[Faith-talk] Monday, Resurrection Then and Now

Sun Mar 27 20:47:58 UTC 2011

Resurrection Then and Now 
Jill Carattini 
________________________________________

There are at times immense chasms between historical depictions of Jesus and
depictions of Christ in orthodox Christology.  The disparity is such that
attempts to reconcile the historical reality of Jesus of Nazareth with the
"perfect God, perfect Man" of the early confessing church often seem
futile.  Yet this is precisely the task before us.  
Though there are no doubt those among us who would not believe on any amount
of evidence that something so unusual as the resurrection could happen,
there are countless others who are asking perceptive questions.  Among
others: What happened on that first Easter morning?  Why would the disciples
go to their deaths making such an outrageous claim?  And why does the rise
of Christianity remain a challenge unanswered?  
Such questions are a good starting point for anyone, and often—like the
resurrection for those who first beheld it—the questioner is moved quickly
from historical matters below to matters far above.  As N.T. Wright notes:
"[T]he challenge [of the resurrection] comes down to a much narrower point,
not simply to do with worldviews in general, or with 'the supernatural' in
particular, but with the direct question of death and life, of the world of
space, time and matter and its relation to whatever being there may be for
whom the word 'god,' or even 'God,' might be appropriate.  Here there is, of
course, no neutrality."(1)
The earliest creeds confess Jesus as one who "suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.... [And] on the third day he rose
again."(2)  The writers of these creeds confessed the suffering of Jesus as
a datable event, his crucifixion as an occurrence in history.  Even "three
days later" is a confession of a historical, quantifiable occasion—albeit an
occasion wholly unprecedented.  
Unlike modern presuppositions might project, there is nothing abstract about
the details confessed by those who first beheld the risen Christ.  Yet the
resurrection of Jesus was clearly not viewed as a static fact either, a
fixed event both occurring and remaining in history.  Their confessions
included a keen understanding of implication:  "We believe that Jesus died
and rose again and so we believe..." says Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:14.  The
resurrection of Christ was seen an eschatological event with clear
consequences and necessary responses.  It was a phenomenon that was actively
interpreted in the backdrop of the very anticipation that beheld it.  
The details of death, burial, and the third day confessed in the early
creeds are similarly followed by certain understood implications.  Jesus is
now "seated at the right hand of the Father."(3)  The resurrection verified
Jesus's ties with the Father as well as his claim to divine authority.  This
rabbi who was accused of blasphemy for calling himself equal to God was now
shown by God to be speaking the truth.  "For God raised him from the dead,"
writes Paul in 1 Thessalonians 1:10.  Far from the rebel Jesus was accused
of being, the risen one and his claims to the Father were in one instant,
visibly and unmistakably confirmed by the God of Israel.  
Thus, it is also confessed of Christ:  "He will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead."(4)  For those who first beheld it, the
resurrection is clearly not seen as a one time event.  There are ways in
which it informs the future and, indeed, touches all of history.  Writes
Wolfhart Pannenberg, "Through his resurrection from the dead, Jesus moved so
close to the Son of Man that the insight became obvious: the Son of Man is
none other than the man Jesus who will come again."(5)  For the disciples,
this meant the beginning of all end events—the arrival of the time of
judgment as well as the universal resurrection of the dead.  In the words of
the Athanasius Creed:  "All men shall rise again with their bodies: and
shall give account for their own works." 
In the eyes of Jesus's beholders, the resurrection had clear implications
for our own bodies, lives, and deaths.  Paul is similarly bold in his
application:  "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20).  As the
fulfillment of apocalyptic hope, the risen Jesus is understood as the one
who ushers in the future resurrection promised to all of God's people.  
The resurrection is so much more than an event in history, but that it is an
event in history is what allows us—indeed, requires us—to answer the very
question Jesus first asked his disciples:  Who do you say that I am? 
However we answer this question, there is, of course, no prospect of
neutrality.   

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) N.T. Wright, Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2003), 712.
(2) Excerpt from the Apostles’ Creed.  Similar wording is found in both the
Nicene Creed and the Creed of Athanasius.
(3) The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed
(4) The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed
(5) Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus, God, and Man (Philadelphia: Westminster
Press, 1977), 68.