April 2001
As I consider the season of Easter, I think of those who make Easter one of the two times they go to church. The reason for this is that they view Easter as a day and not an event. When we think in terms of a day, such as Good Friday, it becomes a time to remember Christ’s death, that He died for me. Yet throughout history we find people who were willing to die in an effort to save another person. Some people have died for a family member, others for friends, sometimes one has died for a complete stranger. It is not uncommon in times of crisis for one person to die for another; and yet when Christ died for me it was unique. First, when Christ died it was God dying for his creation that he might save some people. Second, unlike others who died to save someone from physical death, when Christ died he died so that we could be free from eternal death. Yet dying so that others could be free is also not historically uncommon. Consider some of the wars that the United States has fought, often it is said that those soldiers died for American freedom. They commemorate those who died in war on Veteran’s Day. By making Good Friday a specific day , we make the Easter season the veteran’s day for Christians: remembering a loved one who has died to ensure our freedom. For it was on the cross where Jesus said:
"It is finished." (Jn.19:30)
Jesus then bowed his head and died. Those words not only make Good Friday a memorial day but also affects how we view the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is also viewed as a memorial, remembering that Jesus died for my sins. The bread symbolizes his body that was broken for me; His blood was shed for my sins. It leaves us solemn grieving, as the disciples were the day after his death. However, is this what Christ had in mind when he said:
"do this in remembrance of me." (Lk.22:19)
Is this a ritual or tradition done in memory of a loved one who gave himself for us? I do not think so, as the word translated as "finished" is "teleo". "Teleo" means conclusion or completion and is translated finish, fulfil, accomplish, pay, perform, and expire. For instance, we read:
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" (Mt.17:24)
We could translate Jesus as saying:
"It is paid." (Jn.19:30)
Christ died paying the penalty for our sin, but he was not finished. For if he was finished then why Easter? For at Easter we celebrate his resurrection, of which we read:
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1Co.15:16-19)
Christ was not finished when he died on the cross as the whole of the Christian life is futile apart from Christ’s resurrection. We must go beyond a day of remembrance or celebration, and must experience an event. Do you believe you will go to heaven? It is dependant on Christ’s resurrection in your life:
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Co.1:27)
Christ died to be our Savior but he arose to be our Lord living within us. Christianity is not a religion with a collection of rituals; it is a relationship with Christ who indwells us. The importance of the resurrection can be seen in the sacrament of baptism:
This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1Pe 3:21)
It is the resurrection that saves us, for when we go under the water we die. When we come out of the water Christ now lives in us:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Co.3:1-4)
Christ arose to live in us, yet many people do not believe Christ is our life. To them their past experience is more real then the Word of God which tell us that Christ lives in us:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Ga.2:20)
Christ’s resurrection ensures us that just as Christ contained the fullness of God, we too will be given fullness through the indwelling of Christ.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the Head over every power and authority. (Co.2:9-10)
This fullness in Christ causes us to become a new creation as God now lives in man:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2Co.5:17)
Easter is a celebration of life, for Christ’s resurrection grants us a new birth. Christ has now become our life:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1Pe.1:3)
Christ’s death was reactive- He died to free us from our penalty for sin. Christ’s resurrection is proactive, as His indwelling us grants us new desires and appetites for the things of God. No longer does our former way of life appeal to us, rather it has become unpalatable to our new nature, Christ in us:
No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1Jn.3:9)
It is the fact that Christ remains in us that we have victory over sin. For this reason Paul wanted to know more then about Christ, he wanted to know the power of Christ living in Him:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Php.3:10-11)
It is because of Christ’s resurrection and indwelling in our lives that we are empowered to live a holy life. Our ability to overcome sin and live holy lives is not a matter of our effort, but rather it is a matter of who Christ is and where he dwells:
We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (1Jn.5:18)
For if the very person of God indwells every believer, then neither sin nor Satan can overcome us; rather it is Christ in us who overcomes all Satan’s realm:
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1Jn.4:4)
Since Christ, who lives in us, is greater then both our sin and Satan, he displaces both from our lives through his indwelling. I am not claiming that we will become perfect, rather we will continue to be perfected. I am not claiming I am sinless, but am claiming that I sin less and less as he becomes a reality in my life. For we read:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn.1:9)
To confess our sins is to agree with God that we have sinned, once he convicts us of an action being sin. God then reacts to our confession by granting us mercy to forgive us of that sin, yet he is also proactive by purifying us from the action itself. For it is through the indwelling of Christ that we no longer continue to sin:
No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1Jn.3:9)
Christ, living in man, is the Christian life. It has to be more then a day we celebrate once a year but rather an event in a Christian’s life that must be experienced throughout the year. In this way the Lord’s supper is not a somber memorial of someone who died; rather it is a celebration of life. It is not a celebration that Christ arose 2000 years ago, rather it is a celebration that Christ is my life. For the Bible teaches us that the life of any creature is in its, blood
Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off." (Le.17:13-14; note Ac.15:29)
When we take the cup of wine, which is symbolic of Christ’s blood, we are reminding ourselves of the fact that Christ is our life and that we died to the sinful nature through him (Ga.5:24):
I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? (1Co.10:15-16)
However when we take of the bread, we are reminding ourselves that because he lives in us, every believer is part of Christ’s body:
And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. (1Co.10:16-17)
Yes, it is historically common for a person to die in order to save someone, but I can show you where they were buried. However, I cannot show you where Christ is buried. He is risen and now lives in the hearts of those who follow Him. Therefore Easter is not a day but an event which happens in every Christians life, which is remembered and celebrated every time we partake of the Lord’s supper.