And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

1 Corinthians 15:17-23

In recent years I have become fascinated by the feasts of Israel.  While we are not under the Old Testament law and therefore are not required to keep the feasts, I am convinced that we miss some of the profound depth in the Scriptures because we do not understand the “Jewishness” of what is being said.

The feast of firstfruits was held in the spring – the Israelites were to bring the first crops they harvested in the spring and present it before the Lord.  As they thanked God for providing for them what was ultimately from His hand, they also expressed faith in the next crops to come.

Did you know that Jesus rose from the dead on the feast of firstfruits? When Paul says that Jesus is the “firstfruits” of the dead, he is making a clear statement: Jesus’ resurrection was the promise of more to come!

Suddenly, this strange happening at the death of Christ (which I have never actually heard discussed in a sermon!) makes sense:

The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

Matthew 27:52-53

Zola Levitt comments about this passage, “The Lord, not unlike a Jewish planter, gratefully showed the Father the early crops of what will be a magnificent harvest later on.”

Jesus is the resurrection and the life!  It is His resurrection that promises the resurrection of my own broken body and those I love!  As Paul stated so eloquently, if it is only for this life that we hope in Christ – if this is just a good way to live that gives us meaning and peace in this life alone – we are to be pitied more than all men.  We have bought a great lie.  We are fools.

But if Jesus has been raised – what hope!

Death, where is your victory, where is your sting?

Our faith is not futile, friends.  The life of Jesus offers us more than a feel-good bedtime story and a reason to wear a new dress on Easter Sunday.

His resurrection is everything!  Without it, our faith is futile.  But with it… if Jesus really is alive…

it changes eternity.

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Yesterday we asked the question, “what difference does the resurrection make?”

Seeing the risen Jesus transformed His followers.  It changed them from a beleaguered band, hiding and locked away in an upstairs room, afraid for their lives into a courageous group willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel.  It changed Paul from a murderous, self-righteous legalist into a man who contended valiantly for the faith he had worked so hard to extinguish.

If we internalize the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, it will change us.

It is the resurrection that makes following Jesus more than my religion of choice – His empty tomb means it is irrefutable truth.

The resurrection, if we really grasp what that means, will compel us.

• It will compel us to share the Truth, as it did Jesus’ disciples – what have we to lose?  Even in the face of threats, man can kill the body, but my Jesus holds the keys to death and promises new life!
• It will compel us to live courageously in the face of suffering, loss, grief of all kinds – because we know that in the end, the ultimate battle has already been won!
• It will compel us to long for His return – His resurrection guarantees that He can and will return to claim what is rightfully His.

The resurrection erases all doubt from my mind – if Jesus is really alive, if that tomb is empty, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! He is everything He claimed to be!  Even when the world calls me narrow-minded, or claims that I depend on my Jesus as a psychological crutch, or calls out to me that I am naive… my only response can be, “to whom else would I go?  He has the words of eternal life!” (John 6:68)

The resurrection compels me.  It requires that I make a choice – if I believe it really is so, my life has to line up.

How has the resurrection compelled you?  Does your life testify to the fact that you have cast your whole self on the reality of the risen Jesus?

You can join me on a daily journey as we seek to run in the path of His commands! Click here to subscribe in a reader or by email!

We’re a few days past Easter.

I’m no longer stuffed with lamb roast.

The bags have been unpacked.

The excitement of Elijah visiting our seder still sparkles a bit in my daughter’s eyes. ;)

My question for us to consider is this: what difference does it make? If we really believe that our Savior rose from the dead and walked triumphantly out from his grave that day – are we living any differently because of it?  Does it change our lives?

It should.

The resurrection radically changed the lives of Jesus’ followers.  Has it transformed us in the same way?

This week we’ll be taking some time each day to reflect on the impact of His resurrection… and it will lead us into our next series which we will begin together on Monday. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you – how does the resurrection of Jesus impact your life?  Your faith?  Your confidence?  Your hope?

You can join me on a daily journey as we seek to run in the path of His commands! Click here to subscribe in a reader or by email!

We are still at my parent’s home as I write this – I thought I would give you a glimpse into the glorious weekend the Lord gave us to celebrate the gift of redemption and life He gave us!

We checked out the butterflies at beautiful botanic garden near my parents’ house…

It was a beautiful day full of family time!

And we’ve had some good mom/daughter/sister bonding!

I asked my dad to take some pictures of me to refresh the ones on my blog, which also meant I got some like this:

We had our second annual family seder, and this year it was much more “official!”

So official, in fact, that Elijah himself came to our seder to explain it to us:

And as I write this post, I realized we forgot to take any pictures on Sunday!  :)  The cousins have had a fantastic time playing together, we pulled out the old slides and projector last night, and have laughed until our sides hurt!  A few tears here and there… but good tears.

I hope you had a wonderful and blessed weekend celebrating the resurrection of our Savior.  He is risen, He is risen indeed!