"And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them." Luke 24:11, NKJV

When the calendar turned to April, I found myself duped by a few posts and headlines.  Some of us have grown accustomed to putting on our skeptic's hat on April 1st.  I, on the other hand, had to be reminded to do so as I read some surprising things on my friend's social media timeline online to discover he was pulling everyone's leg.  Later that same day, when I caught wind of NASA's Artermis II launch to the moon, I brushed it off as potential fake news and didn't bother to tune in.  But in that case, I was wrong.  What I thought was clickbait was actually an epic moment for space exploration.  Similarly, on the Sunday after Jesus' crucifixion, what the disciples thought were just "idle tales" was actually an epic moment in the plan of salvation.  The tomb was empty!  Jesus could not be held by the grave!  He is in fact the risen Lord!  I wonder today, how is it with us?  How is our faith in the resurrected Christ?  We may not have difficulty believing the literal fact of the resurrection, but we may have difficulty believing the spiritual impact of the resurrection.  In the light of the empty tomb, let's refresh in our hearts the good news of Jesus' resurrection -- spiritual realities that are way more than just idle tales!

NO LONGER SLAVES

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection... Romans 6:5, NKJV.

In Romans 6, the apostle Paul is establishing a significant truth about the story of Jesus death and resurrection:  it's not just a story to know about, it's a story to completely identify with.  In other words, His story can become our story.  When we put faith in Jesus, we can actually be "united together" with Him in an experiential sense.  Believing in Jesus, we don't physically die, but spiritually our old self is "crucified with Him," and as a result we are "no longer slaves of sin" (v. 6)!  The death of Christ becomes the death of our old way of living, the death of sin's dominion in our hearts.  Praise the Lord!  Identifying with Jesus death, we can consider ourselves "dead indeed to sin," and identifying with His resurrection, we can embrace the reality that we are "alive to God in Christ Jesus" (v. 11).  What enslaved us before no longer has the mastery.  Sin, its separation from God, its curse and shame -- all of it no longer defines us.  Instead, we can "walk in newness of life" because Jesus has been raised from the dead.

We may not verbally call this an idle tale, but do we really believe it to be true?  In those times when the past seems hard to shake or addictions feel impossible to break, we let unbelief creep in and make us feel as if transformation is out of reach.  May I suggest that the resurrection is more real than those feelings of impossibility?  

We must guard our hearts from chalking up Paul's gospel explanation as fake news.

No, the story of Jesus IS our story even if we haven't seen the entirety of that story played out in all its fullness yet.  Because He died, we are no longer slaves.  Because He lives, we can walk in newness of life altogether!

NEW CREATION

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV

Powerful promise, isn't it?  It's a promise of newness created along with oldness passed away.  And while it may sound like more of the same as that of Romans 6, I would submit that there's another dynamic Paul emphasizes here that we tend to gloss over.  Here in 2 Corinthians 5, this promise of newness in light of the resurrection isn't about us.  It's actually about other people around us.  Follow the train of thought leading up to verse 17.

In 2 Corinthians 5:15, Paul reminds us that Jesus died for everyone -- a radically inclusive reality that should move any beating heart that becomes aware of this compelling love (v. 14) to "live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (v. 15).

In light of what's true for "them" in v. 15, what is it that "we" are to do in v. 16? "Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh" (v. 16).  Do you hear the specific call to action for us?  It's in how we view or "regard" others for whom Christ died, others who are seeking to live no longer for themselves but for the crucified and risen Savior.  We are to no longer view others "according to the flesh," which means what exactly?  It means no longer regarding others from our human perspective or measuring them solely based on what we see outwardly in the flesh.  Even more, I believe Paul is exhorting us to no longer view others based on their former lives in the flesh.  Why?  Because "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (v. 17).  That's why.

The new creation promise is so much more than an idle tale, and Paul himself knew the power of it.  It's not hard to imagine that Paul was at times regarded by church folk according to the flesh, according to his flawed, persecuting past.  But one of the gospel implications of the empty tomb is that

we can view others according to their newness and not hold their oldness against them.

Friends, the resurrection of Jesus is not fake news.  It's good news.  And we can believe it.  Let's believe the gospel that declares we are no longer slaves to our sin-shackled past!  Let's believe the gospel that the newness we walk in can be the newness others around us can walk in as well!