The resurrection changes everything! Then why is so much unchanged?

The crucifixion was devastating to the followers of Jesus. It dashed all their greatest hopes. So when they learned that Jesus was alive and saw him with their own eyes, they were amazed and filled with joy. They loved Jesus, so they were overwhelmingly happy to see him again, to walk him, to hear him teaching again. 

But have you ever noticed how, after the initial outburst of joy, there seems to be a growing disappointment and disillusionment with the resurrection? 

After the resurrection broken relationships were still broken. Sick people were still sick. The people that hated and persecuted the disciples were still in power. If they were depressed before the resurrection, they were still depressed. If they were poor and in debt before, nothing had changed after.

Jesus resurrected…great! Life after the resurrection…not so great.

They’re very happy Jesus is alive because they love him, but they’re pointedly disappointed in the results of his resurrection. You can see it in almost every conversation they have with the risen Christ.

The resurrection didn’t match their expectations so they were deeply disappointed. 

They expected Jesus to overthrow their Roman oppressors. They expected Jesus to rule in Israel as king. But none of that has happened. 

But there disappointment even goes deeper. Jesus is risen, but nothing has changed. 

According to what Jesus said before he died and was still saying after his resurrection, life is still going to be hard. Broken relationships were still broken. Sick people were still sick. The people that hated and persecuted them were still in power. If they were depressed before the resurrection, they were still depressed. If they were poor and in debt before, nothing had changed after.

It’s not what they expected.

It’s not much different for us. We’re still disappointed by the resurrection.

Our disappointment is sometimes expressed in a question, “If Jesus was who he says he was, then why….?” But more often our disappointment is demonstrated by how little the reality of the resurrection shapes our everyday lives.

The Bible is unequivocal: If we truly understand the resurrection and live in light of the resurrection, it will change everything. We’ll face the deepest tragedies and difficulties in our lives with hope, and we’ll lead more joyful, meaningful, peaceful lives. 

This weekend we’ll explore how the resurrection can change everything in your life. 

Come worship with us. Invite someone who needs to hear the life changing message of Easter.

Can You Really Count on God's Grace?

When pastor James Van Tholen returned to the pulpit after a six-month battle with cancer, where he had been too weak to work, he came back knowing his time was short. He knew he had only weeks or months to live.

He was about the age of Jesus when Jesus went to the cross. He was in his early thirties.

And on that first day back in the pulpit, he told his congregation that he was scared of death. And he told them why.

He told them that he didn’t feel like he had finished. In fact, he knew for a fact that he had not accomplished the kind of life God had created him to live, and now there was no time to get it right.

He would have to depend on the grace he had always preached about, but he admitted he felt unprepared.

I'll share more about his story. counting on grace, and the crucial final words of Jesus on the cross at our Good Friday prayer services.