"Something Special" - Henry Knapp

 

Something Special

 I never thought of it as odd… it’s just the way that it was. I never thought of it as special or unique. When I was growing up, my mother had on display a special set of dishes. We had a corner cupboard where you could see clearly through the glass doors these beautiful, fragile plates, cups and saucers. For most of my life, I didn’t even see them. Not because they were not there—2 to 3 times a day, right in the corner of our dining room—but because they WERE there, and I just came to ignore them. Much later in life, I realized that having a special set of dishes that you NEVER used was, well, different. But, growing up, I never even thought to question it.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead, what we celebrate so passionately on Easter morning, is certainly something special and unique! Nothing could be more outside our normal realm of experience—the dead coming to life. Nothing could be more earth-shattering—for if the dead rise, all manner of things are possible. And yet, as special and unique as the resurrection is, sometimes we simply don’t talk about it. Why is that? We worship a Lord who gave Himself for us, AND ROSE AGAIN! We should talk about it all the time, no? And yet, in my church experience, the resurrection of Jesus is just not that central in our thinking.

Is that perhaps because, like my mother’s dishes, the resurrection is so exceptional that we treat it with special care, only talking about it at special times? I certainly hope not. I hope that Hebron church will not handle the resurrection as so unique that we don’t talk about it! Just the opposite—it would seem to me that Jesus rising from the grave would be constantly on our lips. In my own experience and ministry, the cross dominates—I am overcome by the sacrifice of Christ on my behalf. We can never talk enough about that! But to talk about the cross without the empty tomb is to fail to grasp the totality of the Gospel message.

Yes, the resurrection of Christ is so very special, but not so that we tuck it away to keep it safe. Every proclamation of the Gospel is a proclamation of the cross and the empty tomb!

This is certainly the Apostles’ approach. Witness the writings of the New Testament; or Paul’s orations; or, especially, Peter’s sermons in the book of Acts. Following the momentous events on Pentecost, Peter delivers a powerful testimony to the Gospel message. Certainly, he proclaims the death of Jesus, but right alongside, Peter describes God’s work of raising Him from the dead. And then, outside the Temple following the lame beggar’s healing, Peter shares of Good Friday and Easter. Again, following their arrest and persecution by the Jewish authorities, Peter announces the cross AND the resurrection. The two come side by side, each holding out the hope and message of Salvation.

The failure of the Church to proclaim the resurrection as fervently as it should… this could be because we are secretly embarrassed by the doctrine. Or, perhaps because it is inadvertently overshadowed by the cross. Or, perhaps because it is simply so special that we “save it” for a special time, like Easter. May it never be! May we never neglect the centrality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus!

I hope you will join me this Easter in our celebration of this pivotal event of our faith.

In preparation for Sunday, read Peter’s sermons in Acts 2, Acts 3, and Acts 5. Note, in particular, 2:23-24; 3:13-15; and 5:30-31.

1. What are the common themes in the sermons Peter preaches? What core elements of the Gospel concern him?

2. Specifically, in the verses mentioned, what role in the Gospel story is reserved for humanity? List the different ways Peter describes our part in the events of Jesus’ life.

3. In these same verses, what role does God play? What does He do in light of what humans do?

4. In 5:30, “hanging on a tree” has particular meaning—according to the Old Testament, hanging on a tree meant that you were cursed. What does it mean that God raised Jesus if indeed He was “cursed”?

5. In 3:13, Jesus is said to have been “glorified.” In what ways is that “glory” shown?

6. In 2:24, why is it “not possible” for Jesus to be held by death?

7. How do each of these sermons express the Gospel in a way that touches you personally?