Exhortation, Fourth Sunday of Easter

Easter is about faith, and Easter is about hope.

On the third day of creation, God separated the waters, so that the dry land appeared. When He covered the world with flood waters, His Spirit hovered and divided the waters again. At the Exodus, He separated the waters of the Sea of Reeds and formed a new creation in Israel. In the Psalms, David describes the wicked who seek to kill him as engulfing waters, and He praises the Lord for drawing him from the waters and placing him on a high place.

In the resurrection of Jesus, the Father has done it again. When the waters of the nations surrounded Jesus, when the waters of death closed in upon Him, on the third day, the Father spoke and drew Jesus, a greater Jonah, up from the grave and set Him on a high place. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have the same hope. Easter means hope for deliverance from all our adversaries in this life, and for deliverance in the face of death. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we will not sink but have solid ground beneath our feet.

And not only that: On the third day of creation, Yahweh caused the dry land to produce fruit, and in His resurrection, Jesus is the firstfruits of those that sleep, the first sheaf of the harvest. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope not only in this life, but in the life to come. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we hope that we too will be raised and will be like Him. This is the order of hope: Christ the firstfruits, and then also those who are Christ’s at His coming.