Good Tuesday morning! I listened to one of the preachers the other night speaking about how we like new things. We do; there's not much use in denying it. Even in this world where new becomes used or old in a short time, we still like to get new things. So how much joy did those early followers of Christ receive when Jesus rose from the dead?
No doubt someone looked from afar at this "cult" and how they became far bolder after the death of their leader. At some point that person noticed that the movement wasn't going to die out and commented, "This is new." The world in Jesus' time saw cults come and go, much as we do today. However, this new thing stuck around and grew exponentially. A few years later some Roman official may have noted to a colleague, "These Christ followers are everywhere! Where did they all come from?"
Around A.D. 70, the Roman armies came down to Israel and ruthlessly put down a rebellion. That should have taken care of any Jewish "cults", but it may have appeared as though they stomped on an anthill instead. Christians had spread throughout the world and continue to do so almost 2,000 years later. What is it about this thing that keeps it going?
A risen savior who died to pay a penalty we could not bear is certainly something new to the world. Many more cults and religions have come to the world, but none have a savior risen from the dead. Each year we celebrate the life, death, and life of Jesus. So if we have celebrated this for the better part of two thousand years, what's new? A certain promise is what is new. When you believe in Jesus, you are made new!
John 3:16 says it all: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. So that all who believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For years we have feared the approach of our own end time, our mortality. When Jesus rose again on that first Easter Sunday, something new was in the air - eternal life for all who believe in Him! Now that's something new to enjoy forever and ever.
Have a joyous day in Christ!
Bucky
No comments:
Post a Comment