More on Easter: unconventional views on the meaning of the Resurrection

In my previous post, I said that “for me part of the message of Easter is to follow the example of Jesus and follow God's will. Another part of the Easter message is that we all should do that, regardless of our place or position.” Those parts might not seem unconventional, but I feel there are other parts of the Easter message that are unconventional.

Overcoming that which does not exist

One of those parts concerns what has been a central element of traditional Christian church dogma. Once again, I refer to the Apostles’ Creed, which says that Jesus “was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead[.]” This refers to the Resurrection, which is described in Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, and John 20:1-29. According to the Gospels, on the first Easter, the tomb of Jesus was empty, and Jesus had risen from his grave in bodily form. This is the event which Christians celebrate on Easter–the risen Christ. The Resurrection is almost always described as Jesus overcoming death, a victory over death, etc. While I do not really disagree with this, I also believe there are even greater messages in the Resurrection.

I believe that the Resurrection is not merely a statement that death was overcome. Indeed, I believe that the Resurrection is a statement that death truly was never present and that ultimately, there is no such thing as death. Now there’s something most of you have probably never heard in the institutional Church.

So, “what in the wide, Wide World of Sports is a-going on here?” One of the bases for my belief is that the Resurrection deals with more than physical death in this plane of existence. This world and this existence are but a part of life and existence in total. Our physical bodies will die, but according to scripture, there is some sort of existence after that. For instance, in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus explains that giving to those in need is the same as giving to Him, and then in verses 45-46, He says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (emphasis added). In other words, there is some sort of existence after our physical bodies cease to be.

In John 8:48-51, Jesus is being questioned by Pharisees in the temple.

“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon: but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

(emphasis added). In verses 52-53, the Pharisees, thinking that they would trap Jesus, then ask questions that seem reasonable:

“Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?”

(emphasis added). Verse 56 contains part of Jesus’s answer: “Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” Now, to anyone who thinks of life and death only in terms of the existence of our physical bodies and the perishing of the physical body, Jesus’s answers will make no sense. Abraham lived 1000 years before Jesus, so how could Abraham possibly have ever seen Jesus’s day?

Jesus provides an explanation (at least in my opinion) in other Gospel passages. In Matthew 22:31-32, Jesus says, “And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ‘I am the god of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” It seems to me that Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have been resurrected and thus are living, not dead. This passage from Matthew (and a similar one in Mark 12:26-27) are part of an exchange between Jesus and some Saducees. I like Luke's account (Luke 20:27-38):

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’

(emphasis added). So I ask the following question: How can death be present when God is God of the living and all who believe in God are alive?

I believe that first Jesus told us that resurrection--as in eternal life after a physical death--occurred before and would continue for all who keep His words and follow His example, and then, in His role as Exemplar, he showed us that there is life after the death of the physical body. He told us and showed us that eternal life is reality. Thus, while in one sense--a limited sense--Jesus overcame death, in a greater sense He showed us that death does not exist. For those who are not following my explanation, ask yourself how can there be death if there is eternal life?

Part of the Good News of Easter is that Christ is risen. Jesus did indeed overcome death in the sense that physically dying did not end His life. That is indeed good news, but I think that even greater, more joyous news is that death does not exist.

The resurrection of the body

Many Christians would contend that I am not taking into account that Jesus's Resurrection was physical in nature. As said in the Apostles' Creed, "I believe in the resurrection of the body[.]" Get ready for some more unconventional views...For me, the resurrection of the body is not a crucial part of my faith. My views about the physical resurrection are much the same as my views about the Virgin Birth (as explained in Some Christmas Eve thoughts). In fact, I will reprint those thoughts here and simply substitute "resurrection of the body" for "Virgin Birth":

I happen to believe in the resurrection of the body, but not because it is written in the Gospels. Rather, my belief in the resurrection of the body is based on my belief that anything and everything is possible with God. If that's not unconventional enough for you, just wait...Even if it is conclusively proved that the resurrection of the body did not happen, I would not care. I believe that Jesus was and is Christ, and my belief does not require that the resurrection of the body be true.

In Some Christmas Eve thoughts, I explain that the life of Jesus is most important to me. This requires further explanation in the context of the Resurrection. Part of Jesus's life was accepting God's will that Jesus would be nailed to the cross (as discussed in my previous post). Another aspect of Jesus's life is what occurred on the First Easter and thereafter--the continuation of His life.

Go back to what Jesus says about resurrection in Matthew 22:31-32 and Luke 20:27-38. There are no accounts in the Old Testament of a bodily resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, yet the Gospels make reference to Abraham being in the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 3:9 John the Baptist says to a group of Saducees and Pharisees, "Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." (emphasis added). Similar references are in Luke 3:8, 13:28, and 16:19-31. In Matthew 8:11, Jesus says, "I tell you, many will come from east and west and eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven[.]"

My point is that eternal life does not require a resurrection of the physical body. That is why the resurrection of the body is not a cornerstone of my faith. And I repeat that I believe Jesus was and is the Christ. However, for me the resurrection of the body is not as important as the continuation of His life beyond His physical body.

For me, the significance of the resurrection of the body of Jesus is that it provided the supreme example to people. Nobody before Jesus had said what he said. No one had done the things he did. Many times people either ignored or did not understand what he preached and taught. The Disciples--the people chosen by Jesus to be his closest students--often failed to comprehend Jesus's words and actions. Jesus told them on three different occasions that He would be killed in Jerusalem and the third day he would rise (See Matthew 16:21-23, 17:22-23, 20:17-19; Mark 8:31-33, 9:30-32, 10:32-34; Luke 9:21-22 and 44-45, 18:31-34), but they did not understand Him. Perhaps the only way for them to believe was for Jesus to appear before them in the flesh. Just as Jesus provided the greatest example of following God's will by being nailed to the cross, Jesus provided the greatest example that death was not present by rising in earthly form.

Thus, my view is that the resurrection of the body was necessary in order to get some people to finally believe everything that Jesus had taught. As further support, I cite John 20:24-29, which tells the story of "doubting Thomas," who would not believe that Jesus had appeared in the flesh until he could touch Jesus's wounds. Thomas does come to believe, and then Jesus says,

Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

I do not know anyone who has actually seen Jesus in the flesh, and yet I know many people who believe that Jesus was and is the Messiah. Given what Jesus said to Thomas, actually seeing Jesus in the flesh is not a requirement for eternal life. And in my opinion, neither is an absolute belief in the resurrection of the body.

Remember that Jesus expressly said the most important commandments are "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself." Frankly, I do not see how having an absolute belief in the resurrection of the body is a requirement to achieving those commandments. However, others might have a different opinion (and I am sure there are more than a few). Remember that I have also said that as long as someone follows Jesus's commandments I don't care what that person believes or practices. In this context that means that if someone needs to have an absolute belief in the resurrection of the body and places far greater significance on that than do I in order to comply with those commandments, then I have no problem with that.