Jesus is not a Zombie Maker!

Mike Hosey, An Elder

We tend to think of the resurrection as an event that happens in the future.  Most of us think of it as something distant – something that is far away in time and in space.  In our minds it is something that happens long after we have already died.  We tend to think of it simply as a dead body being brought back to life.  In fact, it’s that idea of the simple restoration of a dead body that has led many atheists to make fun of the idea of Jesus’ resurrection. It is all the rage now for atheists to depict Jesus as a zombie, or make jokes about a “zombie Easter!"

In reality, Jesus rose from the dead to prove that he had authority to do something miraculous. He wanted to prove that he could change us. Resurrection for people who follow Christ is something so much different than a dead body being reanimated. Resurrection is the process of bringing to life the parts of us that have died to sin. These resurrected parts of us are the true parts of us – the way that God meant for us to be. Encapsulated in that process, is the resurrection of our true physical bodies as well.

Humanity, as it was meant to be, died, and our bodies were ruined with that death, and followed in a death of their own, when sin entered the world through Adam.  But when we submit to Jesus, he does not simply raise an old dead body.  He restores our spirits and gives us a new heart! This is something he promised to the Israelites (Ezekiel 36:26-27), and something that he promises to us as well (2 Corinthians 5:17)! Notice in that 2 Corinthians 5:17 verse that when we are in Christ, we ARE a NEW creation!  It is present tense! And it's not the restoration of the old rotting corpse that we once occupied. It's a NEW body we are given. Ironically, before our resurrection is when we were more like zombies. When we place Jesus at the center of our life, the process of resurrection and restoration begins. The resurrection isn’t a future event, it’s a NOW event that is ongoing.  A process begins the moment we recognize Jesus as lord!   And the more we act on that recognition, the faster and more powerful our resurrection becomes.

Jesus told his followers that he was the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). When we put Jesus at our center, he is the source of our resurrection, but he is also the source of a real life of love, and relationship with God.  The way life is meant to be.