Resurrection Is the Gamechanger

Preparing for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Two Days before Sunday (Year C)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 85

Old Testament: Hosea 5:1-15

Epistle: Acts 2:22-36

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 138

Old Testament: Esther 3:7-15

Epistle: Acts 2:22-36

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Prayer

Life-giving God, heal our lives, that we may acknowledge your wonderful deeds and offer you thanks from generation to generation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Reflection

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you see and hear.”

“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:32-33, 36).

What sparked the Jesus Movement after his death? For first century Jews, the promised Messiah would conquer Israel’s enemies and establish God’s Kingdom once and for all. There was nothing in ancient Judaism about the Messiah dying in defeat. There were several Messianic movements in ancient Judaism before and after Jesus, each with a would-be Messiah to lead them. In all of those attempted revolutions, when the revolutionary leader was killed, the movement ended. If you followed a man claiming to be God’s Anointed, and he was killed before he established the kingdom, you have wagered your life on the wrong man. The death of your “Messiah” proved that he wasn’t.

So, what happened to the Messianic movement that came to be known as Christianity? Jesus was died in horrible and humiliating fashion on a cross. It should be no surprise to us that the Gospels report to us that the disciples went into hiding, no doubt fearing they might be the next victims of Roman state terror. Historically speaking, we should not expect anything different. Jesus was dead. That meant he could not be who they believed him to be. Dead Messiahs lose their following.

And yet, Jesus had a following not long after his crucifixion. In fact, it seemed that his movement which stalled after his death was revitalized shortly thereafter, turning the cowardly and fearful disciples into courageous preachers of the Good News. What could have possibly happened? We all know the answer, but Peter on Pentecost makes it clear to the crowds for those who didn’t know.

“This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you see and hear.”

Jesus’ resurrection was the gamechanger. In witnessing an alive Jesus after his death and burial, Peter and the rest of the Apostles knew Jesus was indeed God’s Anointed, and in some unexpected way he brought the long promised kingdom to Israel. It didn’t look the way they thought it would, but it would not take long before they understood. Now those kingdom parables he told about mustard seeds, and birds nesting in trees, and yeast working through bread dough began to make sense. God’s kingdom did not come with a bang and a shout, but in ways they could not notice unless they were watching with eyes focused on the small unexpected things. Even the resurrection of Jesus happened without human witnesses, and when the risen Christ appeared to people, it was always his followers. There was nothing dramatically public about it.

That is why Peter makes the point that he and his fellow disciples are witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. God has no desire to coerce people into believing. The Father did not have his Son appear before Caiaphas shouting, “I’m baaack!” Neither did Jesus show himself to Pilate taunting him, “Hey, Pontius, you want to give it another try?” No, God only wants followers who follow free of coercion. Genuine relationship can never be coerced; it can only be desired.

What gave those first disciples renewed faith was knowing that their Messiah who died was alive again. Their job now was to witness to the truth of that Messianic kingdom with courage and persistence. That is just what they did.

The resurrection of Jesus was the game changer for the first disciples. It made them witnesses and preachers of the Greatest Story Ever Told. It remains the game changer for Jesus’ followers today. We are witnesses to the same resurrected Jesus in the twenty-first century; and we have the same mission as they did.

PRAYER: Hear our prayers, God of power, and through the ministry of your Son free us from the grip of the tomb, that we may desire you as the fullness of life and proclaim your saving deeds to all the world. Amen.

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