Resurrection Sunday has passed, but we are still in the Easter
Season. In this process, I have been reflecting on what resurrection means to
different folks – both in the past and in the present. In order to fully
appreciate what this means for folks in the past, we need to step into the
reality of Jesus disciples of two thousand years ago.
Just like we have now in various religious faiths – like
Christianity – not everyone then agreed about certain things – like life after
death.
In the Judean communities, there were two predominant thoughts.
Those of the Temple, priestly class, the Sadducees, who did not believe in life
after death, the resurrection of the soul or immortality.
Then there was another group, the Pharisees, more in line with the
common folk who established the synagogues and places of worship outside the
temple. They did believe in life after death, the immortality of the soul, and
the resurrection. The resurrection then was and is similar to our understanding
now in that at the end of the age, the Messiah will come and those who died
before his return will be resurrected. Until then they are dead in body and
asleep in the spirit.
Just like then, it’s not clear cut on what to believe now. Various Christian denominations have their doctrines,
and faiths outside Christianity have their doctrines or beliefs.
For instance, in the Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist faiths, there
is the belief in Karma – the law of cause and effect, what goes around comes
around, what you do to others will come back to you. Similarly, the belief in
reincarnation based on one’s karma results in the cycle of birth, life, death,
and rebirth. A new life based on one’s karma or the moral quality of the life
lived causes one to be reborn as a human, animal, or spirt depending on how you
lived your previous life. Today a human, tomorrow you could come back as an ant
or a tree or a goat. So, in this system, there is not just immortality but also
this constant loop driving for perfection of one’s moral character towards
ascension out of the loop into oneness with the Source of the Universe.
Atheists and Agnostics don’t necessarily believe in God or a Source
and so for many of them, death is final – like it was for the Sadducees.
So what about you? What do you believe? What do you believe about
Life? And Death?
This would have been the question for Jesus disciples. They were
ordinary lay people, mostly the equivalent of being a blue-collar worker with a
few exceptions. Matthew was a wealthy tax collector, in good with the Romans.
Roman and Hellenistic beliefs also had their influence.
For the Greeks and Romans who had a pantheon of gods who were
immortal, death was grim for the average person. They wandered in a grey
afterlife devoid of pleasure and would cease to exist if their family members
forgot them. This led to the veneration of ancestors to perpetuate their
existence.
So, in the world of Jesus time, the idea of death was very final
for most people. Reincarnation was not a thing for humans in the Middle East,
so when someone died, it was thought of by most as a final departure – a loved
one gone forever. For some Judeans, that loved one was gone until the
resurrection of the last days – but no one knew when that would be.
That’s why the death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus was such a big deal –
and his sister Martha was so upset with Jesus. The scripture I am referring to
is in the Gospel of John, chapter 11, verses 1-44.
It is a great story and worth the read, but it is too long to read
in its entirety here, but here is a link below for you to get to it on Bible
Gateway.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+11%2CLuke+19&version=NRSVUE
Here is my summary. Jesus was friends with Mary, Martha and
Lazarus, tight knit siblings who lived in Bethany. Jesus was several days
journey away when he got a message that Lazarus was sick, and the sisters were
sending for him. Jesus purposefully remained where he was. Several days later, He
declared to Peter that Lazarus was asleep. Peter did not understand that
Lazarus was dead, so Jesus said to him that Lazarus was dead, and it was for
his sake and those of his disciples that he was not with Lazarus when he died. They journeyed to Bethany, but when he got
there, Martha complained that he was too late and was grieved because she
believed that if Jesus had been there, he could have prevented Lazarus from
dying. To the sisters, Mary and Martha, Lazarus was gone when he died – at
least until the unknown time of the resurrection.
What Jesus says to Martha changes everything they thought about the
resurrection and should change or recalibrate what we think we know about the
resurrection:
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even
now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus
said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha
said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last
day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the
life.[f] Those
who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and
everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She
said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[g] the Son of God, the one coming into the
world.” John 11:21-27
Remember,
Jesus is declaring that He is the resurrection BEFORE his death, burial and
Resurrection. Resurrection Power was already in his hands. He did not have to
die to have resurrection power. This is important.
Then Jesus called for them to roll away the rock from the tomb,
much like in his own resurrection story, the rock was rolled away from the
tomb, and He called for Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and Lazarus came out
wrapped in burial cloth.
Resurrecting Lazarus from the dead and back to life as a human
being – not just a spirit – was Jesus’ way of demonstrating to his friends and
disciples that he already had power over death. He knew what lay ahead of him –
he knew about his impending death – and he was trying to demonstrate to his
followers that even if he did die in the flesh, there was hope, there was
nothing for them to fear.
That Jesus resurrected a person from the dead is remarkable in itself
– so much so that not everyone believed it then nor do they believe it now.
It is this act that stirred the Sanhedrin to look for a way to kill
Jesus, which they did. There had to be some reason for them to want Jesus dead.
