The Weekly Perspective
by Burke Shade, Associate Pastor
He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!
There is plenty of joy coming from Easter and the Easter season, and for good reason: our Lord lives, and his word was vindicated, giving great hope, joy, and confidence to all his followers, both then and now.
Not only did his death clear our slate of sins, but by his resurrection, we weren’t left in a “neutral” state as cleansed sinners who have no power to live faithfully. How so? Paul says in Romans 4:25 that Jesus was also “raised for our justification.” Because Jesus is alive, and we are united to him in baptism, we now have and share his resurrected life, and in him, are made right with the Father, even as he is right with the Father: “…just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4b).
Is there more to Jesus’ resurrection? Absolutely! One more obvious point is that Jesus was resurrected as a King, as our Lord. Kings and lords not only save their citizens, but they also judge them. In fact, in Israel, the King was the top “elder” in the gate; he helped all the elders judge the people according to God’s law (see Absalom’s rebellious story).
What does that mean for us? It means that we who share his resurrected life must also live faithfully lest we come under his judgment! In our joy and celebration we can’t forget we were raised for a purpose: a faithful life lived under the watchful eye of our Judge. For the Father has fixed a day when he will judge the world by Jesus, and he gave assurance of that by raising Jesus from the dead! (Acts 17:31).