NOTES FROM THE PASTOR
“Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia! But the pains which He endured, Alleluia! Our salvation hath procured, Alleluia! Now above the sky He’s king, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!”
This wonderful Easter hymn is an incredible proclamation and celebration of the resurrection. But it is more than that. It is also a declaration of the crucifixion. However much we may want to do so, however much the world may seek to deny the cross of Christ and all that it means, the reality is you can’t have one without the other.
The resurrection is established upon the crucifixion. Jesus, “Who did once, upon the cross, … Suffer to redeem our loss,” died on the cross for a purpose. He died for our sins, to atone for the evil we have done. Without the crucifixion there would be no forgiveness, no salvation, not eternal life, and eternal meaning to the resurrection. If Jesus died a natural death, His “resurrection” would be no more than that of the little girl He raised from the dead or Lazarus or the widow’s son. It would have no effect on the world. But it does have an effect: “But the pains which He endured, … Our salvation hath procured….” It is the crucifixion that acquires our salvation for us. It is in the blood of Christ, shed on the cross, that we are washed clean from our sins.
Likewise, the crucifixion of the Son of God necessitates the resurrection. There is no conceivable way that Son of the Living God could be confined to death. There is no way that death (or Satan) could defeat the Messiah. There is no doubt that the resurrection happened, is real, and is miraculous (despite what the unbelievers and the heretics may say). “Jesus Christ is risen today, … Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!” “Alleluia” indeed! This is something for which to praise God – in fact, it is the principle reason to praise God. “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!”
But let us not forget that there is a reason beyond even the resurrection to praise God. “Now above the sky He’s king….” This is both the proof of the resurrection (that Jesus is ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty) and the result of it (that Jesus, who has won the victory over sin and death, is seated upon the throne as ruler of all creation). It is also good news for believers, for where there is a King, there is a Kingdom – can I hear another “Alleluia”? Because Jesus won, we win. Because Jesus reigns, we are blessed to live in the Kingdom. Because our Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, is Brother to us who are the adopted children of God, we have a Friend in very high places.
So sing it on Easter Sunday. And sing it the Sunday after Easter. And sing it every day as you walk in the Lord. “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia! But the pains which He endured, Alleluia! Our salvation hath procured, Alleluia! Now above the sky He’s king, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!”
~Pastor Michel
