“Old Marley was as dead as a doornail.” Wait! Isn’t that the opening sentence of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”? Yes it is, but I wanted you to think about death properly before we move on to the Resurrection. As another famous British author, C. S. Lewis said, “Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead.”
Too often we don’t think through all the implications of what the scriptures say. In the Gospel of John, Chapter 19, the fully human Jesus of Nazareth was unjustly condemned and crucified. He really was killed on “Good” Friday. He really was dead on Holy Saturday. And it was only on Easter Morning that Jesus was raised to eternal life. Mary Magdalene stood near the Cross on Friday, wept on Saturday, but still showed up at the tomb ready to do what she could for her Lord on Sunday.
In the world, non-Christians – if they think about Easter at all – think of bunnies, chocolate and painted eggs. If they think about Jesus at all they think of him as a good moral teacher who died. In some culturally Christian churches you would think that Jesus, being the Son of God, simply endured a bad weekend then stepped out of the tomb holding an Easter basket filled with chocolate bunnies to distribute to his followers.
But the lessons of Easter are so much more important than, “Oh, good! He’s back.” If the Holy Spirit of Christ is living in us, then we must experience Friday, Saturday and Sunday every day. By that I mean that to call ourselves Born Again Believers it takes more than simply agreeing that the Resurrection of Jesus was an actual historical event and therefore the teachings of the Bible are true. It’s not what we know that makes us Christian – or even what we do – it’s what we live.
Romans 8:12 and 13 says “we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” In practice that means making it a priority to spend time in The Word and in prayer. But prayer is not like sitting in Santa’s lap and presenting Jesus with your list of requests. It means sitting quietly, attentively, reverently and joyously in the presence of our living Savior. Listening for and to that “still small voice” that the prophet Elijah heard on the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:11 – 13).
Mary Magdalene stood sadly looking into the empty tomb when she heard the voice of Jesus say one word, “Mary”. She had spent years hearing that voice and recognized who it was who spoke to her even before she turned around to see him. She knew and
embraced the risen Jesus and her sadness was turned into joy. Isaiah 61:3 says that he gives to those who mourn “ . . . beauty for ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
Do we hear when the Lord is speaking to us? Do we recognize His voice as Mary did? Have we taken up our cross daily, examining our heart and mind for sin? Studied the Bible to correct wrong concepts of what it means to be called Christian? This Easter I invite you to read Romans chapter 8, Matthew chapters 5 -7 (the Sermon on the Mount), and Matthew 10:38. Are you simply living, waiting to die or are you dying to live? Confession, repentance, waiting on the Lord and obeying His commandments and promptings. These are how a truly transformed life is lived.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 3:20)