THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

I hope you won’t mind if I share a personal testimony with you on this occasion.

I began the Easter period this year with a prayer that I might have a deeper grasp of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. In the prevailing sceptical climate I felt the need for it. It has always seemed to me that a warm, fresh, revelatory (rather than mental) grasp of that great truth is a paramount need of Christians. After all, it was the grasp of that reality that brought back life and joy to the disciples after Good Friday and gave them their new strength and momentum. It was the resurrected Jesus was the starting point for their preaching and witness.

For the disciples the reality of Jesus resurrection was only too evident; he actually moved frequently among them, ate with them and taught them. What an amazing and privileged experience! Even Paul the apostle did not experience that, but he did have a most amazing visitation from Jesus in which he
heard his voice and in which he was blinded by the revelation of his glory.
There was no going back after such a revelation. In our own times (especially in the Moslem world at the moment) many people have had visions of Jesus or seen him in dreams and heard him speak. The reality of those experiences has,as with Paul, sent them out on a life journey of witness with persecution and rejection and given them sufficient impulsion to sustain them through such trials. Such testimonies are thoroughly biblical in nature and remind me immediately of the revelation that John had of the ascended Jesus, which he
describes in Rev. 2.

But, what of me? What of my prayer? The answer did not come as vision or dream or visible reality of that sort. But it came very quickly, and it came in a manner in which I have been refreshed in the fact of the resurrection many times before. On the very same morning as the I had prayed I was having a
“catch-up” coffee with a friend. It was a good time, though I was struggling with stress headaches from too much computer work and from trying to marry an old printer to a new machine and print an important hand-out for a meeting.Toward the end of the coffee time my friend suddenly produced a cheque book and
said, “I would like to buy you something you need”. I was taken aback and blurted out the struggles I was having with the computer. Immediately my friend said, “You need a new printer – I’ll buy you one!”, and promptly wrote out a very generous cheque saying, “Get a good one, not a cheap one!”

The fact was I did not need the money for a new printer. I could have got one myself really. What I could not do at that moment, with all the struggling, was to pull myself together enough make the decision as to whether it was right to spend money on a new printer, and if had been able to make such a decision I would certainly have bought a cheap one. But here was something being offered in abundance and in genuine love which somehow immediately gave me the strength to go on from the coffee shop and buy a new printer and then complete the
all-important hand out. It was a direct gift from God.

What has this rather self-centred story got to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Well, it was one of those moments I have come to call a “catch of fish” moment. You will remember that after the resurrection, Peter, John and others (in an anxious and difficult time) went fishing one night and caught nothing. In the early morning an unknown figure on the shore told them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. When they did so, they promptly caught an enormous number of fish. The critical point in the story, however, comes with John’s comment to Peter, “It is the Lord” (meaning “it is Jesus”), referring to the figure on the bank. Contemplating an overflowing catch of fish, larger it would seem than was needed, and in unusual circumstances gave him a revelation that the hand of the risen Lord was in this. This was not really a catch of fish; this was a meeting with the risen Jesus.

When the cheque book appeared on the table after coffee and the
overabundant offer was made of a printer, I was standing exactly where John stood and saying exactly what he said, “It is the Lord!” It as a moment of revelation, and the presence of Jesus was palpable (at least to me!). The generous (almost overgenerous) cheque fell into the background as I am sure the
158 fish (an overgenerous catch!) fell into the background in the sheer exuberance that the real thing had been a personal meeting with the Lord. My friend gave me something not merely of immediate physical or emotional need, but of profound spiritual need, namely a chance to glimpse the reality of Jesus
in our midst.

So my prayer brought no visions, no dreams, but nonetheless a profoundly biblical and God-given moment with the resurrected Jesus in an ordinary life situation. I suspect that is where and how the risen Jesus wants to meet most of us and assure us that he is constantly with us. I have been aware of other and different ways in which the risen Lord manifests himself to us now in our times, but this Easter, for me, this was the way it happened. Actually, it was one of at least three similar “catch of fish” incidents during the last week.

