The Kerusso – May | 2022
Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
Jesus is a “Living Stone” ... Shouldn’t We Be Too? “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ ... But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9) Are we Living Ston
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The question the heavenly messengers asked the women at Jesus’ tomb has intrigued me. “Why do you seek the living here, among the tombs?” (My paraphrase) The fact is, they were NOT looking for a living person. They were looking for a dead one! But to their amazement, and joy, they were confronted with the news that he was NOT dead, as they had supposed.
It prompts me to press the analogy to say that there are lots of people, wandering in and around the tombs of our empty, godless culture, not actually expecting to bump into anything real, or alive, or vital, with no significant sense of hope or any real expectation of true life or joy.
But there is TRUE HOPE, and there is REAL JOY. And the Apostle Peter expresses our commission from God to be the witnesses that shock the world with the incredible news that REAL LIFE is possible. Not the dead version of life that folks have settled for. If you’ve ever walked around a cemetery by yourself, you know just how predictable and quiet it can be. There’s nobody to upset your serene little hike. Nothing to stir you or suggest a different path. The Good News you and I carry is nothing short of life from the dead. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions ... And God raised us up with Christ ...” (Ephesians 2:1-6)
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Let’s be sure we live out the call to be a Royal Priesthood, ready to “declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light!” There are folks wandering in the tombs that need to hear the good news that there is a God who loves them so much that he chose to move from life to death so that we could move from death to life. And while he tasted death for our sakes, he DID NOT stay there. He leads us on in joyful procession into life everlasting!! ~ Max Edwards