Resurrection Sunday: Comparing Paul and John
The apostle John received the Revelation from God on the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:9), a clear reference to the first day of the week, the day Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God. Two indicatives, that is, statements of fact, provide the basis for all imperatives (the commands) in Revelation: Jesus’ death and resurrection brought freedom from our sins and planted in our hearts the confidence of the resurrection (Rev. 1:5b-6; 5:6, 9-10). A belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection must affect the way we live. Paul teaches the same message in the well-known “Easter” text I Corinthians 15. Because Jesus has died and been raised, there must be a difference in how we behave because of our belief.
Three times in I Corinthians 15 Paul issues exhortations; they are commands that are repeated by John.
- In I Cor. 15:32 Paul writes that if there is no resurrection for us then, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” There is heartbreak in this exhortation. If this life is all there is, then let us focus on what the earth has to offer, pleasures that are only temporary. The prophet John constantly calls his fellow disciples to reject this perspective; we are not earth-dwellers who only focus on the temporary pleasures of this life (see Rev. 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8,12,14; 17:2,8), but we are saints who hunger after holiness (see Rev. 5:8; 8:3,4; 11:18; 13;7,10; 14:12; 16:10; 19:8; 22:21).
- In I Cor. 15:49 Paul reminds us that even though we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, “let us bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” Let us bear the image of Jesus, Paul exhorts. John says the same thing, though in different words: “They follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Rev. 14:4) until he returns from heaven.
- In I Cor. 15:58 Paul concludes his teaching on what the resurrection demands: “Therefore, my brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” John demands the same when he writes of endurance (Rev. 1:9; 2:2,3,19; 3:10; 13:10; 14:12) and work (2:2,5,19,23,26; 3:1,8; 14:13). And our perseverance and labors are not in vain (Rev. 22:12).
The bottom line is this: if we truly believe what God has done for us in Jesus as we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, then our lives will truly show it. As his resurrection was the firstfruits of the future resurrection of his people (I Cor. 15:20,23), may God give us the grace to live as firstfruits to him and the Lamb until the End (Rev. 14:4). Simply put, may we live faithfully between the Resurrection and the Return. There is both comfort and challenge as we celebrate the Resurrected Lord.
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Your thoughts have resonated with me at a time when I truly needed to hear it. Thanks!
Amen brother! I appreciate the precision of your last sentence, “There is both comfort and challenge as we celebrate the Resurrected Lord.†If either of those is focused on too much an unhealthy result will follow. E.g., too much “comfort†and a person could easily look forward to things being better “some day,†while missing the power of the Resurrection in their life in the present. Too much “challenge†and a person could easily recount the numerous ways they “fall short†on a daily basis, while giving up in despair. Balance is crucial.
In ways this is basically the “So what?” factor of Christianity. I was pondering lately (just earlier this morning actually) if the question of “So what?” is a bigger question/obstacle for people coming to faith in God/Jesus over and above of the “Problem of Evil.” I know all the statistics (well I’m kind of assuming here) would say that the “Problem of Evil†is the #1 obstacle for those when it comes to faith/believing in God. However, could it be a lack of a proper Christian response to evil that is (at least partly) behind the objections of so many non-believers? I don’t know, but it is intriguing to me…
I know that is not necessarily where your blog was going…but it was foremost in my thoughts. So what’s the difference of the Resurrection in a person’s life, really? What’s the difference in mine? Using another Pauline Scripture from Titus 2:11-14; what am I doing to show that I’ve been redeemed? Not because I have to “work†as a result of it, or to get/keep it, but because those “works†ought to occur out of the grace shown us (Tit3:4-7).
May we all be more faithful in living a redeemed life.
Brent, thanks for the affirmation. You may want to take a look at one of N.T. Wright’s newest works, “Evil.” Well done.