Signs: The Lord Has Risen!


We think of the resurrection of Christ as many things, including the most important event in history!  But we don't often think of it as a sign.  Yet Jesus said it was.  John 2 records that after Jesus ran the merchants and moneychangers out of the temple, Jewish leaders demanded that he give a sign that he had the authority to do what he did.  Jesus said that his sign would be, "Destroy this temple, and after three days I will rebuild it." 

At the time, no one other than Jesus understood what he meant.  But later, after his resurrection, his followers understood.

So what does the sign mean?  The Jewish leaders believed their authority came from God. They authorized the merchants and moneychangers to do their business in the temple.  Jesus was claiming that his resurrection would show that his authority was greater than theirs because he was Lord.  This gave him full authority over what went on in his Father's house.

The idea of Jesus' Lordship in relation to his resurrection appears multiple times in the scriptures.  John 20 records that when Jesus appeared to Thomas, he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"  In Acts 2, when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he said that though people had crucified Jesus, God raised him from the dead, making him both Lord and Christ.

The resurrection shows that Jesus is the objective Lord of the universe.  As Paul says in Philippians 2, one day every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.  Beyond that, he calls us to make him our subjective Lord, the Lord of our lives.

The story of Jesus' resurrection calls us to worship him and to make him Lord of our lives.  Many persons and things can control our lives.  But only Jesus gives us life.

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