The song, ‘By the rivers of Babylon’ has been popular as people could emotionally rhyme with the lyric … ‘there we sat down, yeah, we wept!’ Grief, weeping, mourning and a heavy heart seem to have become distinctive marks of human existence, ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God. On hearing of the death of Lazarus, Jesus wept due to his compassionate heart, but was rather upbeat in His mind, as He taught, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die’ (John 11:25-26). The day of Christ’s resurrection was on a Sunday, and since then, it has been called the ‘Lord’s Day.’ Early apostles chose to fellowship on Sundays, which has been followed by Christians, ever since, as a mark of persistent hope and a good bye to death.
The doctrine of Resurrection: Bible triumphantly declared for ages, ‘Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away’ (Isaiah 35:10). You may ask, ‘How do I believe on something which I have no way of testing it?’ Here is where, divinely inspired Biblical doctrines can proactively work in us to be convinced by faith in resurrection, before we can experience it. Christ’s own resurrection foreshadowed in the writings of Psalmist David, Prophet Isaiah, and Prophet Hosea (Ref: Psalm 16:10 and11; Isaiah 55:3, 25:8; Hosea 13:14). Job, an old testament saint, observed, ‘For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!’ (Job 19:25-27) Isaiah taught affirmatively, saying ‘Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead’ (Isaiah 26:19). Young prophet Daniel could foresee millenniums ahead thus: ‘And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever’ (Dan 12:2-3). Jesus not only taught on resurrection, He embodied it as the first fruit of resurrection, a pattern to follow, for all who die in the Lord. Jesus affirmed the fact of resurrection by teaching, ‘this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:40) Paul’s firm rhetoric was, ‘if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!’ (1 Cor 15:17)
The nature of Resurrection: Paul was no farmer. However, his explanation was convincing that resurrection was ‘according to the Scriptures,’ as he cited the example of a lifeless seed, sprouting to life again. He described graphically, ‘I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality …’ (1 Cor 15:51-54). Here we understand God’s glorious plan of turning human existence to go on for eternity in a state of spiritual incorruptibility. There is no marriage in heaven, but an angelic existence (as taught by Jesus in Matthew 22:30). Philippians 3:21, says, ‘The Lord Jesus Christ, will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body …’
The Power of His Resurrection: It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to raise a dead body. But the Holy Spirit already works in us with such power, while we are still alive, because Romans 8:11 says, ‘the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.’ The power of His resurrection is also meant to keep us alive in Christ, first in this very life, before we can look forward to bodily resurrection later. Paul declared, ‘I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of His resurrection’ (Philippians 3:10). The secret of being alive in Christ is hinted by Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: ‘Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ The Holy Spirit empowers us with ‘Kingdom lifestyle’ for ‘the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14:17). In practice, the power of resurrection enables us to press on … with righteousness, peace and joy.
Pressing on with Righteousness: ‘God is a righteous judge’ (Psalm 7:11). Therefore, pressing on with righteousness means, pressing on with discernment – judging matters of life from the perspective of God’s word – and obeying His Word. The Holy Spirit is called the ‘Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord” helps us in our pursuit of righteousness’ (Ref Isaiah11:2). When the human mind is ruled by the Holy Spirit, there is a transforming effect in giving and sharing of one’s time, talent and treasure. ‘The righteous are generous in giving’ (Ps 37:21). This entails attending to the needs of saints and those who are less privileged and needy around us. This would also involve being mindful and praying for the persecuted brethren, and sharing the gospel of deliverance, with love and compassion of Christ, to those writhing in pain, rejection, sickness and bondage. Righteous living does not involve judging others, but judging oneself, against the standard of God’s Word.
Pressing on Peacefully: Lawyers will be there as long as human nature remains belligerent, dogmatic and unforgiving, but the Bible exhorts, ‘If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone’ (Rom 12:18). We pursue peace in terms of consciously preserving relationships in different settings – family, workplace, Church, neighbourhood and the public square. Peaceful relationship will be possible when one has the fruit of the Holy Spirit – “Peace,” without which, all our people skills will only be manipulative, artificial and sterile. The Bible teaches, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’ (Phil 4:6). Saint Paul’s life was punctuated with hunger, lack of proper clothing, nagging ailment, persecution, discord, ministerial cum administrative burden, perilous journeys, and even loneliness, left to defend all alone before a hostile multitude in the court of King Agrippa. Yet he writes even from the prison: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) That could have been possible only by power of His resurrection in Paul.
Pressing on Joyously: Jim Reeves sang right – ‘Across the bridge there’s no more sorrow / Across the bridge there’s no more pain / The sun will shine across the river / And you’ll never be unhappy again.’ Resurrection, for a Christian, is the theme of celebration here and now and a song of hope in advance, in this wilderness journey. Prophet Habakkuk’s joyous testimony was ironic, but authentic: ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.’ (Habakkuk 3:17-18). James encourages us: ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds’ (James 1:2). David prayed, ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’ (Psalm 51:2) The enablement of the power of His resurrection is a lived-reality evidenced by a new nature – marked by peace of mind, joyous spirit and righteous deeds. May our risen Lord Jesus Christ who promised the Holy Spirit to His followers bless you with the power of His resurrection, by which you can bid a good bye to death one day, or night – for there is an eternal morning!