Is Easter Over?

Is Easter Over?

I did a blog last week where I wrote about Easter being my favorite day of the year. What do we do now though? Is Easter over until next year? Do we forget about it until it is time to get new outfits, eggs, and chocolate bunnies, and plan the family get togethers next spring? Absolutely not! Easter is not really just a day but a reminder of the great reality that Jesus is alive and that changes everything. He has changed my life. The resurrection gives us a hope in facing death and a purpose in living our lives every day (see 1 Corinthians 15). Jesus’ first disciples were changed by seeing Him alive. My son, Jay, a student at Carson Newman University, just wrote a paper about this for his New Testament class. I decided to include in a blog because I think it can be useful in encouraging believers and helping those who are not yet followers of Jesus to consider His claims. This is longer than a normal blog, but it is fairly simple, and I think it would be well worth your time to read it (even though I am sure I biased as his dad).

The Metamorphosis of Jesus’ Followers

     An honest analysis of the first four books of the New Testament yields an interesting situation: a man named Jesus has come on the scene in the Roman world, claiming to be the Son of God. He calls twelve men to follow Him and be His disciples. Along the way, Jesus does numerous miracles and many people believe in His teachings. Just as many more, though, believe Jesus is a lunatic, a liar. His own disciples can’t seem decide what they think about Jesus at many points. They don’t understand the reason for His coming and their role in it. As Jesus’ purpose on earth comes to fruition and He is sent to die on a cross, His disciples scatter in fear for their lives, believing that the person they had devoted their lives to was dead, and that He would stay that way like any other mortal man.

     Everything changed when they saw Jesus alive, though. Jesus was in fact the Son of God as He claimed. He had power over death and had made a way for mankind to be reconciled to God. How else can the metamorphosis of Jesus’ early followers be explained? Only the witness of such a radical and supernatural occurrence could turn the cowardly followers of Jesus Christ into the catalyst for the spread of the gospel to the ends of earth. The following pages will explore this metamorphosis in detail.

Jesus’ time with His disciples was a central part of His earthly ministry. His disciples were “students of Christian doctrine, and occasional fellow-laborers in the work of the kingdom, and eventually Christ’s chosen trained agents for propagating the faith after He Himself had left the earth” (Bruce 30). Jesus called twelve ordinary men to leave their lives behind and follow Him.

• Jesus calls Simon and his brother Andrew in Mark 1:17-18. Being commercial fishermen, Jesus invites the brothers to leave their nets and become a “fishers of men” (Leavell 11). Jesus also gives Simon the name “Peter,” which means “rock,” an important detail to note for later (Barclay 16).
• Jesus calls James and John, also fishermen and brothers to Peter and Andrew, in Mark 1:19-20 (Culpepper 19).
• The Gospel of John contains several mentions of Thomas, the disciple who has come to be known as “Doubting Thomas” in popular culture.
• In John 1:43-51, Jesus calls Phillip and Nathanael.
• Matthew (Levi) is called by Jesus in Luke 5:27-28 (Leavell 68). Matthew was a tax collector (Goodspeed 60).
• Simon the Zealot is mentioned as one of the twelve in Matthew 10:4, and James (son of Alphaeus) and Judas (son of James) is listed in Luke 6:15-16 (Leavell 79, 88, 108).
• Finally, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would ultimately betray Jesus, is mentioned throughout the Gospels, often in reference to being a traitor.

These twelve men were as ordinary as they could be. They were fishermen, tax collectors, and the like. There was nothing about them that was special or world changing in the beginning; they were the polar opposite of those things. Most of the time, the disciples didn’t understand the things Jesus said. The argued and fought over little things. They really did not have anything to contribute to Jesus. Simply put, this was a dysfunctional group of men. The Scriptures have no shortage of examples of this dysfunction, many of them almost laughable to consider. One of these examples comes from Matthew chapter twenty:

Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. “What is your request?” He asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” (NLT Study Bible, Matthew 20:20-22).

