Acts 13:32-41 Not Raised to Power, Raised to Life

 Acts 13:32-41 (NRSV)

³²And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors ³³he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
'You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.'

³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
'I will give you the holy promises made to David.'
³⁵Therefore he has also said in another psalm,
'You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.'

³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died, was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption; ³⁷but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption. ³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; ³⁹by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:
⁴¹'Look, you scoffers!
Be amazed and perish,
for in your days I am doing a work,
a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.'"

Observation: This is the second half of a sermon Paul preaches to a synagogue in Perga, a city in Pamphylia (modern Turkey). Using verses from the Hebrew Bible, Paul compares and contrasts the story of King David with the story of Jesus. Though David had a great deal of political power and served God's purpose for him in his time, like all human beings, he eventually died. But Paul's point is that though Jesus may not have had the same kind of political clout that David had, he had done something David could never do. He was raised from the dead.

Application: Resurrection is a whole other kind of power. It is an affirmation of life. God loves us, not just as spirits, but as human beings with bodies. It is an affirmation of Jesus' way of life. Jesus never commanded an army, stormed an enemy outpost, or sat on a throne in Jerusalem, the way his ancestor, King David, had. His followers kept waiting for that--that was what they thought the word "Messiah," anointed ruler of Israel, meant--but that day never came. Instead, Jesus spoke unflinching truth to those who had that kind of power, and paid for it with his life. But he was raised. This is God's check mate to death, and by extension, to any Empire that wields death as a weapon. This lays low the hollowness of any ruler, no matter how just or unjust they may be: if the worst they can do is kill you, resurrection renders them powerless. If their own rule is brought to a close at the mouth of the grave, then there is only one conclusion: Jesus is Lord, because his grave is empty.

I guess I haven't really "applied" the text yet. Sorry. Here it is. If Jesus is Risen, he is Lord. Not just today but forever. No person in power, and no way of thinking about power, no ideology, no policy, no army of lobbyists or legislators or pundits, is worth even a fraction of an inch of my soul's territory, because they are all going to crumble and decompose with the passage of time. If Jesus is Lord, it makes zero sense for me to walk any other way than Jesus' way of love, mercy and justice, and let the chips fall where they may. If Jesus is Lord, that doesn't mean what I do, what I say, and how I conduct myself in this world doesn't matter. It means it matters even more, because I don't have to waste my time trying to play some sort of temporary game. Blessing the meek, the mourners, the peacemakers, actually works. Forgiving seventy times seven actually works. Preaching liberty to captives and good news to the poor actually works. It doesn't matter what it looks like to system of power that are rotting from the inside out. If resurrection is on our side, I want to be on the side of Jesus, no matter what.

Prayer: Jesus, help me be on your side, come what may. Amen.