He Lives Eternally: Carry On
Luke 24:1-8, 36-40, 44-53
Jesus knew that His death would open the door to forgiveness and salvation to the whole world. His disciples didn’t have any idea that that was what was going on when He died. They figured it was the end of their ride. They didn’t understand that He would rise from the dead. When He did, they were, of course, overjoyed. But their thinking was personal and local. “What good news (for us)! We’re saved! We’re vindicated! We’ve got it made!”
Jesus’ followers were excited and changed by the fact of His resurrection, as a stunning counterpoint to their shock and disillusionment in response to His death. “He’s alive! Great news! We’re back in business! Except for Judas, the gang’s all here!” They weren’t thinking about the implications of what had happened.
These were people who had been openly curious regarding their places in His heavenly hierarchy. They had been inquisitive about the timing of what they had presumed would be His coming in power (read: His eventual, supposed, overthrow of civil, military and even religious authority). They had been curious about the establishment of His kingdom on earth (and how they would fit into its administration). These subjects had come up over the months and years they spent with Him before His death. They were thinking of themselves and of Jesus, but they hadn’t understood that Jesus was starting with them, not ending with them. They knew they had something special: a connection with a resurrected, miracle-working, incarnate God – the Messiah! Jesus had prepped them for His death and resurrection, but they were clueless as to what all of it meant. And they had not understood what they would, or should, do with the information. Jesus finally opened their minds so that they would “get it,” and He plainly told them that He would empower them to take the vital news to the whole, lost, desperate world.
His life, death and resurrection were the beginning for them, not the end. They would not be going into spiritual or religious retirement. Rather, they were being activated for a supernaturally empowered mission to go let the world know who He was, what He did, and what it means.
The facts of His identity, His mission, His death, His resurrection, His mandate and His promise of Holy Spirit power all pointed to the future and to the world. He handed the task to them after He had done the heavy lifting. Until the whole world knows, each successive generation of Christians receives the same mandate. We must be about the work. We’re under the very same mandate that they were. Let’s go!
– The ETB writer for the spring quarter is a South Carolinian who formerly served Southern Baptists in a closed country. We are honoring his request not to publish identifying information.