2024-04-03

Resurrected Jesus and the Political Lies

It is through the crucifixion of Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, that our sins of the past, present and future are forgiven. We are washed clean by His blood and can be in right standing with God (2 Corinthians 5: 21). But if it weren’t for the resurrection, the cross would have no power. In this article, we will discuss how Christ’s resurrection makes it possible for us to know Him and be transformed by Him. We will also take a deeper look into the politics that played a role on the day, resulting in a terrible lie about His resurrection.

Proof that Christ is the King

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. (Matthew 28:1-6)

Without the events on resurrection Sunday, the death of Christ would have been the greatest tragedy the world has ever seen. The devil would have won the war for our souls. Indeed, we would have no reason to believe that Jesus was who He said He was. The single act of His resurrection proves to mankind and all the heavenly hosts that He was no mere man, no false prophet. He rose from the grave, He defeated death. This was the ultimate test of His authority. Life and death are both under His command.

The gates of grace are opened

What does the resurrection mean for the gentile world? In His letter to the Romans, Paul captures the essence of the resurrection to the follower of Christ.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. (Romans 6: 5 - 8)
Christ was not alone on that cross, all of our sins were with Him. Our old sinful selves were crucified along with Him after which we were resurrected with Him. Our new spiritual selves were raised up with Him. We emerged from the grave as new beings, victorious over death. The only thing we need to do to access this new life, is to give our lives to Jesus.
Once we surrender our lives to Him, something inexplicable happens in us. We are changed, made new. This is not something we have any control over, we hardly understand what happens to us and in us, but we can feel that we are radically different from before..
This moment of our resurrection, our salvation is followed immediately by our sanctification. Sanctification is a lifelong process by which we are made more Christ-like. In a way it is God’s project with the ultimate goal of making us holy, like His son. Like salvation, our sanctification is entirely an act of God. If we try to speed it up, we get as far as hamsters running in a wheel. If we try to resist it, we will experience a burning conviction which can only result in repentance and further sanctification. This miraculous transformation is made possible by the resurrection of Jesus and is triggered by the simple step of surrendering our hearts to Him.
Does it sound too simple? In this world, there aren’t any freebies. Life is hard and it does not owe us anything, we have accepted that. But the most important gift you will ever receive is absolutely free. Our salvation and sanctification is a gift out of God’s grace, made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Am I a child of God or the world?

And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” (Matthew 28: 12-14)

Politics and religion have always been intertwined. The Pharisees bribed the guards to keep quiet about what they had witnessed. The earthquake, the opening of the grave and the angel sitting on the entry rock rattled them. The grave was empty. If this was exposed, all would know that the Pharisees crucified their own promised Messiah. The Pharisees’ rule would be over. This simple bribe birthed a lie that is believed among Jews to this day; that the disciples stole Jesus’ body.

But how was it so easy for the multitudes singing Hosanna, the thousands who witnessed Jesus’s miracles, to just grow quiet? They were the Pharisees’ puppets, without a voice or a mind of their own. By the time of the Pentecost, there were only 120 believers of Christ.

Are you appalled by the spineless Jewish citizens? Before you dismiss them as no better than their Pharisee leaders, do some self - reflection. How willing are you to speak out against evil today, when most of our churches won’t speak out against our government’s corruption? Most of our churches are influenced by national politics. People don’t have the guts to go against the stream and risk social ostracization.

How many of us are willing to believe that God does the unimaginable, that He performs miracles? Sadly, many Christians diminish God’s power by refusing to believe that God is still the same miracle worker that He used to be in the times of the New Testament. They read about miracles as if they were fairy tales.

So if Jesus was crucified and resurrected today, to which camp would you belong? The 120 believers or the fearful silent majority?

Without realising it, most of us are puppets to society. Let’s take a modern day example to illustrate our weakness. Until the 20th century adults were not milk drinkers. Babies would have milk bottles but it wasn’t a part of our general cuisine. All of this changed when American cow breeders lobbied together, planning to make money by hooking people on milk. Television advertisements brainwashed millions into drinking a full glass of milk with breakfast to ensure adequate calcium consumption. The world was quickly taken by milk mania.

People are easily manipulated, just like puppets on a string. We need to be honest with ourselves, would we boldly stand for Jesus when no one else did? Make the choice today to live unto Christ’s purposes and not to the world.

My identity in Christ?

As a born again Christian, your identity is not in this world . It is in Christ alone. Let’s revisit Romans 6 to find out what it means to have our identity in Christ.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6: 8-11)

We know that our old sinful identities were nailed to the cross with Christ and that we were born again by the power of His resurrection. He is alive, not as a human being, but as a glorified king, by God and for God. Just as Christ lives to God, we live to Him. We are His craftsmanship, made for His kingdom and not for the world. Our identities are bound to Him and a glorious inheritance awaits us.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6: 22)

Our eternal lives begin now and it is very different from our old worldly lives. We already enjoy fellowship with God. Even though we are not original heirs of His promised kingdom to the Jews, we are already experiencing it through our fellowship with Him and the truth He makes known to us. Although we were not God’s own children, we were adopted by Jesus. No longer orphans, we have jumped the line and can experience the King and His kingdom.

Through His resurrection, Christ proved to all of heaven and earth that He is the king. Death cannot stop Him. As His adopted children, we live our lives in Him. Although we still inhabit this world, we are not to be friends with it. Our old lives have passed away on the cross and we cannot return to it. We are resurrected and eternally alive in Christ and for Christ. Therefore we must resist the power of the world and not allow it to control us. Do not be slaves to this sinful world. It wants to hide the truth, like the Pharisees hid Jesus’ resurrection. Instead, be the light which exposes the secrets of this dark world (Ephesians 5: 11 - 14).

This article is summarised by Christine Van Reenen from the semon of Ps Marko Kiroglu on 31 March 2024

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