The Ressurection Story . . . OR . . . It's No Secret

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope
June 14, 2008
Larry R Evans

Quiz for Reflection

[To get the most from the quiz read the passages in brackets and look for a thread of thought which may give more depth and understanding to the question being asked.]

1. Despite denials, the resurrection of Jesus was public knowledge at the time. [Mt 27:50-53, 54-56, 57-62, 62-66] True or False?

2. Without the resurrection of Jesus the Christian faith would be futile. [Heb 12:1-3; 13:11-14; 1 Cor 15:17] True or False?

3. The primary importance of the resurrection of Jesus is that it validates His divinity. [Acts 2:32-39; 3:11-16; 2:9-11] True or False?

4. The resurrection of Jesus was the foundation for the explosive growth of the early Christian church. [Acts 2:31-33, 42-47; 11:19-21; Philip 3:7-14] True or False?

5. Prior to the bodily resurrection of God’s people will dwell with God in Heaven. [Philip 3:10,11; 1 Cor 15:14-28; Jn 5:25-29; 1 Thess 4:13-18] True or False?
Reflective Review

We must not underestimate the importance of the resurrection story. We can easily take it for granted as a basic assumption not realizing the tremendous implications it has for one’s outlook on life. Consider the following insightful statement:

“There is a world of difference between the Muslim who believes that a Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers goes straight to heaven and the Hindu for whom the rigorous out-working of karma means that one must return in a different body to pursue the next stage of one’s destiny. There is a world of difference between the Orthodox Jew who believes that all the righteous will be raised to new individual bodily life in the resurrection and the Buddhist who hopes after death to disappear like a drop in the ocean, losing one’s own identity in the great nameless and formless Beyond. And there are of course major variations between different branches or schools of thought in these great religions.” (N.T. Wright in Surprised by Hope, p.7.) For the Christian, however, the resurrection of Jesus is pivotal in constructing a life filled with hope. The historical heritage which blossomed into the Christian hope didn’t just happen. It was planned to build a sense of anticipation. For example, the “Passover commemorated Israel coming out of Egypt while Pentecost, seven weeks later, commemorated the arrival at Sinai and the giving of Torah. . . . Paul (1 Cor 15) applies this Passover image to Jesus. He is the firstfruits, the first to rise from the dead. But this isn’t an isolated instance. The point of the firstfruits is that there will be many, many more. Jesus’s Passover, that is, Calvary and Easter which occurred of course at Passover time and was from very early on interpreted in the light of that festival, indicated that the great slavemaster, the great Egypt, sin and earth themselves, had been defeated when Jesus came through the Red Sea of death and out the other side.” (Ibid, p.98) I’m not sure we always fully grasp the richness of our spiritual heritage nor how we need to build upon it. The resurrection hope – our resurrection to meet Christ in the air – didn’t begin with Christ’s own resurrection. The foundation for understanding it was laid centuries before so that hope would be a dominant characteristic of God’s people. Not a bad concept to keep in mind as we experience natural disasters, higher gas prices, the electoral process, threats of global warfare, etc. etc. “We have this hope that T. . ."

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