Dogma 2: Christ Rose

In Luke 24, we read how two messengers of God speak to the women of faith who are attempting in some love-filled desperate way to show love and respect to the Christ by tending to His body, the one they saw dead on the cross.

The two messengers ask and explain,
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; He is risen!”

In a wicked time between Friday morning and Sunday morning, we can almost see the grotesque sight of the father of lies dancing in celebration of the victory of Death, his beloved companion, over the Son of God.  He savored the taste of victory.  

But, in the words of the old spiritual, “Were you there when He rose up from the grave?”

If our Gospel were only a Gospel of the Crucified, it would be untrue to facts and a Gospel of despair.  But the Gospel of the Cross and the Empty Tomb, of the Crucified Risen Christ . . . is the Gospel that faces all facts and gives to life a meaning.  (Studdert Kennedy 70)

The Christian Faith is, as it were, the monument of the Resurrection; it stands as a deathless witness to the Deathlessness of Christ.  (Studdert Kennedy 72)

Satan now gagged on the bitter taste of defeat.

In his work, Meditations on the Cross, German pastor/theologian Dietrick Bonhoeffer wrote, "The resurrection of Jesus is God’s yes to Christ . . .  If the cross were the last word on Jesus, the world would be lost in death and damnation without hope, and the world would have been victorious over God."

Next the Creed turns to Christ’s ascension, His return to His Father, the great reunion.  Before the reunion, Jesus spent 40 days encouraging, comforting and teaching His followers, the closest apostles and the more numerous disciples.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8a (NIV)
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also ...

Acts 1:1-8 (NIV)
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus appeared to and taught:

1. Emmaus-bound men.  (Luke 24)
2. The Twelve.
    - “Peter and the Twelve”
   - Twelve is a title; Judas made it eleven.

     3.  500 Followers.
     4.  James, His brother.

Jesus taught them to:

1. Stay in Jerusalem.
2. Wait for the Father’s gift.  (Holy Spirit)
3. Go make disciples (Matthew 28; Acts 1)

Knowing His Son accomplished death’s defeat and the disciples’ commissioning, the Father welcomed His Son home.

Acts 1:9 (NIV)
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Jesus ascended in heaven and I am sure heard His Father say, “Well done, my Son!”  He sits in His rightful place, sinless and free, the Creator once again looking upon His creation rather than walking in it.

#ordinarylives

References:
Bonhoeffer, Dietrick. Meditations on the Cross. Trans. Douglas W. Stott. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
Studdert Kennedy, G.A. I Believe (Sermons on the Apostles’ Creed). Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1928.