THE
RESURRECTION EXPERIENCE:
The Secret of the Early Followers of Jesus
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enabled a carpenter by trade and twelve men (fishermen, a tax collector,
and largely common laborers) in a short thirty year period so impact
their world that life has never been the same?
What cause the twelve to be so radically changed?
From being beaten down -- fearful and afraid-- by the
circumstances of life:
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To men who uncompromisingly
faced their impending death:
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What cause these "unlearned and ignorant men" (Acts 4:13) to
be able to spread from Jerusalem to their entire known world in
basically one generation.
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Without
the use of television, radio, newsletter, city-wide crusades, or mass
revivals.
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The
spread of Christianity is extraordinarily remarkable:*
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Its
success was not dependent on military power, but on the
persuasive speech of wandering preachers.
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The
expansion took place under the conditions of duress: local
harassment and persecution, the death of leaders, and the lack
of a strong or controlling center.
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What
cause these "unlearned and ignorant men" to be able to
accomplish immediately five major transitions in basically one
generation.
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Geographically,
the movement traveled from a local Palestinian base to a
Greco-Roman world.
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Sociologically,
it moved from an itinerant, rural phenomenon to an urban
culture located in households.
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Linguistically,
it moved from the Aramaic of Palestine to the koine Greek
of the Hellenistic world.
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Culturally,
it moved from being a sect within Judaism to an assembly with
dominant Greco-Roman culture.
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Demographically,
it increasingly succeeded among Gentiles rather than Jews, so
that by 70, the majority of Christians were already Gentile in
background.
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Christianity
was born, not as a direct result of Jesus’ teaching or action,
but as a result of what God is claimed to have done through his death
and resurrection.
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The
beginning of Christianity is unique in it was not established as
Judaism.
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In
Judaism, God disclosed his will through speaking and that, then,
was recorded in writing that became a system or basis of life.
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Christianity’s
fundamental moment of revelation is:
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What enabled these early followers of Jesus to experience such phenomenal
happenings was a powerful spiritual experience.
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It
was not so much the teaching of Jesus, as such, and consequently
the attempt to follow those teaching that began the movement of
Christianity.
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The
movement of Christianity had its beginning in the claim of the
early followers of Jesus to have had "an experience of
Jesus" after his death.
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They
were saved, they were transformed, they were empowered by the
experience of Jesus himself.
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They
were touched by a personal, transcendent, transforming energy
that came from God, not from themselves -- what they knew as the
Holy Spirit.
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What
radically changed the early followers of Jesus was they encountered the
"Resurrection Experience."
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The
"Resurrection Experience" is based upon the claims of
Jesus: He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father [the Kingdom of God], but by
me." (John. 14:6)
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Jesus
revealed the Way by the life he lived.
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The death and resurrection of Jesus not only revealed the Way; it, more
importantly, became the Way.
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When
Jesus was raised from the dead, he did not come back to life in the same
physical sense as before his death.
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Although
retaining a body, he was profoundly changed.
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Mark
recorded, "he appeared in another form unto two of them, as
they walked."
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Luke
described, "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself appear in
the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they
had seen a spirit. (Luke 24:37)
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"And
it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and
blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were
opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their
sight." (Luke 24:30,31)
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Jesus
did not resume his earthly, physical existence but now share
fully in the life of God as Lord.
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"So
then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up
into heaven, and set on the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)
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He
was raised from the dead and became the source of life -- the
life-giving Spirit.
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When
the early followers of Jesus encountered this "Resurrection
Experience," they, too, experienced a radical change.
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Although
they remained in their physical bodies, the essence of their
lives underwent a profound transformation.
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For
example, the "Resurrection Experience" and the results of that
encounter with Jesus after his death in the life of an early disciple of
Jesus has been recorded:
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"And
Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of
him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any
of this way, whether they were men or women, he
might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he
came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a
light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he
said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom
thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks. And he trem-bling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go
into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And
the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a
voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and
when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by
the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days
without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a
certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the
Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which
is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one
called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen
in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand
on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered,
Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath
done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authorityfrom
the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the
Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto
me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the
children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must
suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered
into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul,
the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou
camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and
be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from
his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith,
and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat,
he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the
disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached
Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God." (Acts
9:1-20)
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The "Resurrection Experience" of Saul:
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Taken
down, made blind, encountered the risen Jesus and then raised
transformed with new sight.
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Paul
would later say this "Resurrection Experience" event would be
the reality of all who would enter the Kingdom of God: "Know ye
not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have
been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in
the likeness of his resurrection. (Rom. 6:3-5)
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The
"Resurrection Experience" of the early disciples of
Jesus accounts for the power to radically change their lives.
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For
the early followers of Jesus their conversion from the old
lifestyle to be transformed to be participants of the kingdom of
God was a powerful life-changing experience.
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Jesus:
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| Paul: |
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You:
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The essence of the "Resurrection Experience:
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"Involves
the present as well as the past; Involves the disciple of Jesus
as well as Jesus; It is less a historical happening as it is a
present and future event.
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Paul
would state: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is
dead in vain." (Gal. 2:20-21)
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Paul
was crucified with Christ not when Christ died on the cross but
when he was taken down on the Damascus road.
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The
fact that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead in the
past to become the "quickening Spirit of Life" enabled
Paul to encounter his "Resurrection Experience" on the
Damascus road.
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Jesus
would simply state: "As the living Father hath sent me, and
I live by the Father . . . even [ye] shall live by me. (John
6:57)
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What
radically changed the early followers of Jesus was they encountered the
"Resurrection Experience."
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A
"Resurrection Experience" that just does not occur one
time in the life of a follower of Jesus but many times
during the course of life.
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Jesus will appear (the
coming of Christ) in your life situations again and again as you
encounter the experiences of life that brings you to the end of
yourself.
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As
Paul stated, "For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day."
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It
should be obvious. If the inward man is renewed
day by day, then the outward man must perish day by day.
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The
outward man perishes day by day through the circumstances of
living life.
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Unfortunately, most do not understand what is
occurring as they experience life.
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The
sun sets every day and the night comes.
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More importantly,
with every night there is always a morning--it is the way of
life.
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As Jesus illustrated, the "Resurrection Experience" was not
limited to one time (the actual death and resurrection of Jesus at the
end of his earthly experience), but was the "way" of his
entire life:
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"And
Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of
man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except
a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his
life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him
follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if
any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul
troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour:
but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
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The
opportunity for our lives to be glorified occurs every time something
happens in life that tends to destroys some aspect of our physical
existence--a sharp word said to us or about us, being put down by
someone at work or at home, a conflict of interest issue arises, or
any minor or major inconvenient in life occurs.
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Do
we hear ourselves say, "... my soul is troubled; and what
shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause
came I unto this hour?" Or, do we become weary or
tend to faint under the pressure?"
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I
have become convinced that the reason we tend to faint or become
weary is we attempt to live the moment based upon what God has
done for us in the past.
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We
have forgotten or have never realized the "Resurrection
Experience" is not just a thing of the past. It is to be
experienced over and over again.
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As
we encounter those moments, we will not faint because we know
the morning will come. We know that Christ will come--we
will be resurrected out of the perishing of the outward man as
our inner man is renewed.
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The
early followers of Jesus were radically changed by this
"Resurrection Experience"--not one time but over and over
again in their lives. It was what they knew as the Way of
Life--the coming of Christ.
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| "After
this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come."
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| *Early
Christianity: The Experience of the Divine, Johnson, Timothy Luke,
The Teaching Company |
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