It would not be productive to look for help in a cemetery. A corpse can do only one thing—rot. This is the source of the crushing sorrow Jesus’ followers felt. He was the one in whom they had placed all their hope for a better reality. Now he was dead, so they thought. They were overwhelmed with sorrow, not just because they missed their friend. It now all seemed so pointless: the years and miles following Jesus, witnessing his miracles, listening to him. He was dead! And a corpse can only do one thing.

The resurrection changed everything. The disciples saw clearly that Jesus is who he said he was and did what he said he’d do. They realized their faith rested on a rock-solid foundation. Here is the resurrection reality. If Christ had not been raised, our faith in him would be futile. He could do nothing to help us. But Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

The film director Woody Allen once said, “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Studies have shown that most people fear death to varying degrees. This fear is so common, there is even a field of psychological study called thanatology. It examines human reaction to death and dying. One of the biggest reasons people fear death is the perception of its permanency. In the normal realm of human existence, dead is dead. Someone dies, and all you have are pictures and memories. That is the way people typically think, but it is far from reality. Today, Christ proves to us that death is not final at all!

Easter teaches us that Christ is the first fruits of those who have died. Just as Christ rose, “so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). That changes everything: the way we grieve the death of a Christian loved one, the way we feel when our health fails, the way we look at the purpose of life right now. Let us rejoice in this resurrection reality: All will be made alive!

In most world religions, the alleged foundational event was experienced by only one person. A self-proclaimed prophet would allege he alone had some special encounter with God. “No really! Just trust me. It really happened.” The resurrection reality is so very different. In the Great Resurrection Chapter (1 Corinthians 15), St. Paul writes an entire paragraph listing all the people to whom Jesus appeared after he rose, including a group of over five hundred at one time. It is like St. Paul is telling skeptics, “You don’t need to take my word for it. Hundreds of us saw Jesus back from the dead.”

The proof of Jesus’ resurrection brought peace and strength to those early believers. They knew there was more to their existence than just their time on earth. They knew the reality that eternal life was theirs, a gift from their living Lord. It gave them incredible joy and courage. May the resurrection reality give us the same.

A platitude is a statement aimed at helping sooth some sort of emotional unease. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Or “Life is a mystery.” Or “Good things come to those who wait.” While platitudes may be well-intentioned, at best they come off as trite. And since platitudes provide no real help, they can actually make a situation worse. Tell the one whose heart is shattering, “Life is a mystery.” They won’t appreciate your platitude or you.

The resurrection gives believers the ability to offer more than platitudes. We have a meaningful message to share—of repentance, of forgiveness, of peace, of power. The reality is we have something important to say to every single person that God brings into our sphere of influence. And our risen Savior gives us the courage and power to share that meaningful message.

Scripture frequently pictures spiritual care in terms of a shepherd watching over sheep. Even folks unfamiliar with shepherding are able to grasp the meaning. Sheep are helpless animals—an easy meal for predators. For sheep to survive they needed a shepherd who not only leads them to sources of food, but who also is willing to tangle with a pack of wolves. Jesus is such a shepherd. He proved he is willing to lay down his life for his sheep.

The word “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd.” Today, there are plenty of people—pastors, religious leaders, etc.—who claim they can provide healing for your soul. Yet, Scripture warns that “many” of these are “false prophets” (1 John 4:1) who “distort the truth” (Acts 20:30). Many! But the resurrection reality is that our Good Shepherd is faithful. He will raise up true sub-shepherds who know Christ and proclaim the truth of his gospel.

Generally, our actions are shaped by our beliefs. People who eat low-carb diets do so, probably not because they hate pasta, but because they believe it healthiest. If a man buys stock in a company, it probably is because he believes in their business plan. Our beliefs shape our behavior. This is true of Christians’ belief in the resurrection. We believe that Christ’s resurrection means our resurrection to a glorious eternal life is guaranteed. That inevitably shapes how we will act now.

However, it is not simply the facts of the resurrection that shape our behavior. It is the person of the resurrection. Jesus is not some wise, dead sage whose advice is contained in dusty books. Jesus lives! Therefore, through his Word, he is able to work on our minds and hearts, molding them to his perfect will. Here is a resurrection reality. Jesus fills us with his Spirit, not only so that we have faith, but also so that we produce the fruits of faith he seeks.

The entirety of God’s Word can be summed up in one word: love. God’s Law is all about love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39). The gospel is all about love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16). From his compassion for the sick and broken, to his sacrificial death on the cross, to the peace he provided after his resurrection, Jesus was the perfect embodiment of love. Love is his business.

Therefore, love is our business too. The resurrection reality is that with the same supernatural power by which God raised Jesus from the dead, God now enables us to live a new life—one marked by radically selfless love. The motivation and ability to do this comes from seeing the endless love Christ has for us. We love only because he first loved us.

Conventional wisdom would say if Christ has ascended into heaven, he is further away from his followers than when he was visibly on earth. The resurrection reality is that it is the other way around. Now that Christ has ascended, he is closer than ever. The living and ascended Savior has reassumed full use of all his divine power. So if you need Christ’s help, you don’t need to hunt for him in Galilee. You call to him in prayer, wherever you are, whenever you want, and he hears and acts. You want to hear Jesus speak? You don’t need to chase him down. Open his Word and listen to his powerful, life-giving voice.

The ascension marks the completion of Jesus’ earthly mission, but it does not signify the end of his work. Christ ascended to exercise his limitless authority for the Church as we carry out our mission to be Christ’s ambassadors of grace to the world. Therefore, the Festival of the Ascension is one of the oldest and most joyful celebrations in the Christian Church. It will be observed by Christians until Christ returns to take us to be with him.

This world is broken. Oh, certainly, we still see beauty in nature. By God’s grace, we have plenty of happy moments. But that does not change the fact that this world does not function the way God designed it to. It is dangerous, especially for God’s children. Jesus once promised that those who live for him will be hated (just as Christ was hated) by those who live for the world. The even greater danger: the priorities prompted by this broken world tempt the careless Christian to devalue that which truly matters. This world is very broken.

For that reason, our gracious, living Lord promises that one day soon enough, he will take us to a better world. More, he promises that until that time, his Father will protect us, preserving our faith through the truth of his Word. This is the resurrection reality. By God’s grace, we will overcome this broken world.

Jesus told his disciples that, though he was going to ascend into heaven, he wasn’t going to leave them alone. He was going to send “the Advocate,” a title for the Holy Spirit. But Jesus wasn’t sending the Spirit just to keep us company. Jesus would have the Advocate give us spiritual power so that we might participate in Christ’s saving work. Here is the final resurrection reality. The Spirit gives us the ability to raise the spiritually dead to life.

We see this happen on Pentecost. The festival of Pentecost was held fifty days after the Passover. (Pentecost is Greek for “fifty.”) It was a time to thank God for the harvest. But on that day, through the Church at work, the Holy Spirit gathered another harvest, a harvest of souls. Therefore, Pentecost is the third great festival of the Church, along with the Nativity and the Resurrection. With the Festival of Pentecost, the festival half of the Church Year comes to a close.