Jerry Bowyer: The Authority of Christ and the Authority of the State

We tend to think of the resurrection of Jesus as only a religious event, with no political implications. But Jesus was executed by the state as an enemy of the state. The debates about resurrection in first-century Judaism were intensely political. The Sadducees, defenders of the status quo, denied the resurrection. The more orthodox Pharisees affirmed it. This makes sense. Bible scholar N.T. Wright points out that states derive their power ultimately from their ability to kill people. By rising from the dead, Jesus conquered death, disarming that power. Christ’s resurrection was inherently—in the best sense of the word—revolutionary. His victory gives men and women the courage to resist the Caesars, and the Kaisers and Czars of this world. The cross, the sword, the guillotine, the gulag and the firing squad do not represent the end. The spirit of Caesar is still around, but more importantly so is the Spirit of Christ. He is risen.  He is risen, indeed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.