On Resurrection Sunday, churchgoers across the globe greet each other with a hearty, “He Is Risen!” It’s the cornerstone of our faith in Jesus Christ, and it’s obviously part of the inspiration behind this summer’s FCA Camp theme, “RISE.”
Athletes and coaches will learn what it means to be “bold and courageous” (Joshua 1:9) and to RISE for Christ on their campuses and in their communities. His resurrection is the ultimate example of bringing the theme of RISE to life. It was He who lived a bold and courageous, pure and sinless life on our behalf. It was He who died in our place. And, finally, it was He who rose after three days, just as the prophecies foretold, assuring us of eternal life once we surrender our lives to Him.
Jesus’ resurrection is the greatest event the world has ever experienced, yet many people contended—and still contend—that it didn’t actually happen.
In sports, media, and pop culture today, we’ve become slightly obsessed with “previews” and “reviews,” but Scripture reveals God is the true master of “previews” and “reviews.” Consider just a handful of the dozens of “previews” of the resurrection in the Bible.
• Genesis 22: Abraham takes Isaac, his long-awaited, precious son, and lays him on the altar as a sacrifice to God. But God figuratively “resurrects” Isaac to powerful living.
• Genesis 41: An imprisoned yet innocent man named Joseph is set free (“resurrected” from bondage) to have authority over the earth.
• John 11: Jesus allows Lazarus to die from an illness, but then He literally raises him from the dead, a not-so-subtle “preview” of what was soon to come.
• Matthew 27:51-54: Just as Jesus dies on the cross, an earthquake tears the curtain of the Temple apart, splitting open rocks and tombs. “The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life” and “appeared to many people” (NIV), the closest “preview” yet of Jesus’ coming resurrection three days later.
The “reviews” of Jesus’ resurrection were mixed. All that we now read in the New Testament brought the Old Testament prophecies to life. But, despite overwhelming evidence to support its validity, many were skeptical, including some of Jesus’ own disciples. The Sadducees, primarily wealthy Jewish priests who felt threatened by Jesus during His time on Earth, flat-out denied His resurrection and fabricated lies to cover it up.
Today, the greatest evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is a born-again Christian: any of us who have realized how hopeless and dead we are in our sin but trust in Jesus’ death alone to pay for that sin. We’re resurrected and given eternal life because God the Son, Jesus Himself, rose from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus is so real that I believe it is worth crossing every line of political correctness, financial or physical danger, and threats against our reputation. Even the Samaritan crossed the line of racial and social tensions to bring the love of Jesus to someone in need. Who is that person in your life? Who needs to see how the resurrection of Jesus has so drastically renewed your life?
I witnessed the renewing power of His resurrection most dramatically during the 2011 football season while I coached at the University of Nebraska. Just before our game at Penn State, their university and community was rocked with allegations of child abuse by a former coach. Media members came from all over the world, the stadium was packed to capacity while millions more tuned in to a game that had become about so much more than football.
At the request of both schools’ administrations, the teams gathered at midfield for a prayer before kickoff, and I—along with Penn State assistant Larry Johnson—was asked to lead that prayer. In front of an astonishingly quiet, respectful crowd of more than 107,000, filled with kids, students, adults, media, armed soldiers, officials, coaches and players, I prayed the truth of John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” I truly desired for the onlookers, the victims, and the alleged perpetrators to understand the grace and truth of the resurrected Christ and to desire to follow Him.
At the postgame press conference, I saw media folks in tears as I openly shared the Gospel—the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Was the resurrection real to all those who heard it that day? I sure hope so—because it is real, and it will be for all of eternity.
It’s that truth that serves as the inspiration for coaches and athletes to be bold and courageous as they go out from FCA Camp and RISE among their campuses and communities to see lives changed for Christ. His resurrection from the dead is, was and always will be real, and it’s the power behind everlasting life change!
-FCA-