Resurrection: Hope in the Midst of Sufferingনমুনা

It is an honor that Christ loved us enough that He suffered extremely and died for us. Oftentimes we forget that Jesus did not once think it was not worth it, even though He knew many would reject Him. Knowing that many of us will fail Him through our life, actions, and decisions, He still loved us.

His death signifies the depth of God’s love and the foundation of His justice. He did not leave mankind on its own to figure out the way for salvation through the Law. Where the Law failed, grace was sufficient. And the grace of God was made visible to all when the Son was sent - the gift we didn’t deserve - to fulfil the requirements of the Law in us.

Imagine then the impact on Christian theology if Christ didn’t die? Such alarming speculations are baseless because history tells us with certainty about the death of Christ. At the Garden, Luke mentioned that Christ had sweat blood - Hematidrosis - a condition induced due to extreme stress. It renders the skin extremely sensitive and induces heavy blood loss through wounds, making survival extremely unlikely post flogging and crucifixion. The Romans made sure that all crucified victims died by Asphyxiation by breaking the legs to prevent them from pushing their body upwards to inhale oxygen. And most notably we know Christ went into Hypovolemic shock and cardiac arrest as John notes the gushing of blood and a water-like-fluid from His side.

Many more proofs can be given about Jesus’ death. However, something deeper remains to be pondered. Paul asks us to imitate Christ. What does imitating Christ look like? This is what it looks like: walking in love as Christ walked in love and gave Himself up; loving our enemies and praying for our persecutors; loving the will of the Father and despising the ways of the world. Christ’s death made us ‘at one’ with God so that we may be transformed to love - God and neighbor - like He did. We abide in Him through His atoning death so that we may bear fruit. Our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak. So pray, keep guard, lest we fail to imitate Christ!

Application Questions:

• Reflect upon the eternal salvific implications of Christ’s death.
• Take a moment to introspect your life: Have I trivialized what His death means by considering it a thing of the past, merely reminiscing it year after year?
• Surrender yourself before God and pray that we may truly imitate Christ by loving others and despising the ways of the world.