But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Luke 24:21

We were hoping….  These two disciples woke up on Sunday morning and seemingly, nothing had changed. That had hoped “Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people” would redeem the nation of Israel from the evil clutches of Rome. Instead, “The chief priests and our rulers delivered Him (Jesus) to the sentence of death and crucified Him.”

What does redemption look like? In this circumstance, the disciples were hoping that Jesus would usher in Hs glorious kingdom freeing them from the tyranny of Rome; however, Jesus accomplished something even more remarkable. Jesus rendered Satan powerless and overcame the tyranny of sin and death. By His precious blood, Jesus redeemed us from our futile way of life. The Son set us free!

In Matthew 27, we read about the crowd was mocking Jesus as he was hanging on a cross saying, “He saved others, but He can’t save himself. Let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him. He trusts in God, so let God rescue him.” To some it appears God did not answer the cries of his beloved Son, yet at that very moment of seeming defeat, the Lord was orchestrating the most awesome rescue of all. OURS! For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins.

So what does resurrection look like? Look in the mirror and see a miracle, Christ in you, the hope of glory! Maybe like those two disciples, your current circumstances seem dismal and you wish God would swoop in to rescue you, but instead the Father has sent His Spirit to give you His strength and power. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God! For whoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. 1 John 5:4-5