story which promises hope in a world of great anxiety. As the world cries out for answers, for something to cling to beyond ourselves, the Easter story gives us a hope for the future; a promise of a new world where heaven and earth align. The hope of a new and eternal life, a life which transcends the boundaries of this natural world, is a life which each of us is invited into, only because of Jesus’ work on the cross.
This Easter Sunday, read through the stories once more of Jesus’ resurrection. Put yourself in the shoes of those who were the first followers of Jesus. Journey with them as they move from doubt to belief, and allow God to work in you this Easter, to show you that his resurrection is not just a day 2000 years ago to remember historically, but a day that impacts every day since, every breath you take, and your eternity to come.