Resurrection Power in Acts!

As we approach Easter Sunday, we continue our Lenten journey exploring resurrection hope throughout Scripture. This week, we examine how the early church carried the message of the risen Christ into the world through the book of Acts.

Acts: Resurrection Hope in Action

The book of Acts opens with a crucial transition – Jesus ascending to heaven after His resurrection. Unlike His departure at the cross, this departure empowers rather than discourages the disciples. Why? Because Jesus has conquered death, and His physical body has taken on immortality.

"Jesus died bodily, rose bodily, ascended bodily, now reigns bodily sitting at God's right hand, and He will return bodily at the end of the age."

This ascension demonstrated that His glorified, resurrected state was preparation for humanity to inherit the kingdom of Heaven. As Paul writes in Philippians 3:20-21, Christ "will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body."

Pentecost: Resurrection Power Released

The Holy Spirit's outpouring at Pentecost was only possible because Jesus rose and ascended. What we see in Acts is the disciples teaching and ministering in the name of the risen Jesus – living hope empowering their mission with remarkable boldness.

Resurrection: Central to the Gospel Message

Throughout Acts, one pattern becomes unmistakable – every time the apostles preach, they emphasise Jesus' resurrection. In fact, Jesus is often referred to as "Jesus Christ... who God raised from the dead" (appearing as many as 10 times in Acts). This wasn't just a detail; it was His defining characteristic and the evidence of His claims to be God's Son.

In Peter's powerful Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:22-39), he declares:

"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

Peter explains that Jesus' resurrection fulfilled Scripture, linking King David's prophetic words to this world-changing event. The resurrection was proof that Jesus was "both Lord and Messiah," compelling the crowd to ask, "What shall we do?"

Resurrection Hope and Forgiveness

In Acts 13, Paul connects resurrection hope directly to forgiveness of sins:

"It is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on." (Acts 13:38-39, MSG)

This powerful truth shows why resurrection was central to their message – without it, there could be no forgiveness, no new life, no salvation.

Resurrection Power Demonstrated

The book of Acts doesn't just talk about resurrection – it shows this power in action. In Acts 20, when Eutychus falls from a third-story window and dies during Paul's lengthy sermon, Paul demonstrates resurrection power by bringing him back to life.

This miracle served as visible proof that God's resurrection power that raised Jesus didn't end with Him – it continued to work through His followers. As Paul would later ask King Agrippa, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" (Acts 26:8)

Living in Resurrection Time

What does this mean for us today? Like the early church, we live in what we might call "resurrection time" – the period after Jesus inaugurated new life through His resurrection. We're not waiting for God to begin His resurrection work; we're living in the time when resurrection power has already been unleashed into the world.

As Paul boldly proclaimed to Agrippa in Acts 26:22-23:

"The Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

Jesus was not merely the first person to be brought back to life (as we've seen throughout our series, there were others). Rather, He was the first to experience a new kind of resurrection – one that leads to "embodied glory" and immortality. Every other person brought back to life eventually died again, but Jesus established "the pattern of a new kind of existence."

Our Living Hope Today

As we approach Easter Sunday, the book of Acts reminds us that resurrection isn't just a historical event – it's the power that fuels our mission and purpose as followers of Jesus. The same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us.

Like the early church, we can allow this living hope to energise our discipleship and gospel-sharing. What the disciples discovered was that resurrection hope is contagious – "when you start talking about it, it has effects beyond the immediate, like a ripple effect."

This Easter season, let's embrace and proclaim this living hope, knowing that God's resurrection power continues to work in and through us, bringing new life to a world desperate for good news.