Easter … the Day God Showed Up!

Easter … the Day God Showed Up!
John R. Petrilli

“Jesus showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive.” Acts 1:3

Showing up can make all the difference. Whether it’s a celebrity appearance, a star athlete, the person who’s the life of the party, or a coworker, just being there can mean a lot. During His earthly pilgrimage Jesus had a knack for showing up in the knick of time and His appearance altered the entire spiritual landscape. Raging seas instantly came to a standstill, dead friends were raised to life, and thousands of hungry mouths were miraculously fed. This profound impact continued after Christ rose again from the grave. This Easter we’ll consider the ways that Jesus’ revolutionized the lives of those who met Him after He rose from the dead, and how His resurrection can do the same for us.

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, WE’RE SPURRED TO GO PUBLIC WITH OUR FAITH. John 19:38-42; Acts 4:31

Closet Christian. That’s what Joseph of Arimathea was. Not unlike some of us, he struggled with the cost of being Jesus disciple. He feared the loss of his status and position as a leader in his Jewish faith community, so he kept his faith to himself. Alliance with Jesus spelled certain disenfranchisement from everyone he knew and everything he’d become as a devout Jew. But when push came to shove, Joseph came through big-time. He put it all on the line by going public and officially offering his services in recovering and interring the body of his Lord and Savior. In short, he came out of the closet for Christ. Great challenges demand a heroic response. Convinced of Jesus’ deity and impending resurrection, Joseph rose to the occasion. If you’re tired of being a ‘closet Christian’, the resurrection can do the same for you!

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, OUR SADNESS TURNS TO JOY. John 20:10-18

Losing a loved one or friend to death can be very difficult emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. It can even leave us a bit overwhelmed. That would be the best way to describe the followers of Jesus in the hours following His death. Everything they pinned their hopes and dreams on came crashing down abruptly in the violence that took place on Golgotha. In the initial scenes we find the disciples in a state of shock and deep grief. But once word got out that their leader had risen up out of the tomb, their hopes were renewed and their energy came back No matter what you may be going through today, the fact that Jesus is alive can change the entire equation for you. Because He lives we have a sure hope that, no matter how dark the present outlook may appear, a wonderful ending to the story awaits us.

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, WE MOVE FROM DOUBT TO FAITH. John 20:24-29; Mark 16:9-20

Thomas is often faulted for his spiritual reluctance to believe the resurrection took place, but the record actually shows that disbelief was running rampant among most of the followers of the Galilean. So much so that, when Jesus finally does make His post-resurrection appearance, the first thing He does is reprimand them for their unbelief! One would have thought that after everything they’d seen and heard that they would readily embrace the resurrection reports. But no, they completely faltered in unbelief and doubt. Their misgivings notwithstanding, Jesus goes out of His way to prove to them that He’s alive. It’s so easy to start second-guessing God when things aren’t going quite the way we’d expected. Sometimes we wonder if God really does care about us. If we allow Him to, Jesus will reveal His presence and involvement in our lives. God never allows human skepticism to go unchallenged. He answers it, and He answers it in a huge, convincing way. If you’ve got questions, He’s got answers.

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, OUR HOPELESSNESS IS REPLACED BY SHINING OPTIMISM. Luke 24:13-35

I’ll never forget how I felt when I suffered a broken wedding engagement. I couldn’t eat. I could hardly speak. I wasn’t able to think clearly. It was far too much to process. Basically, I was numb. Over the next few hours and days I gradually regained my emotional and spiritual equilibrium. Broken dreams can do that to us. Throw us into a kind of emotional limbo. My guess is that this was where the two disciples heading down the road into Emmaus found themselves. Their dreams were smashed and their hearts were broken. Where would they go from here? How would they carry on without their best friend, and what did the future hold for Israel now that her Messiah had vanished from the scene? Disappointment is too light a term. They were devastated. You can almost hear it in their voices as they lament, “But we had hoped that he was the One Who was going to redeem Israel.” It’s entirely possible to be disappointed with God. Not because of any failing on His part, but because of our own inability to understand what He’s up to. It’s at these times that He’ll speak a word to us that will bring us the comfort and reassurance that He’s there, that He cares, that He’s in control, and that everything will turn out even better than what we hoped for!

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, OUR FLIGHT TURNS INTO FIGHT. Jn 20:19; Matt. 26:56b; Acts 4:10-13,18-20

Remember those muscle magazines years ago that showed a man before and after he had used a particular workout program? Before he was a wimp, but after he’d become the next Charles Atlas! Transformational change is God’s specialty. He takes the sorriest losers and makes them into the biggest winners. Look at the disciples before the resurrection. All huddled up and cowering behind locked doors for fear that the authorities might burst through and arrest them all. Now advance forward to Peter and John’s arraignment for their involvement in a miraculous healing. Things were getting out of hand as the church burgeoned to over five thousand members, and the religious hierarchy had seen enough. But instead of retreat, the apostles advanced. Having seen Jesus alive and received an endowment of the Spirit’s empowerment, they went toe-to-toe with the riled-up authorities. They never backed down for a moment, openly stating their intention to continue declaring the resurrection. It was a type of wild-west showdown, and after the gun battle the apostles were the only ones left standing. Even when the enemy succeeded in eliminating Stephen and James, the Church kept right on steaming forward (Acts 7:54-60; 12:1-2). We have nothing to fear when the devil raises-up opposition to our life and witness for Jesus Christ. God is for us, and nobody can come against us with any degree of lasting success (Romans 8:31-37).

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, OUR COLOSSAL FAILURES BECOME GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES. John 21:15-19

He blew it big time. The swashbuckling, self-confident Peter ended up eating his own words. Instead of being the last to desert Jesus, he was one of the first. He did the unthinkable! And he did it, not once, not twice, but three times. Yet no offense is too great for the forgiving heart of God. Jesus waits until after dinner to open up dialogue with His alienated friend. In tenderness and winsomeness, the Lord allowed Peter the opportunity to make things right. The disaffected disciple accepted full responsibility for his triple denial, and all was well once again. Forgiven and restored, Peter went on to become the Church’s chief spokesman. Someone has said that, “You can’t out-give God”. It’s also true that, “You can’t out-fail God”. His grace can handle anything we could ever throw at Him. This holy season let Peter’s restoration encourage you to be transparent with God and responsive to His redeeming Voice. Blessed Easter/Resurrection Day to one and all!