Paul: Jesus the Risen One
Why would Paul see something as shaming and degrading as a crucifixion a victory? How could a crucified one become the new Lord of the universe?
Answer: the Resurrection.
Jesus rose from the dead.
God vindicated him and made him the face of his astonishing love for all to see – the face of a God who had fallen so passionately in love with his people that he emptied himself of all claims to Godhead and joined us totally in our experience of pain and sorrow and suffering and heartache.
For Paul, what that meant in practical terms was that Caesar ceased at that moment to be the true ruler of the world as he proclaimed himself to be. Jesus was now the Lord of the universe, the King of kings, the Prince of peace.
Sin no longer triumphed. Death no longer was ultimate. Satan no longer was the master. Evil no longer was supreme.
Grace – God’s infinite gift of love – now was available to all.
Light had overcome darkness. Hope had triumphed over despair. Love had disabled hate. Peace replaced violence.
A new announcement could be made: “The good news of great joy” could now be trumpeted throughout the world. The raising of Jesus from the dead on the part of Abba, his Father, is so fundamental, so essential that Paul put it this way:
“If Christ is not raised, our proclamation is empty and so is your faith; if Christ is not raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (I Cor. 15: 14,17)
Or, in the words of one scholar: “Without the resurrection, the crucifixion carries no gospel (“good news”), no announcement of royal victory, and hence no consequences of salvation …. Paul understands Jesus’ execution as the moment when the creator’s love wins the victory over the rebellious creation, when the forces that have enslaved humans and the world are defeated once and for all.”
What Paul is telling us with all the passion he can muster is that everything hinges on Jesus’ resurrection. Everything.
Admittedly, many people were crucified by the Romans. What made this crucifixion utterly unique was Easter Sunday, the empty tomb, the appearances to many afterwards, the disciples on the road to Emmaus who recognized him in the breaking of the bread, the sharing of a meal with Peter, the placement of the doubting Thomas’ hands in Jesus’ wounds, the conviction of so many that they had walked and talked and dined with him after he had been declared dead, the Christian hater Saul seeing him with his own eyes and hearing him with his own ears – and becoming Paul, a 180 degree different man. All this, and so much more, didn’t only convert Paul. The risen Jesus, the Christ, transformed and radically changed all kinds of people.
And, because of the resurrection, many people felt compelled to gather together to celebrate this explosion of God’s love, and to create communities of believers who lived lives of joy and reconciliation and service to one another.
In fact, in many cases, their enthusiasm became so boundless that they were not able to contain themselves. Like Mary Magdalene when she discovered the empty tomb, she couldn’t wait to run and tell everyone the “good news (gospel) of great joy.”
We are the fortunate ones for all of this. Because we are the ones who call ourselves inheritors of the testimony and the passion of those early disciples – those people who believed with all their hearts that they saw him and talked with him and ate with him and touched him after he had died.
We carry within us a faith DNA, if you will, a conviction that has been passed down through the ages – the conviction that God had done the impossible – he raised Jesus from the dead!!
What that means practically for you and me, according to Paul, is at least two things:
- A guarantee of our own future liberation from death and corruption;
- The conviction that right now we have access to the power of his astonishing love to such an extent that we can model our daily lives on that of Jesus, and, in doing so, are able to undergo our own little crucifixions, empty ourselves of our gigantic ego needs, and become transformed into his image and likeness.
Ted Wolgamot, Psy.D.
11809194.1
7/15/15
