Jesus’ Resurrection Changes Us

Christ’s resurrection is central to the Christian faith and the keystone of Jesus’ ministry. The apostle Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith also is in vain... And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile " (1 Corinthians 15:14a,17a). And Luke records in chapter 24 verses 45-48 “Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations...You are witnesses of these things”.

It seems that the sight of the grave clothes and the empty tomb had awakened some sort of fledgling belief in the disciples that they couldn't define. They find themselves somewhere between hope and faith, not understanding what has happened but feeling at some deep level that it must be wonderful. The empty tomb got them thinking about all the things Jesus said regarding his death and resurrection. The lost hope they experienced after their master was crucified began to slowly blossom into a miraculous excitement and daring, which they needed to possess and believe in the very depth of their being so they could go out into the world and preach the gospel!

The risen Christ transformed Jesus’ disciples and gave them courage to come out from behind their locked doors to face danger in Christ’s name. After meeting and spending time with their risen Lord, the disciples finally understood their calling and gained the valour, knowledge, and the new perspective they needed to go forth and change the world, one person at a time! There is no other explanation for their newfound fearlessness, persistent bravery, and devotion to spreading the gospel, other than that they had not only seen the risen Christ, but had spent time eating with him, talking with him, and learning from him after his resurrection. Now they did not fear death. Instead, they were now also willing to give up their lives.

Many of us came to faith in a similar way. We believed in a Lord whom we knew only a little bit about, but we recognized the incompleteness of our faith. In later years, our faith deepened and our ability to articulate it grew, but looking back to when we first came to Christ, we knew there was something wonderful about our immature, inarticulate faith.

So, today, on Resurrection Sunday, let us come out from hiding behind our locked doors, whatever they may be; let us seek to understand the call Jesus has place on our lives; let us go forth with courage, knowledge and the new perspective Jesus has given us and let us in some small way be a part of changing our world; let us be fearless, persistent and brave in showing others what it means to put our faith in our resurrected Saviour and Lord, and to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Let others see in us how the resurrection of Jesus changed us!

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