The situation described here is really quite pathetic. Two grown men literally have their mother pleading to Jesus for seats of honor in His kingdom, as if they are little boys. Their question also exemplifies their complete lack of understanding of Jesus’ previous teachings. They were clueless to the fact that Jesus’ Kingdom, in the sense of powerful rule upon a throne, was not at hand. Rather, they were all going to suffer for following Jesus, just as Jesus was to suffer on the cross.

The story gets even better when the other disciples learn about what has happened. Peterson paraphrases, “When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down” (The Message, Matthew 20:24-28). What starts as an embarrassing attempt to gain a seat of honor beside Jesus quickly escalates into twelve grown men angry and jealous with each other. Jesus takes this as an opportunity to explain that being a leader means leading in serving others. As usual, the disciples won’t fully comprehend what Jesus means until after the Resurrection.

It’s hard to even understand why Jesus would use men like these as the eventual means to spread the gospel to the known world. Their mission was crucial and only they could carry it out. MacArthur writes,

Christ’s strategy for advancing His kingdom hinged on those twelve men rather than on the clamoring multitudes. He chose to work through the instrumentality of those few fallible individuals rather than advance His agenda through mob force, military might, personal popularity, or a public-relations campaign. From a human perspective, the future of the church and the long-term success of the gospel depended entirely on the faithfulness of that handful of disciples. There was no plan B if they failed. (2)

Ultimately, the disciples are a testimony of the grace Jesus offers through the gospel. Jesus Christ chose and used ordinary men to accomplish the most important task in the history of the world. If He could use them, with all of their shortcomings, ignorance, and unbelief, surely He could use anyone to do great things.

None of the disciples better illustrate this idea than Peter. Peter was like the other disciples at the time of Jesus’ death, weak and afraid. Matthew 26 tells the story:

Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.” But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said. A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.” Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly. (NLT Study Bible, Matthew 26:69-75)

Peter did what he thought he could never do, deny Jesus. In his own power, before seeing the risen Lord and being filled the Holy Spirit, Peter was simply a coward. His companions were no different.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines metamorphosis as “a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means” (Oxford Dictionaries). The connotation of this word is important, as it implies metamorphosis is a supernatural occurrence. This is most definitely the case in the New Testament. By Jesus’ supernatural resurrection from the grave, the disciples and other close followers of Jesus experienced a supernatural change in their dedication to Jesus. These followers were literally hiding in fear and uncertainty during Jesus’ death; once He appeared to them alive, though, the world would never be the same.

So what exactly did happen after Jesus’ resurrection? Simply put, Jesus’ followers were emboldened by the appearance of Jesus as their risen Savior. Once again, no other disciple better illustrates this than Peter. John chapter twenty-one describes the exchange between Peter and the risen Jesus:

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.” (NLT Study Bible, John 21:15-17)

     It’s likely not a coincidence that Jesus asks the man who had denied Him three times if he loves Him…three times. See, Judas denied Jesus and soon realized how horrible his actions were (Nicole 77). He felt terrible about what he had done, but he never truly repented of it and instead chose to hang himself. Peter, on the other hand, was genuinely repentant for what he had done. In his conversation with Jesus after breakfast that day, he is reassured that he is forgiven, and Jesus sets Peter up to truly be the “rock” of the church that He had said he would be. Sure enough, fifty days after denying Jesus, a transformed Peter preaches a powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost, and 3,000 people are saved. This is just the beginning of Acts, the story of the early church. Within a couple decades, Peter and the other disciples, Paul, and the early church spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the earth.

It should also be noted that the disciples’ faith cost them all (except John) their lives. They were tortured, beaten, and imprisoned while they were alive in an effort by various rulers to shut them up. Eventually, each of the disciples were martyred by crucifixion, burning, stoning, stabbing, etc. (MacArthur). They shared the gospel unapologetically, even if it cost them their lives.

At the end of the day, why does this metamorphosis really matter? It seems obvious the answer would be that the gospel would not have spread to the whole world and Christianity would not have taken root were it not for the passion Jesus’ early followers had after they saw Him alive. Look closely at the preceding sentence, though. Obviously, the value of this historically documented metamorphosis is that it is one of the most exemplary pieces of evidence for the factual resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. If Jesus never really rose from the dead, His followers would have abandoned Him, and then of course the gospel would not have spread!

