The Road from Easter – Walking with a Risen Savior
I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen. –Matthew
Don’t be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. – Mark
Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen. – Luke
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” – John
He is risen! Words that brought hope and joy to those who followed Jesus then, and words that have vibrated through the ages for those who follow Jesus. The Road to Easter had been a tumultuous and challenging time for each person in Jerusalem that week. Expectations had been all over the place, with many looking only for a political Messiah, a few for an economic Messiah who would restore Israel’s dominance, and others a compassionate Messiah who would heal the sick and care for the poor and needy. Still, very few had been looking for a sin-bearing Messiah.
Friday probably represented the end of their hope. Jesus had been crucified and placed in a tomb. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had tenderly washed and anointed his body with spices, wrapped his body, and placed Jesus in the borrowed tomb. Their Road to Easter had come to an end.
The disciples were scattered throughout the city, hiding behind locked doors and mourning the loss of not only their friend but the one they thought was the Messiah. There were the faithful women who followed Jesus and others who looked with hope to Jesus. Their Road to Easter had come to an end.
Yet something strange was happening on that early morning, word was spreading that a group of women had braved the darkness and morning chill to go to the tomb, only to find it was empty. What have you done with the body of Jesus? Could it be true? Then the hushed whispers turned to shouts, He is not here, He has risen! “He has risen” became a roar throughout the city and the generations beyond. He has risen!
Jesus understood that the Road from Easter would not always be easy. It would be filled with pain and often suffering, but He is the risen intercessor on our behalf. It is easy to be fearful, which could be a reason that Scripture tells us over 350 times, “Fear Not” or its equivalent. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” –Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV.
Jesus was offered an easy way out, but he chose the road he had to walk, even though the pain and agony of the cross would be the result. Jesus knew that sin was destructive and ultimately would lead to death. The cross was the only answer! “The cross is the ultimate demonstration that sin is real and has consequences, but also that God’s mercy is real and will ultimately triumph over judgment. Because sin is the bad news we have to accept, grace is the good news we all need to hear and believe. No one is without a need for grace. No one. (Paul David Tripp)
Though Dietrich Bonhoeffer was martyred, he knew what it meant to be a disciple on the Road from Easter. He preached a morning message in the concentration camp where he was a prisoner, concluded the message with the words, “This is the end—for me the beginning of life,” and shortly afterwards was led to the gallows. “When they are welcomed into a house, Christ enters with them. They are bearers of his presence. They bring with them the most precious gift in the world, the gift of Jesus Christ. And with him they bring God the Father, and that means indeed forgiveness and salvation, life and bliss. That is the reward and fruit of their toil and suffering.” (Bonhoeffer)
How will we walk on the Road from Easter? We walk with a bold confidence that our Savior has risen. A Savior who walked before us and now with us to enable us to carry a message of hope and redemption. The only message that brings life, filled with faith and with promise.
We can walk as ones who are redeemed, no longer carrying the baggage of our past but with the freedom of thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail. British pastor Pete Greig writes, “It’s easy to assume that my past suffering and sin have disqualified me from God’s best for my future. That the world, the flesh, and the devil have somehow successfully conspired to derail me from God’s absolute best purpose for my life…There is no such thing as a Plan B…Whenever I lose my bearings and return to him, he simply finds a way to map a new Plan A. He recalibrates, like a GPS, to give revised directions to my original destination. I rejoice that the Lord sees me not as the person I was, nor even as the person I currently am, but as the person I am becoming in and through his Son, Jesus Christ.”
“He is risen” captures one of the most beautiful yet powerful statements ever spoken. In those words, we can now walk this Road from Easter with a quicker, lighter step because of Easter morning. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Thank you for being on this journey during this Lent season as we walked the Road to Easter and now travel together the Road from Easter.
God is great! He is risen!