The Game Changer

I Cor 15:42-44 "So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." ESV

 

As I think about it, the day that we call "Good Friday" was a very bad day for many. It was a bad day for Jesus who was tortured and crucified and died. It was a bad day for His mother Mary, who watched her Son go through a horrific death. It was a bad day for John who watched his best Friend get nailed to a cross and who was given the responsibility of taking care of Jesus' mother. It was a bad day for the disciples, who were so cowardly they all scattered and were nowhere to be found. Good Friday was not good at all, and it would have remained bad…until three days later when something happened that had never happened before. This dead Guy, Jesus, walked out of the tomb that He was buried in…alive. He walked out of the tomb under His own power and has not died since. This dead guy, Jesus, is no longer dead. He is alive. This is the resurrection. It is the hope that is reflected in this day, Easter. That is what today is all about. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is a game changer…not just for Jesus but for Mary and John and the disciples. It was such a game changer for the disciples that these scattered cowards all preached the truth of this eternity changing event and they all died martyrs, clinging to its truth.

 

Not only was this event a game changer for these guys, it is a game changer for all of us. All of us who will perish. All of us who are weak. All of us who have physical bodies. That is all of us. And it is a game changer because we no longer have to perish or be weak or have just a physical body. Because Jesus rose from the dead we who were going to perish now can live forever. Those of us who have bodies that decay and are dishonorable can be raised in glory. Those of us who are weak can be raised in power. Those of us who have physical bodies can have spiritual bodies.

 

I say: "Can" because there is one caveat. It is this…"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die." John 11:25 The caveat: Belief in Jesus and what He did on the cross. He took my sin. He took my punishment. He took my grief. Why? "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…". I Pet. 3:18 That one act did it. That is all that was needed. No good works on my part. No blowing myself up. No lighting candles. No self flagellation. No meditation. Just Jesus…on the cross…risen from the dead. That is all. That is enough.

 

That is what this day is all about. The game changer…the resurrection…insuring eternal life for all who believe.