Pastor Mark Driscoll makes a compelling point about some of Jesus’ other close followers, His own family:

     What I need you to see is that we don’t just believe this (the resurrection of Jesus) because we find it interesting or compelling or a curious story, but because there are reasons, evidences, historically, that are very compelling when accumulated together into a case.
And one of those is…Jesus’ mother Mary and his brothers are gathered together in the early church worshiping Jesus, her Son, their big Brother, as Creator, Lord, God, Savior, sinless King, and Christ. These are devout Jewish people, who know if you worship the wrong God you go to hell. So you’ve got to get this right. During his earthly life, Jesus’ family thought that he had lost his mind…And then Mary and Jesus’ brothers decided, “Oh my goodness, he’s God. He conquered death. We saw him die. We saw him rise. He is who he says he is.” Why is Mary, this wonderful woman, why are these brothers, these devout men—why are they worshiping Jesus as God? He’s God. And He rose from death to prove it.
Charles Colson, former White House Counsel to President Nixon and one of the “Watergate Seven,” makes an interesting point based on his experiences: I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because twelve men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for forty years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled twelve of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me twelve apostles could keep a lie for forty years? Absolutely impossible. (Goodreads)

     Colson said elsewhere, “Only an encounter with the living God could have kept those men steadfast. Otherwise, the apostle Peter would have been just like John Dean, running to the prosecutors to save his own skin. He had already done it three times” (Bayly). Yes, people may suffer or die a “martyr” for something they firmly believe to be true (Jimmy Inman). But in the case of Jesus’ disciples, they either saw Him alive or they didn’t. There wasn’t anything to believe. Either Jesus’ resurrection was a historical fact that they witnessed, or it wasn’t. Considering the metamorphosis in Jesus’ followers, it can only be concluded that they did in fact see Jesus risen from the grave.
In closing, consider this quote from Andy Stanley:

In the beginning, the church was a gloriously messy movement with a laser-focused message and a global mission. It was led by men and women who were fueled not by what they believed, but by what they had seen. That simple fact sets the church apart from every other religious movement in the history of the world. After all, it wasn’t the teaching of Jesus that sent his followers to the streets. It was His resurrection. The men and women who made up the nucleus of the church weren’t simply believers in an abstract philosophy or even faithful followers of a great leader; they were eyewitnesses of an event.

Works Cited

“a quote by Charles Colson.” Goodreads. N.p., 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. http:// www.goodreads.com/quotes/555921-i-know-the-resurrection-is-a-fact-andwatergate- proved.
Barclay, William. The Master’s Men. New York: Abingdon Press, 1959. Print.
Bayly, David, and Tim Bayly. “Chuck Colson on the Resurrection.” BaylyBlog. N.p., 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. http://baylyblog.com/blog/2012/04/chuck-colsonresurrection.
Bruce, Alexander Balmain. Training of the Twelve. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Harper & Brothers Publishers. Print.
Culpepper, R. Alan. John, the Son of Zebedee; The Life of a Legend. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. Print. “Definition of metamorphosis in Oxford dictionary.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/ definition/american_english/metamorphosis?q=metamorphosis.
Driscoll, Mark. “Scripture Empowered by the Spirit.” Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington. 2 June 2013. Address.
Goodspeed, Edgar J. Matthew: Apostle and Evangelist. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Winston, 1959. Print.
Inman, Jimmy. “The Church – The Church’s Foundation.” True Life Church, Jefferson City, TN. 12 Jan. 2014. Address.
Leavell, Landrum P. Twelve Who Followed Jesus. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1975. Print.
MacArthur, John. Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He wants to do With You. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2002. Print.
Nicole, Albert. Judas, The Betrayer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1957. Print.
NLT Study Bible. Personal size ed., 2nd ed. Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2008. Print.
Peterson, Eugene H. The Message. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2004. Print.
Stanley, Andy. Deep & Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2012. Print.