Kethoser Kevichusa
Perhaps the best way to understand something is to simply ask the question: What does it mean? This question basically requires a twofold answer: the first answer deals with the referent (that is, what the thing refers to); the second, with the implication (that is, what the thing implies). The purpose of this short article is to investigate the question: What does the resurrection of Jesus mean?
What then does the resurrection of Jesus refer to? To answer that question, one must first ask: What did it refer to? During ancient times, especially during the time of Jesus, the word “resurrection” essentially referred to bodily resurrection. If the disciples of Jesus had wanted to say that he had actually only “fainted” and was later resuscitated, they would not have used the term “resurrection.” Or if they had wanted to say that it was the “spirit” of Jesus and not his body that was raised or exalted, there were other terms for denoting such a thing, which did not include the term “resurrection.” Thus the early Christians, when they claimed that Jesus had been resurrected, they were saying—whether people believed it or not—that he had been raised bodily. So also, when Christians today talk about the resurrection of Jesus, they must essentially refer to his bodily resurrection from the dead—whether people believe it or not.
What then does the resurrection of Jesus imply? Of all the biblical books, the implication of the resurrection is most beautifully brought out in the Gospel of John. And it is this: The resurrection implies the beginning of new creation. The very first line of the Gospel, “In the beginning” (Jn.1.1) evokes the creation imagery of Genesis 1.1. But the theme of new creation begins to get profoundly sharp on the first Good Friday, “the sixth day.” As the first creation account of Genesis culminates with the creation of Adam on the sixth day (Gen.1.26-27), the work of new creation culminates with the second Adam—Jesus—to whom the attention of the world is summoned: “Behold, the Man!”( Jn.19.5). Jesus at the cross is thus the new human who is the prototype of the new humanity that follows him in his steps. The crucifixion ends with the great shout of completion, “It is finished!” (Jn.19.30), which itself is reminiscent of Genesis when God finished his first work of creation ( Gen.2.2a). And as God and the first human rested on the first Sabbath in the Genesis creation account (Gen. 2.2b-3), God and the new human “rest” in the tomb on the first Easter Saturday. Following that, John’s account of the first Easter morning begins with the words, “Now on the first day of the week” ( Jn.20.1, 19). For John, the first Easter is the first day of the week for the whole of new creation, set again (like in Genesis) in a garden (Jn.20.1-18). The resurrection of Jesus is thus the first act in the new creation of the world. Christ’s resurrection is not just a historical or bodily event. It is a cosmic event too. New creation has indeed begun in the resurrection of Jesus.
Someone will, no doubt, immediately respond: “The world does not really look or feel like ‘new creation,’ does it?” No, in one sense, it does not. But, in another sense, it does. Old creation remains. But, the point is, in the midst of it, new creation has also begun. And the present “overlap” between the old and the new is like that of a new house being built around an old house, as its residents continue to live in the old house. It’s the same plot but the foundation is new, and the building process requires great skill and planning. Yes, it can look and feel terribly messy at times. But there are already signs of the new. The foundation is strong and the enterprise is promising. There is also little doubt that when it is completed, it will truly look and feel fantastic ( Rom.8, Rev.21-22). And for those who can read and understand the blueprint (the Scriptures), who know the chief-architect (God), who trust the foundation laid (the person and work of Christ), and see the master-builder (the Spirit) and his co-workers (the Church) at work, they do not just sit passively and do nothing. They join in the work— as people of the new creation!
