Rise Daily: March 29

Rise Daily: March 29

THIS WEEK’S THEME & PASSAGE

Encountering the Risen King (Easter) – John 20:1-18

This week’s sermon from the series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission“

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE

Memorizing scripture is a way to keep God’s word close to our hearts. Each week we will select one verse of scripture to remember as a community.

Romans 8:11

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

THE WORD

Each day’s devotion will focus on one part of the week’s passage.

John 20:9-10

9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead). 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

MEDITATION ON THE WORD

In our busyness and distraction, it is easy to skim through our reading rather than taking it in. Yet we believe this is the inspired word of God. Take a moment to pause, thank God for the scriptures and ask him to speak to you through them today.

As we read yesterday, Jesus’ disciples have various reactions to the discovery of the empty tomb:

John believes Jesus has risen but isn’t quite ready to admit that.

Peter appears dumbfounded. At the very least, he exercises uncharacteristic restraint.

Mary Magdalene doesn’t even entertain the idea of the resurrection.

It is especially relevant that these are the initial responses of those whose testimony for the resurrection would be so influential. In each case, confirmation of the event came only through face-to-face encounters with the risen Lord (see John 20:16, 19-20).

Peter and John were in the inner-circle of Jesus’ Apostles. They had sat under Jesus’ teaching for three years and had heard him speak about his impending death and resurrection, but hadn’t been able to connect the dots when they saw the empty tomb. The resurrection of Christ was such an astonishing event that they could not have anticipated nor accepted it by rational thinking alone. For each, it took a personal encounter with the risen Lord to either believe or confirm their belief.

This presents a problem: How do we get confirmation that our faith is not irrational?

Look at our memory verse for the week. After Jesus ascended into Heaven, he sent the promised Spirit of God to indwell his people. The Spirit “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). What Paul is telling us is that The Holy Spirit, sent by the ascended Christ, provides a very real, internal experience of God’s presence with us. This is not an irrational experience, but rather an inner, person-to-person confirmation of what we rationally accept–that Jesus’ resurrection substantiates his claim that he is the unique Son of God in human flesh and that he has power over everything, including death. We rationally accept the testimony of the disciples and the many who reported seeing him risen, for some at the cost of their very lives. We rationally accept the testimony of lives that have been miraculously healed in holistic ways by his power. We rationally accept that there is an objective basis for judging right and wrong, justice and injustice, according to the standard of God’s holy character. We rationally believe that before there was a single material object in the universe, there was love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that love, exemplified sacrificially for us in Christ, is the single antidote for all of the discord that tears our lives and our world apart.

THIS WEEK’S RISE REFLECTION

When we look to the resurrection we find a beautiful freedom to serve others. Through Christ’s example we are free to serve in the radical, loving ways in which he has served us. We hope that this Rise season will serve as a catalyst for gospel renewal not only on an individual basis but also in multiplying expressions of philanthropy, justice, mercy, reconciliation, integrity, and hope all across New York in ways that advance the common good for everyone in this city.

TODAY’S PRAYER

For your Heart: Reflect on and praise God for how you have experienced Christ to be true in your life. Pray for the implications of the resurrection to reach the aspects of your life that need healing.

For your Church: Pray that we would collectively be a people that seeks to “bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

For our City: Pray that the Holy Spirit would open the hearts of people who assume that faith in Christ requires an irrational leap and that he would open their eyes to the sensible coherence of Christianity.