Validation
Acts 2: 32 – 36 (NRSV)—
‘This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and, having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.
Therefore, let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’
The four gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth can be read in total in a quarter of an hour. Each account is very much in tune with the style of the gospel writer (e.g. John is able to include a number of intimate conversations), and each one has a distinctive quality (Matthew includes no scripture quotations). They are raw, breathless, confused, unpolished, different. Scholars argue that this is actually an indication of their authenticity, rather than being carefully fabricated later.
In ending their gospel accounts, each writer makes a brief conclusion: Matthew explains that all authority is given to Jesus, ‘so go make disciples of all people’(ethni); Luke describes his exaltation to the Father as they worship him and wait in the temple; John beautifully describes a New Day with the disciples’ dawning appreciation of what has happened.
Move to Luke’s Acts and a more comprehensive interpretation emerges. It’s important to note what is notstated as well as what is. Nothing about ‘life after death’, nothing about ‘our souls go to heaven when we die’. For the Pentecost preachers and the church community, Easter has a very this-world meaning:
‘Jesus is raised, so he is the Messiah, the world’s true Lord. Now God’s Kingdom, new creation itself, has begun and his followers have a job to do in it.’ *
The empty tomb: shocked authorities; a living, travelling, talking, arguing, eating, scarred, embracing Jesus; incredulous women; disciples in denial; crowds who cannot question its veracity… Jesus is alive! This explosive truth is the unavoidable conclusion and, for believers, generator of their unquenchable new life. God’s raising of Jesus has reversed the catastrophe of Friday into a New Genesis. Plenty still to figure out but this is where it begins.
Prayer - Jesus, my Lord and my God, Rabbouni, I fall at your feet to hold you, to see the scars. Show me more of the magnitude and magnificence of your resurrection, to comprehend the height and depth, to know the love of Christ.
* Tom Wright, Surprised by Hope, p67-8.