Matthew 14:33 – “And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
The disciples saw Jesus (and Peter, following Jesus’ instructions) walk on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. From the safety of the boat, the astonished disciples proclaimed, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Later, however, when Jesus had been betrayed, arrested, flogged, ridiculed, and brutally tortured and crucified to death, these same disciples cowered in fear of their own lives and reputations. The Apostle Peter repeatedly denied even knowing Jesus, the very one who had raised the dead, called Peter out onto the water, and performed countless other miracles. Peter denied the one whom he and his friends had worshiped and proclaimed “The Son of God.”
It took the resurrection of Christ from the dead and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to transform insecure, weak men of such fragile constitution into effective ambassadors of the living, eternal Christ. And what a profound transformation! The very same ones who shook in fear of their lives because they were associated with Christ, were changed into men who boldly proclaimed Him in public, going to their own deaths as martyrs with the sure conviction that Christ had risen and would return for them in power and glory.
What can we observe from this?
We can be certain that all of our testimonies of God's blessings, and all of our witnessing about changed lives, and all of our biblical wisdom and insight, will never have the impact of one key event in history: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As long as our story is about ourselves rather than Jesus Christ and His work and resurrection, we will be weak ambassadors at best.
The fact of the resurrection is crucial. The Apostle Paul did not simply tell people about Christ, His life and His miracles – Paul preached “Christ and Him crucified.” Paul preached Christ who was as dead as any human being can ever be, and then rose again in glory. Paul taught that if Christ is not risen, our Christianity and our testimony is pathetic.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ depends for its truth on the literal, historical, factual resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Gospel is also “the power of God unto salvation.” Therefore, salvation and the power of God to save depends upon the actual resurrection of Christ from the dead, the word of God which proclaims it from Genesis to Revelation, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
What about it?
When we share the Good News of Jesus Christ, do we share what He did to save us from our hopeless depravity, especially His literal resurrection form the dead? Or do we only say, "Christ died for our sins?"
Do we proclaim the resurrection without qualification or hesitation? Are we quite willing to be laughed at and thought stupid because of Christ and His resurrection? Do we make it clear that all legitimate claims of Christianity, including all our claims to personal transformation, depend entirely upon the resurrection of Christ from the dead?
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