Resurrection of Lord Jesus was the crowning of His crucifixion

Lunminthang Haokip *

Easter Sunday celebrated at MBC Centre Church, Chingmeirong on April 17 2022 :: Pix - TSE

DETRACTORS OF JESUS : Human nature being what it is, it was natural for the religious leaders of Jerusalem to strongly resent the concept of 'another Jewish man' being raised from the dead. Ephesians 4:18 appropriately explains, "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."

They looked at Jesus from the fleshly point of view, someone who grew up from Nazareth, and could not come to terms with the Messiah's other-worldly statements like, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise (Mark 9:31)."

Jesus left no stone unturned to prove that He was the Son of God sent on earth to save the world. But His embittered detractors left no turn of His unstoned. It did not affect God's plan in anyway. But hate-mongers brought judgment upon themselves.

EGO EDGED GOD OUT: There was a personal reason on the part of the religious big wigs to have gone hammer and tongs against the reported resurrection of the Lord who they 'condemned in the council.' It would prove them wrong. Besides, the EGO - Edging God Out - in them rebelled that the news of the resurrection would go viral to confirm His deity at the cost of their 'belittled' status.

So they did what they could to suppress the good news. "When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep."

The blatant lie could not hold much water. It only reflected their frustration. If unbelievers could spend such a huge amount of money to hide the truth, as believers, it's incumbent upon us to spend ourselves and much more money to proclaim the truth.

CARE FROM WOMB TO TOMB : In 2013, we inducted IAS officers of 17 Indian States were sent to study the administrative structure of Sri Lanka. I was impacted by the 'Womb to Tomb' care the Sri Lankan Govt gave to its citizens. The Almighty God did the same to His own Son. Everything was planned out to the minutest detail by Jehovah from 'womb to tomb' - the Lord's birth to His empty tomb.

The pain that the crown of thorns inflicted upon our Lord flavoured His crowning on the day of the Resurrection. The crucifixion without the resurrection would have been half-baked. Now that the Lord has risen, it is advantage Christianity, worldwide, to wax eloquent on the edge we have over others. The icing on the cake is that the Lord we worship is alive today to take up cudgels for the broken-hearted.

Who else had such an authority to predict his death and rise ? Only Jesus had. "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take up again (John 1018)."

A SON ON WHOM HIS FATHER WAS WELL-PLEASED : Jesus Himself got baptised. "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John (Matthew 3:13)." John felt not worthy to baptise the Lord. Jesus insisted that John performed His baptism. John did. "Heaven was opened, The Spirit of God descended (Matt. 3:16)."

That Jesus was the Son of God and that heaven monitored His activities on earth was proved by 'A voice in heaven said, "This is My Son, whom I love; with him I am well-pleased (Matt. 3:17)." Water baptism takes immersion under water and being pulled up again. This Christian ritual virtually symbolises the death of Jesus, His burial and resurrection.

Romans 6:5 tells us, "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." The essence of the verse presupposes that a person must die in the flesh first to rise in the spirit with Christ. No sin should be left unconfessed before one gets baptised. It's a holy ritual that establishes our identity in Christ.

I HAVE NOT RESISTED SIN TO THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD: In year 2000, as a part of my conscience cleansing, I sold away my car and made do with riding a bicycle to Church.

On my way back, at dusk time, when I cycled below a horizontally laid barbed wire that I didn't see, I cut four inches of my head. Blood oozed out profusely. But the grace of the Lord helped me to pedal up to the hospital. With four stitches, I was rested for a week. In the weaker moment, I indulged in self pity, "Why Lord, while I am serving you, why this bleeding should take place?"

I was prompted to pray and seek the Lord's answer. It shocked and amazed me when I opened my Bible at Hebrews 12:4, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

My dad shed blood when he was preaching the Gospel in early 1960s. I was reminded. And the accident I met was chicken-feed compared to what my Lord suffered on the cross. Yes, I need to suffer more. I have not done enough.

The Word written in Hebrews 12:4 made me humble myself and repent to dust and ashes.