My friend Jesus: Part II

Like I promised, here it is, ladies and gents, part two!

Guess what Jesus did this morning....yes, that's right, he came back to life.

I have heard that so many times over the course of my life, that it seems like no big deal, like it's an everyday occurrence that people get up out of their graves and start walking around again. But if that were to happen today, it'd be hard to convince me. I wouldn't believe it was true until I saw it, and when I did see someone I knew to be dead up and walking around and acting like everything's hunky-dory, I'd flip and either think I was dreaming, or that I had inhaled some sort of hallucinogen. People just don't do that.

And that's what makes Jesus different. He wasn't a normal person.

This is the part that always gets me excited. The first part is excitement-worthy, from the standpoint that hey, someone suffered on my behalf. That's pretty amazing. But it's all wrapped up in death and hell, and those are sobering things, not things that make me excited.

But this part is about life. And the way the story is told adds to the excitement. It fosters such a great sense of discovery and wonder. Chapter 24 of Luke starts with these women who were close to Jesus going to the tomb with spices and things to prepare Jesus' body in the traditional Jewish fashion. And the reader finds out that Jesus wasn't there when the women do. You're like, "What? He's gone? Where'd he go?" And then you see the angels right when the women do, and they tell you that he is alive. Wow.

But we still haven't seen Jesus. We're just going on what we've been told. But then, a short while later, Jesus walks up to these two guys. Unlike with the women, the reader is privy to a bit of information before the men are, because they don't know it's Jesus. They don't recognize him. So you're sitting there thinking, "C'mon, guys! It's Jesus! You know him! You're standing there talking to him about himself!!" But before it gets too maddening, they sit down to eat, and it says that Jesus broke bread, and when he did that, they could finally recognize who he was. And to make it even more exciting, just as they recognize him, he vanishes. What in the world? For all you Harry Potter fans, looks like Jesus could Apparate. And then a little while later, as the guys are telling the disciples what all just happened, he uses his Apparation skills again, and pops up right in the middle of them talking. I think Dumbledore probably learned from Jesus.

But the most exciting part, is the point behind him coming back to life. This was the completion of what he set out to do. Like I mentioned in the former post, his death paid the penalty for sin so that we wouldn't have to. Then, in coming back to life, he broke the power of sin and death, by triumphing over it. Therefore, those who choose to accept his sacrifice, can live forever with him. Our bodies will die, because they are a part of the world and the world dies. But upon accepting that sacrifice, our spirits are born in Christ and will never die! Would have been nice for Voldemort if he could have grasped this concept. It's way better than Horcruxes.

All Harry Potter nonsense aside, how cool is that? Way cool, in my opinion. The coolest, even.

It seems kinda weird for me to be talking about this at this particular time. Easter, which is the time we specifically set aside to remember this event, was last month. But it's on my mind at the moment, and what's on my mind usually appears here. And the truth is, Jesus isn't alive only on Easter. So anytime is a good time to talk about his life.

There you have it, my friend Jesus. He is the entire reason I'm here, and the motivation behind the lifestyle that I live. I love telling his story, so even if you've heard it a million times before, I hope you enjoyed it again.