Tradition, Liberty, and Corporate Reflection

Have you ever been rescued before? Like from something that was really dangerous or even life threatening? If you have, you will never forget the person or people that helped rescue you from that situation. It will follow you for years to come. Today, I wanted to write to you about a rescue operation that took place a few years ago. Ironically, this specific rescue operation involved more than a global operation; but rather something that expanded the universe and time itself.

1 Corinthians 1:30 “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” We needed saving and even before we knew we did, God had a plan, Romans 3:21-24 “21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Before we even knew we needed Him, He was thinking of you and I. Now what does this mean for you and I today? Of course this means we need Jesus Christ in order to be saved, of course we cannot earn salvation on our own, of course we are in desperate need of Jesus to finish His work in us. But also more! Now, in Christ after salvation; we get to look at Resurrection Sunday in a new light. We get to celebrate our rescue, our moment of a hero stepping down to help you and I live. This is why the we have three celebrations we get to do in order to recognize and celebrate this successful rescue as born again believers.

All three are instituted by the Lord and should be practiced by Christians.

First the Lord’s Supper.

Matthew 26:26-29 “26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

Luke 22:19-20 “19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

God’s Son Jesus Christ gave us a symbol of celebration with others who have been rescued to remember what He has done for us.

Our second celebration instituted by the Lord is baptism.

1 Peter 3:21-22 “21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

Baptism does not save you, but it is an outward expression and recognition of what He has done with us. This is why we do this, this is why we need to be of an age to recognize what is being done, for you must be already saved for this action to happen.

The final celebration instituted by the Lord is worship on Sunday with our brothers and sisters. Now some might say that this is not ordered by the Lord, but I would disagree. In fact, I believe that Christ’s first orders after His resurrection are for us to corporately come together. Let’s look and see!

Matthew 28:1-10 “1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Here we see the angel say, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen.” Mary Magdalene is being told to be comforted for the obvious reason that Christ has risen and that the orders given to her were about to have her with other rescued people. “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him.” In short, she is being told “Be comforted, you are going to be with other rescued people and you will get to see the very person who rescued you.”

When you examine the resurrection accounts, you find that there is a theme. Rescued people are told to come together to see Jesus and it is happening on a Sunday. They are being told scripture and being taught. They are worshiping together and they are comforting one another. This practice is solidifying our Lord and Savior’s desire for us to meet. Now some might say that we can meet on any day, which I would agree. But when we come together on Sunday we recognize Jesus Christ’s rescue of us from our sin.

All three celebrations are foundations for the symbolism of what He has done for us. This is why we are told to come together as the body of Christ. This is why Sunday corporate worship is designed for those who are saved. It was designed for the rescued to remember their rescuer’s actions. Finally, it should remind us of the great symbolism we have each year with Resurrection Sunday. Let this not be the only Sunday we come together and praise Jesus Christ for saving us, but rather a moment to share the gospel with others so that they too might be saved. Let us take Resurrection Sunday and the reflection of His actions, as well as corporately each and every Sunday.

Praise the Lord that He gives us the liberty to worship everyday, praise Him even more for helping us set a tradition to corporately come together and praise the day He rescued you and I from ourselves in our sin.

What an awesome God we have in Jesus Christ. Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL