"Do not be alarmed.
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here.
See the place where they laid him.”
- - Mark 16:6
“But in fact Christ has
been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For
as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”
- -1 Corinthians 15:20-21
“He alone has made a solid
proficiency in the gospel who has been accustomed to continual meditation on
the blessed resurrection.”
- -John Calvin, Institutes, III:xxv.I
“The issue (of the
resurrection) is non-negotiable for Paul. The consequences of denying Christ’s
resurrection are massive – for then Paul’s preaching is mistaken, their faith
is vain, their sins remain unforgiven, and those who have died have perished.”
- -Thomas Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ, p.
457
“The resurrection of Christ
is the beginning of the new and final world-order, an order described as
spiritual and heavenly. It is the dawn of the new creation the start of the
eschatological age. In terms of the conceptual framework with which Paul views
the whole of history, it is the commencement of the ‘age to come.’”
- -Richard Gaffin, Resurrection and Redemption, pps. 89-90
“Post Tenebras Lux” has
often been used as the motto for the Protestant Reformation. In Latin it simply
means, “After darkness, light”. It has also been used during the Easter season
in association with Good Friday. Even today some Lutheran churches have Good
Friday services that they describe as a ‘Tenebras’ service, where reflection is
made upon sin that brought darkness. Then the following Easter Sunday is
described as “Lux” or light. For the Christian the resurrection is that
historically glorious and momentous event when the spell-bound darkness is
finally broken by light. The curse is reversed.
In the comprehensiveness of
Christ’s redemptive act Puritan John Owen called it the ‘death of death’, and John Calvin called the resurrection, “…the most important article of our faith”(John
II:247). The resurrection is no small appendage to our theological
understanding. It is pivotal. Without the historical and bodily resurrection of
Christ we are left without hope, we remain in our sins, our faith is in vain,
and those who die face immediate corruption and finality. Many churches that
call themselves Christian emphasize the cross and minimize the resurrection.
For them it is much easier to believe Jesus was crucified, than that He was
resurrected. The historical and corporeal (bodily) resurrection is too much for
them. How glad I am for the Resurrection. In it Jesus has became the first to
conquer death, sin, hell and the grave, and in His resurrection we are
guaranteed the same. And if that weren’t enough, the resurrected and ascended
Christ has bestowed the greatest of all gifts to His church in the giving of
the Spirit (Acts 2:31-33 and Eph. 4:8).
The
Resurrection is the light after the darkness of the Cross. May we truly
comprehend what has been done, and then rejoice in the resurrection of our
Savior.
-DJM
