Trusting in the Resurrected Lord and Becoming Victorious
Pastor Rong
Translated by Allan Liang
Mark 16:12-13
The Gospel of Mark especially emphasises here that the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared before his disciples in a different form. The Bible did not say what this other form looked like, but it is certain that form was unlike the former, otherwise the disciples would have seen and immediately recognized him. According to the account of Luke 24:36-37, 40, they indeed saw the resurrected Jesus Christ yet were unable to fully believe, because whom they saw was completely unlike the Jesus Christ whom they formerly saw and spent day and night with. They even thought that what they saw was a ghost, making them quite surprised (Luke 24:37). Perhaps we may think, why was the faith of the disciples so dull, having spent day and night with the Lord and followed him for several years? Brothers and sisters, how about our faith? Stronger than theirs’? Probably not. People tend to believe only what their eyes have seen; the resurrection of Jesus was not only seen by people, it was prophesied long ago by Jesus himself. Consequently, their unbelief was not only disbelieving the testimony of those who had seen the resurrected Jesus but disbelieving the words of Jesus: men did not have the faith to accept the prophecy that he would resurrect, and this problem arose because of the hardness of their hearts; if they were not willing to change their deeply rooted ideas, there would be great difficulty for faith to be built, for faith can only be built on the Word of God. Often, the Word of God surpasses many of our thoughts and ideas. Yet, the heart of man is hard, and does not wish to change, and therefore, cannot change and will not change. Thanks be to God, the resurrected Christ truly died, and without the cross, there is no resurrection, for the cross revealed that the redemption for sin and the punishment of death must be accomplished through Christ’s death. If there only were the cross and no resurrection, there would be no proof that the substitution for our sins have already ended, if Christ did not resurrect, we would still be in sin. Without the resurrection, there would be no proof that Jesus is the Son of God, yet the sin and death of the entire human race could not affect Jesus’ divine nature, and by his eternal divine nature, Jesus resurrected!!! Without the resurrection, the cross could only expose the miserable condition of man, and would never overturn the darkness, however, the resurrection tells us that Christ’s second coming is true, and the promise of the eternal world surely will become a reality. The resurrection changed the narrow minded worldviews of man, leading him to the boundless realms of the new heaven and new earth. May the Lord give us a soft heart, so that we may humbly submit before this Lord who died and rose to life for us. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, the way we look at the world and the way we look at life has been changed. For instance, in regards to the view on death and suffering, the Lord Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The Lord Jesus died and rose to life, conquering the power of death. According to the account of Revelation, the Lord placed his hand on John who was exiled and imprisoned on the island of Patmos, saying to him: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17-18). Now, these words were not spoken only to John, but are spoken to us who belong to the church in the midst of battle. The Lord Jesus said that he is “the Living One”, our Lord is the risen Lord! The Lord said: “I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” We are now fighting a battle that will be won by the victorious Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ who was with Paul, yesterday, today and until forever is the same, he will always be with us, and fight for his people. Please meditate after praying: O Lord who loves us, may you forgive us, and be with us everyday, though we are slow to understand you and our understanding remains often as head knowledge. I know that there is a resurrected Lord, but I cannot live out the resurrected power and joy because there is still doubt in my heart. We know that without complete trust, there can be no complete commitment, may the Lord forgive me for often setting my mind on the weaknesses of the flesh, may the Holy Spirit help me always rely on the Lord and become victorious! Dear brothers and sisters, do you by faith, draw upon the power of victory? Soli Deo Gloria!