The Hidden Act Of God.
The silence lasted through Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. Citizens of the town woke on Sunday to the belief that nothing had happened. Jesus was dead; he had not saved himself from the execution. He had died in full sight of a jeering mob, disillusioned and disappointed about his claims to deity. God had neither saved his Son nor destroyed the city that killed him.
When God did act, He acted so quietly that the city remained unaware of it. True the soldiers that guarded the now-empty tomb came to the Chief Priest with the story about the grave breaking open, Jesus rising from it, and an angel guarding the tomb. They were given money to keep quiet. The women who had gone to the grave to embalm the body of Jesus were the first to be amazed, so amazed that they hurried away in something like fright and dared to tell no one except the disciples. They were not believed.
You would have expected that when Jesus was re-united with his disciples, there would have been an explosion of wonder joy and vindication. There wasn't. Jesus reproached his disciples because they had been slow to believe that he would rise from the dead. The disciples seemed to need time to grasp what had happened.
The great event that affected everyone born before that time and everyone born afterwards, happened so quietly that only the followers of Jesus knew about it. God did not offer the citizens of Jerusalem a mighty firework show before he opened the tomb. Jesus did not ride through the streets in a victory parade; neither did he display himself to the unbelieving crowds. There was nothing to convince the public of his resurrection except the words of the disciples who had seen him. Pilate was not struck dead by God, neither was he given compelling evidence of his mistake. He continued to live; hoping that Jesus was neither the King of Heaven nor the Son of God, and fearing that perhaps he was.
Jesus, before his death, had taught that death was due to the power of evil which was presently ruling the world. He had taught that he would overcome the evil and break the power of death. Again and again he had said that whoever believed his claims would receive eternal life from the moment of his belief. He said that the reason for his coming was to give people a life that continued after death.
When did the disciples feel that different quality of life-indestructible flowing in their souls? For some, like Peter, it was instantaneous. For others, like Thomas, it took some thinking about, but it happened to all of them. Jesus had said that if anyone believed in him, that person would become a new creation. It happened; they were the same people, but different. From sitting behind locked doors fearing arrest they changed to public speakers explaining Jesus.
There had been no firework display when God gave Jesus life. Only his believers saw him. But there would be evidence. There would be signs. Jesus would live again in Heaven and live again in the lives of everyone who believed in him enough to obey his words. Those people would break the power of evil that kills, they would heal the sicknesses that hounded people to death, they would speak to the grieving and the fearful and joy would erupt in their lives. Wherever people trusted and obeyed they would be stronger than the forces of evil and darkness. Why? Because Jesus had conquered the world. He had not evaded obedience to God because of the pressure of life in this world. He had not been forced into disobedience by fear of people in the world. He had not loved what the world offered more than he had loved obedience to God. He had conquered all those things, and finally he had conquered the world, by dying rather than disobey God.
What about his followers? They would become strong like him, because they had clarity of vision. Jesus said he had seen God and come from God, he told his followers that if they had seen him they had seen God. Jesus said that his victory was their victory and that he would live in them and they too, would conquer the powers and temptations of the world.
There are many people who call themselves Christians but you can sometimes observe what is the most important thing in their lives; the power of the world, or obedience to the will of God. When you can tell this, you can then distinguish between Christians who are allowing Jesus to live in them, and those Christians who are obstructing Jesus within them because they love the world more than God.
The silence lasted through Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. Citizens of the town woke on Sunday to the belief that nothing had happened. Jesus was dead; he had not saved himself from the execution. He had died in full sight of a jeering mob, disillusioned and disappointed about his claims to deity. God had neither saved his Son nor destroyed the city that killed him.
When God did act, He acted so quietly that the city remained unaware of it. True the soldiers that guarded the now-empty tomb came to the Chief Priest with the story about the grave breaking open, Jesus rising from it, and an angel guarding the tomb. They were given money to keep quiet. The women who had gone to the grave to embalm the body of Jesus were the first to be amazed, so amazed that they hurried away in something like fright and dared to tell no one except the disciples. They were not believed.
You would have expected that when Jesus was re-united with his disciples, there would have been an explosion of wonder joy and vindication. There wasn't. Jesus reproached his disciples because they had been slow to believe that he would rise from the dead. The disciples seemed to need time to grasp what had happened.
The great event that affected everyone born before that time and everyone born afterwards, happened so quietly that only the followers of Jesus knew about it. God did not offer the citizens of Jerusalem a mighty firework show before he opened the tomb. Jesus did not ride through the streets in a victory parade; neither did he display himself to the unbelieving crowds. There was nothing to convince the public of his resurrection except the words of the disciples who had seen him. Pilate was not struck dead by God, neither was he given compelling evidence of his mistake. He continued to live; hoping that Jesus was neither the King of Heaven nor the Son of God, and fearing that perhaps he was.
Jesus, before his death, had taught that death was due to the power of evil which was presently ruling the world. He had taught that he would overcome the evil and break the power of death. Again and again he had said that whoever believed his claims would receive eternal life from the moment of his belief. He said that the reason for his coming was to give people a life that continued after death.
When did the disciples feel that different quality of life-indestructible flowing in their souls? For some, like Peter, it was instantaneous. For others, like Thomas, it took some thinking about, but it happened to all of them. Jesus had said that if anyone believed in him, that person would become a new creation. It happened; they were the same people, but different. From sitting behind locked doors fearing arrest they changed to public speakers explaining Jesus.
There had been no firework display when God gave Jesus life. Only his believers saw him. But there would be evidence. There would be signs. Jesus would live again in Heaven and live again in the lives of everyone who believed in him enough to obey his words. Those people would break the power of evil that kills, they would heal the sicknesses that hounded people to death, they would speak to the grieving and the fearful and joy would erupt in their lives. Wherever people trusted and obeyed they would be stronger than the forces of evil and darkness. Why? Because Jesus had conquered the world. He had not evaded obedience to God because of the pressure of life in this world. He had not been forced into disobedience by fear of people in the world. He had not loved what the world offered more than he had loved obedience to God. He had conquered all those things, and finally he had conquered the world, by dying rather than disobey God.
What about his followers? They would become strong like him, because they had clarity of vision. Jesus said he had seen God and come from God, he told his followers that if they had seen him they had seen God. Jesus said that his victory was their victory and that he would live in them and they too, would conquer the powers and temptations of the world.
There are many people who call themselves Christians but you can sometimes observe what is the most important thing in their lives; the power of the world, or obedience to the will of God. When you can tell this, you can then distinguish between Christians who are allowing Jesus to live in them, and those Christians who are obstructing Jesus within them because they love the world more than God.
posted by Jessie Coates at 1:14 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home