4-22-11<\/p>\n
For a few days, those two thousand years ago, the scoffers \u2013 the religious leaders who conspired to have Him arrested, sentenced in a kangaroo court, and put to death \u2013 they laughed and said, \u201cSee? All those claims were false! He was not God! If He were God, He could have called down ten thousand angels to lift Him from the cross! He did not lift a finger to save Himself!\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course they were right\u2026 about not saving Himself. He lifted not a finger, in order to save US. And even them, the ones who condemned Him. But for a few days they seemed correct.<\/p>\n
We know now, as they should have, that countless prophesies were fulfilled in that Man\u2019s life. But that did not make Him God. He claimed, in that mystery of mysteries, that He and the Father were one. But that claim alone waited to be shown. He was betrayed, tortured, abandoned, crucified; yes, suffered without complaint. But that did not prove at all that He was God. He died and was buried, according to the Scriptures, and that\u2026 No, we must stop there. He died.<\/p>\n
Jesus died. He was a dead man. He was as dead as Lazarus had been. His body was treated and prepared for burial as dead bodies were. It was wrapped, completely, in burial cloths. He was dead. The life was out of Him.<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t it easy, sometimes, to forget the meaning of those few days between the Crucifixion and Easter? Those<\/em> days — just as much as the prophecies and the miracles and suffering and death and words of forgiveness — those days have as much to do with pointing to Jesus as GOD, as all the familiar factors do.<\/p>\n Those scoffers said, \u201cHe saved (or healed) (or raised from the dead) others -\u2013 let Him save Himself!\u201d Well, it was the God-in-Jesus who raised people from the dead\u2026 and when He left that tomb, it was proof to the local folks -\u2013 and to every inch of mighty Creation! -\u2013 that Jesus was God. Jesus IS God.<\/p>\n Because unless Jesus rose from the dead, He was not God. Everything else about that life is a statistic or a coincidence. Details. If there is no Resurrection, our faith is in vain.<\/p>\n In parts of the Old World, and in the Old Church, routine greetings between people are: \u201cHe is risen!\u201d \u201cHe is risen indeed!\u201d \u2026 and not just on Easter Week. A good habit.<\/p>\n But as you think of the audacious, outrageous miracle of a resurrected body, with the Divine promise that we, too, may one day overcome death, and know this truth now, I challenge you to put aside traditional, nice Easter thoughts. Of peace. And of what the holiday has become. Don\u2019t reject the traditions, just put them to the side for a moment. <\/p>\n Because in a very essential way, Easter is not only a day of peace. When Jesus the Christ emerged from that tomb, it was not just so Thomas could touch the wounds. It was not just so Peter could have a second chance (third? fourth??) as a disciple. Jesus walked out, in a whole and glorified body, to meet each one of us, face to face. \u201cHere I AM.\u201d He challenges us: \u201cI am alive. Now what?\u201d<\/p>\n Now what???<\/p>\n What it means is that we must be changed as profoundly as He was on that day now called Easter. Shame on us if we think, \u201cRose from the dead. Yeah, well, that\u2019s what gods DO.\u201d In that sense, Easter is not just a Day of Peace. It is the most dangerous day of the church calendar; it is the most dangerous day of our lives.<\/p>\n