How many Easter sermons have you heard that go something like this..."because Jesus rose from the grave, we have hope of eternal life...because Jesus rose from the grave we have the hope of Heaven." Let me say at the outset that I agree with these statements, however, I want to deal with what I feel might be a grave mistake in allowing the story of Jesus' resurrection to be kept at such a limited view.
Let me start by laying my thoughts out in a sentence...the story of Jesus' resurrection is at its heart the story of new creation, or the reclaiming of creation by a God who did not give up on what he created. Yes Heaven is a part of that story of new creation, as it is a promise that we will be with Jesus when we die, however, in the words of N.T. Wright, "heaven is not the end of the world". Jesus rising on that first Easter morn was the beginning (or firstfruits as Paul put it) of what is the new creation that is transforming all things. It is the remedy to the sickness of sin that has distorted the creation of God. In rising from the grave Jesus overcame the ultimate result of sin...death.
Remember back to the book of Genesis when our fore-parents made the decision attempt to be like God. They brought sin into this world and that sin distorted, tainted, and twisted God's good creation, including us. In Gen. 3 there were a number of consequences given to Adam and Eve for their actions, but the ultimate and overarching result of sin was death. Jesus (who is correctly labeled by Paul as the "second Adam") rose from the grave after dying on the cross and in doing so overcame the ultimate result of sin. He is the remedy for the sickness of sin. He is new creation within the old dying creation. He did not come to evacuate his people from a world burning and going to hell, he came as the remedy to cure the sickness that infected humanity and all of creation. He is the New Creation, and now when we place our faith in him, we too are new creation and a part of new creation. This is the story of Easter. Let the story go further than just Heaven, because if it doesn't it is not telling the real "Good News."Labels: creation, heaven, Jesus, resurrection |