May God give us all the eyes and heart of John, to see and recognise the hand of the Master, and then, having seen, to testify. Had it not been for John's comment, even Peter might have missed the wonder of the Lord’s hand.

Hallelujah! He is risen indeed!



Bob


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EASTER MEDITATION



Easter is an extremely rich time spiritually, bringing into focus the death and resurrection of Jesus. But the rush and pleasure of the world tends to obliterate the need to spend time quietly and in sustained reflection on those two all important events. Quietness and meditation are not prime features of the pressurised modern age, especially at holiday time! But they are crucial for real spiritual growth. They are crucial to really grasp the Easter story. Finding time for such a focus is the challenge of Easter.

When it comes to thinking more deeply about the death of Jesus, I always find the prophecy in Isaiah about the “Suffering Servant” one of the most challenging and instructive places to begin (Is.52:13-15 and 53). The reason for that is simply that it is a prophecy of the crucifixion given to Isaiah some 700 years before the event. The attraction is that it is not an obscure prophecy; at least not now the crucifixion has taken place, but an unbelievably accurate account of the event. That is what compels me to it and makes it so rewarding. It is part of the purpose of prophecy to bring wonder and faith when we see its fulfilment. This prophecy certainly brings both of those things to me each time I ponder it.

It does not of course speak of crucifixion as such. But the content is absolutely in tune with the appalling nature of crucifixion. A phrase like “his appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond that of any man” along with other words such as “smitten”, “afflicted”, “crushed”, “wounded”, “cut off (implying sudden death) from the land of the living” are all so appropriate to crucifixion. Other words are even more appropriate in the case of the crucifixion of Jesus. The word “pierced” bring us directly to the spear thrust of the Roman soldier, the expression “he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death” brings us immediately to the two thieves dying on either side of him and his burial in the tomb of Joseph of Aramathea. Moreover, Isaiah describes his death as being by “oppression and judgement”, implying a miscarriage of justice. So the pain and the agony is all there, and somehow the language of Isaiah seems to bring it home in a profound and real manner. It fills out emotionally, so to speak, the bear narrative of the gospels. The same can be said of one or two of the messianic psalms.

However, startling and accurate though the physical descriptions are, for me what is even more startling is the sheer clarity with which the prophecy explains why the “servant” died in such a manner. The explanation is as clear and simple as anything given in the New Testament on this subject. It leaves me wondering how it is that so much argument has arisen over the why and the how of the cross.

Isaiah states simply “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (53:6). In other words this Servant bore our sins. In order that there should be no misunderstanding about this, Isaiah goes on the say, “The LORD makes his life a guilt offering” (53:10), the guilt offering being akin to the sin offering. His death, in other words was a sacrifice for the sins of others, for those who would avail themselves of the offering. But this does not finish his explanations. Again he enlarges this same reason in the expression, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed” (53:5). If words mean anything, he was clearly our substitute, a willing substitute who has taken away our sin and paid the punishment due to us. There is no obfuscation or cloudiness here, no peddling of jargon – just simple straightforward statements which found illustration every day in the sacrifices that took place in the Temple.

The disciples did not see the connection between the prophetic scriptures and the crucifixion until Jesus himself expounded it to them after his resurrection (Lk.24:13-47). Since we are told Jesus expounded all the scriptures concerning himself on the Emmaus road we have every right to presume that Isaiah 53 was included. Seeing the connection their hearts burned within them – that burning was a work of the Holy Spirit.

It is really this work of causing our hearts to burn that is the purpose of an Easter meditation. Meditations do not look simply at information, nor are they there simply to gain information. We should not be satisfied simply with information. They are there so that truth might enter the inner part of our spiritual awareness and release the fire of faith. That is why they need quietness and focused time along with the word and the presence of the Spirit.

May God give you a deeper revelation as you ponder the cross and may it kindle a fire of renewed and purer love of Jesus.



