Ressurection And Revolution
- Don Roe
- Apr 12, 2009
“Resurrection and Revolution”
Test: Luke 24: 1-11
“God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.”
- I Corinthians 6: 15
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
- John 2:12
In a sermon called “Sleeping Through the Revolution”, Halford Luccock
reminds us of the story of Rip Van Winkle. Rip went up the side of a mountain and
somehow fell asleep for a period of twenty years. Finally, he woke up and came down
the mountain and saw a sign that said: “George Washington, first in the hearts of
countrymen.” Rip scratched his head and was puzzled because he had never heard
of George Washington. When he went to sleep, King George III of England was still
the ruler of what was then the American colonies. Rip Van Winkle had literally slept
through a revolution!
A revolution can mean all sort of things; but, it is basically a drastic and farreaching
change. There can be a political revolution or an economic revolution or a
scientific revolution. A scientific revolution can unfold due to the thought of a
Copernicus or a Albert Einstein. There can be all sorts of revolutions, but, there is one
revolution which we Christians believe is the greatest revolution of all. It is a
revolution that has changed the nature of human life. It is a revolution which has
taken place through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the Revelation of John we find these words: “The former things are
passed away for behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5). All things are new
in Christ. Paul tells us that the resurrection is not just a one-time event related to only
Jesus; but rather, the resurrection has changed life for all of us. It has released the
power of newness of life for every human being. Jesus himself put it typically and
concisely in a poignant figure of speech when he said: Destroy this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:12). What Jesus was saying was the Spirit of
God would be released from that physical temple where the Jews worshipped in
Jerusalem and would spread forth into the whole world.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is more powerful than an economic or
political revolution. It is more powerful because it involves a new way of looking at the
world! It represents the victory of high ideals over force and coercion. It represents
the victory of compassion over selfishness. It represents the victory of joy over grief. It
represents the victory of life over death. Resurrection is revolution; but, it is possible
for some people, like Rip Van Winkle, to sleep through the revolution of the
resurrection.
It is possible for us to miss the point. It is possible for us not to involve
ourselves in the revolution of the resurrection. The Pharisee and Jesus’ enemies
assumed that there was something about the Messiah that was not true. They were
looking for a political or military leader. When Jesus came on the scene, they failed to
see that a revolution, a new creation, was taking place. It was a revolution of grace.
The Pharisees failed to see the revolution! Do you see it – the revolution of grace?
The resurrection revolution of Jesus means two vital things.
1. The resurrection means that we can be made new in spite of our
mistakes. The resurrection points to the fact of God’s forgiving presence.
2. The resurrection means that history vindicates, and human experience
vindicates, not control, but kindness, not coercion but compassion. History and
human experience point to these facts.
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