Healing people and casting out demons is one level of ministry, but the power
of someone who could raise the dead was a real threat – not just to their
power, but they were concerned how Rome would feel about a Judean wielding this
kind of power. They were looking at their current circumstances, not their
possibilities.
Jesus did something big that day. They had stories of Old Testament
prophets raising people from the dead – that was part of their tradition, so at
the very least, Jesus was elevated to the status of a prophet.
Right here, Jesus is already clarifying who he is and what it means
to believe in him – the promise of eternal life, immortality, life after death.
AND HE’S NOT DEAD YET.
Jesus declares in this moment how to achieve supernatural
immortality – once only believed by these people as a possibility for – God –
or for the locals, their pantheon of gods.
This is huge. He departs from even the understanding that people
will sleep until resurrection day! He says – believe in me and live and never
die.
If you currently take life after death for granted, whether or not
it’s because of Jesus, try to imagine this state altering concept.
Immortality was not accessible to human beings – ever. Death at
best was sleep until hope of an undesignated resurrection day. At worst you
wandered in a grey region in Hades perpetually.
But Jesus just declared that he was the Resurrection – there is no
future day. There is no more waiting. And for those who believe in him, there
is no grey region in Hades where you live perpetually.
And he had not yet died nor been resurrected – so whether or not
you believe in His resurrection, he has already declared the truth about THE
resurrection.
Let me repeat this most important point – Jesus in this scripture
declared that he IS the RESURRECTION. There is no future date. There is no more
waiting. So, whether or not you believe in His resurrection from the grave, he
has already declared the truth about the resurrection. Resurrection happens
through Jesus Christ, not on some future appointed day. And the resurrection
was not ever dependent on his death and resurrection. Right here in scripture
before his death, before his burial, before his resurrection, not only does he
claim to be the resurrection, He demonstrates his power to raise people from
the dead in a bodily resurrection.
So, what does this mean for Karma? Karma is still a cosmic law of
cause and effect. What you set into motion by your actions will result in a
consequence of those actions. This can be related to the consequences of sin. There
are planetary consequences of sin, and scripture admonishes us to not sin for
our sake and the sake of those around us. Continuous perpetual sin becomes evil,
ill will towards self and neighbor and has no fellowship with the Living God. When
a person refuses to turn from sin, the consequences to their person are
disastrous. But this is a whole other subject for another message.
What does Jesus being the resurrection mean for reincarnation? What
it means for those who believe in Jesus is that there is no more striving for
perfection in order to reach or ascend to God or the Source of the Universe.
Jesus is God incarnate. Believing in Him takes one out of this perpetual loop
of living, dying, and reincarnating for eternity on this planet. It does not
mean that we stop learning or growing, but our ascension here is complete
through Jesus who is the resurrection power for humanity to ascend off this
plane of existence after our bodily death.
So, what is Resurrection Sunday really about? Resurrection Sunday –
Easter – is a remembrance that Jesus demonstrated the power he had already
proclaimed he had right before he raised Lazarus from the dead. It is not just
a celebration of his resurrection, but that He is the Resurrection.
Also, he did not say anything to Martha about sin or atonement. He
said – “believe in me.”
We have wrapped our understanding of Jesus’ death and resurrection
around these concepts of sacrifice, atonement for sin, and the paschal lamb.
The early church fathers like Peter and Paul were trying to understand, but
Jesus clearly says to Martha as recorded in the gospel of John,
“I am the resurrection. Believe in
me.”
That’s it. His death, burial and resurrection were a means to
demonstrate his power and authority, which he had already done.
For me, Resurrection Sunday is a remembrance that I am a living
being, alive in Christ Jesus for an eternity. When I die, my person continues
on because I believe in Christ Jesus. When my loved ones who believe in Jesus
die, they live for an eternity, which means that we will not be separated. I
also believe that those who die who do not know Christ Jesus will sleep, like
Jesus said Lazarus was asleep. Their soul sleeps until the end of an age where
Jesus does go to them and give them an opportunity to believe in him. This is
demonstrated later in the story of Jesus resurrection – and also a story for
another message about his resurrection.
For today, know that Jesus is the Resurrection that you receive
when you believe in Him. Attaining resurrection status does not require
atonement for sin, although that is part of our relationship with Jesus. It
only requires that you believe in Him to be granted the opportunity to live
without ceasing, to exist after your body dies. That is kind of a big deal. To
know that you will continue to exist after your body dies, your personality,
your gifts, your knowledge, your relationships – how would that change how you
live now? To know that everything you do here impacts your eternity, how would
you live now? How would you treat yourself? Your family? Your neighbors? Your
planet? What would you do differently knowing that what you do today impacts
you forever? Remember, Karma is a Cosmic Law. What you set into motion, what
you cause, has an effect. What kind of effect do you want to have on your life
now knowing that those consequences will follow you forever? No pressure.
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