Well, the Lenten season is almost upon us as tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Whatever your thoughts are regarding the traditions surrounding Lent I pray it would be a time of reflection on the ministry, sacrifice, and ultimate resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am excited that we received a Lenten calendar to go through with our girls this year; I am looking forward to their insights!
The culmination of Lent is the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. I have always loved the Paschal greeting where someone greets you with, “He is risen” to which you reply, “He is risen, indeed.” The roots of this can be found scripturally in Matthew 28:6 with angels telling the women coming to Jesus’s tomb that “He is not here; he has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.” There is just something about that confirmatory “indeed” that warms my heart and emphasizes the fellowship between me and my fellow-brothers and sisters. Indeed, it is so meaningful to me that it will be the focus of this blog.
I don’t want to pretend that the word “indeed” is difficult to understand but I decided I would do an internet definition search anyway just to see what populated. The following is the Google-specific default definition:
INDEED: (Adverb)
- used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested.
- used to introduce a further and stronger or more surprising point.
This is pretty much exactly the definition that I already had in my head so I started thinking maybe this was just a silly waste of time. However, as I reflected on the phrase, “He is risen indeed” I realized that the resurrection itself was Christ saying, “Indeed!” about everything He had said and done up to this point.
Utilizing the definition above, if we substitute the word “resurrection” for “indeed” it is eye-opening. The resurrection was certainly used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested. During His ministry, Jesus had suggested to His disciples and the crowds that He was the Son of Man, the savior of the world, and even the great I AM himself. The fact that Jesus claimed to be God was not a secret to anyone who was truly paying attention but His resurrection emphasized this beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Similarly, His resurrection introduced a further and stronger or more surprising point as well. The crowds were amazed as Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead but it can be easy to forget what He told Martha prior to raising Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.” (John 11:25) The further and more surprising point is that it is one thing to have the power to resurrect someone else it is another thing entirely to have the power to resurrect yourself; resurrecting Lazarus showed Jesus has some authority over death but His own resurrection showed He has total authority over death.
Friends, Jesus Christ truly is risen indeed! As we move through the season of Lent, I hope that this reflection reinforces that truth to you. If you are reading this and you have never professed faith in Jesus as the Savior He promised, I pray you would do so today. My spiritual birthday was the Easter of my senior year in high school at 17 years old. Even 26 years later, my excitement to celebrate the fact my resurrection is tied to His has not diminished. Blessings to you all in this season of Easter!
