Whilst this was specific to the appointment of the twelfth apostle, it is also applicable to us. We, living two thousand years after, cannot claim to have physically witnessed the great event of the resurrection. Yet our very existence as Christians is witness to it. Imagine if the Biblical account closed with the placing of Jesus’ body in the tomb! What we would have would be no more than a particularly sad, and particularly inspiring, martyrdom. Other than stirring our hearts, it would not have the power to change us. We would have no assurance that Christ’s death was in our place, or if it was that it had been acceptable to the Father. We would never have heard, either individually or corporately, those words, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” It would be like a man who won a victory over his enemy, but died before he could tell anyone about his triumph.

Fortunately, the Bible does not leave us at the cross, or even at the tomb. It takes us on to Easter morning, and from there to the ascension and Pentecost. We know that through His death Jesus bore all our sins, paid in full the price of our redemption, and defeated satan and all his hordes. We know it because the resurrection proves it. The resurrection tells us that our God is alive, and that we are safe to put our trust in Him.

So why is it that so many Christians live at the cross? Don’t get me wrong. The cross is and always will be central to our faith. I love all those old hymns – The Old Rugged Cross, Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, Lead Me to Calvary – the ones we very rarely sing these days, even in churches where they sing hymns rather than choruses. Yet the cross is only half the story. The cross dealt with our death, but the resurrection assures us of life. Not only life, but a totally different dimension of life. After Jesus’ resurrection, He was recognizably the same person. But He was also recognizably different. He still had “flesh and bones”, but He could walk through walls.

When we live with an attitude that the best we can expect from our Christian life is an endless cycle of sin-repentance-forgiveness; when we accept regular rhythms of defeat and picking ourselves up to start again; when we regard powerlessness as normal; we are living on the wrong side of the resurrection. That’s bad for us, but it’s even worse for the world to which we are supposed to be witnesses of the resurrection.

That world is all-to-familiar with dead, powerless gods. They need to see that our God – the true God – is alive, victorious and powerful. They will only see it, as they see it in us.