Bob

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THE WORLD POWER STRUGGLE

Last week I was at a three day world prayer conference with a powerful input from Open Doors on persecuted Christians. These occasions are always enlightening and challenging. The world is getting “smaller” in the sense that increased information enables us to get a sort of “world feel”. I think that is crucial for Christians’, particularly as we learn of thousands of people across the world finding faith in Jesus every day that passes. “A light for the Gentiles” is Isaiah’s great prophetic word concerning Jesus, and this is being remarkably fulfilled in our times.

However, during those three days and for some time prior to that, my mind was also thinking about the governments and ruling powers of this world. I am realising more and more how deeply penetrated they are by the Prince of this world. One of the three temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness was the offer from Satan of the governmental rule of the world. We are told, “The devil showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of this world”, and he then offered Jesus their authority and splendour, saying, “I can give it to anyone I want to”. Jesus refused the offer of becoming such a world ruler, but did not refute the validity of the devil’s claim to be able to give it. Indeed his very use of the term “The prince of this world” in Gethsemane was something of an endorsement. Paul used a very similar expression of Satan, “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph 2:2). The fact is he has penetrated the governmental high places of the earth because his lust is for power and because humanity has opened the way. Consequently he
has control in those areas.

The evidence of this penetration is everywhere, and its effect is deeply saddening. For instance
we continue to watch the Syrian authorities massacring its citizens simply to retain “power” and “authority”. The cruelty, disdain of human life, callous attitude to children and the brutality all speak of the essentially dark spiritual source of this governmental action. We see an unresolved “power struggle” in Egypt, with oppressive militancy hovering in the wings. We see a lot of such hard line dictatorships in every continent of this world. Corruption, greed, deceit and oppression are the hallmarks of such rule. People suffer, and the poor are very poor. The mark of darkness is on them all.


It is not simply among dictatorships, however, that such marks are to be found. The so-called democracies betray the same corruption in their high places and institutions. Wealth, corruption and ambition dominate the U.S. political scene, not to mention European politics. Russia is unbelievably corrupt – commonly agreed to be ruled by kleptomaniacs. The language of deceit continues to inform international relationships, as indeed it always has. History is in fact one long consistent lesson in the way that “darkness” has penetrated and ruled the kingdoms of this world. The men who have been labelled “great” have frequently been the perpetrators of the worst violence.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the power structures of this world have invariably opposed genuine Christian witness; the insensate hatred and fear that the power thirsty dictators have toward Christian witness even in our own times is very evident. They recognise that a true Christian outlook is utterly contrary to and undermining of oppressive power. So, when Christian pastors speak out against drugs and corruption in Colombo they get shot. This is why Jesus warned his followers about persecution from councils and rulers. He knew the nature of the spiritual struggle that underlay world rule. One of the great tragedies of the history of the church has been the way in which it has succumbed to becoming one of the powers of this world. Once it joins forces with political power it loses its essential nature, moves over into another kingdom and actually persecutes true followers of Jesus.

And yet, Paul the Apostle is adamant that “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom 13:1), and urges that prayers be offered for “kings and those in authority” (1 Tim 2:1). He is not endorsing evil rule here, merely the fact that government is a function that has its origin in God. He is quite clear that God’s establishment of authority is essentially for the punishment of wrong and the encouragement of godliness and as such is to be obeyed, but he is not blind to the fact such authority has been usurped and that we need to pray much for the restraint of the Spirit on the present powers of this world.

Two facts are of great comfort when we contemplate this scenario. The first is that despite the enemy’s grip on the kingdoms of this world, God remains utterly sovereign and even in the evil machinations of its rulers he works out his own purposes. That was true of Babylon and Persia in biblical times and remains so today in the twenty first century. The second is that prophetic purposes of God are very clear; his king and prince, Jesus, is destined to rule the nations. The nature of that rule will be justice, righteousness and peace.




Bob

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