Inextricably Entwined Romans 4:25

I like the phrase "inextricably entwined." It is hard to say but it's meaning is especially appropriate when we meet on Easter, resurrection Sunday, and partake of the Lord's Supper. It means, of course, that certain things go together and simply cannot be separated. They are so interconnected that you cannot separate them without doing damage to each.

The cross and the resurrection are inextricably entwined. The cross, which is at the heart of the Lord's Supper, and the resurrection, which we celebrate today but also on the first day of every week, cannot be separated without doing damage to the meaning of each.

Take the resurrection away and what does that do to the meaning of the cross? It means Jesus died and remains dead like any other good man, like the prophets before him. He left behind some helpful teachings but like the death of any other man, his death may be inspirational but it is not redemptive. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins."

On the other hand, take away the cross and what does that do to the meaning of the resurrection? There is nothing left to validate. It may be a marvelous miracle but Jesus then is no different than Lazarus. He too was raised from the dead, but only for a time, and not to validate any redemptive, atoning sacrifice on his part. Jesus, on the other hand, came for the very purpose, as he put it, "to give his life a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45). In the upper room at the Last Supper Jesus held the bread and said, "this is my body, given for you," and the cup saying, "this is my blood ... shed for the forgiveness of sins." Were these the rants of a self-deluded pretender? No! God raised him from the dead on the third day and thereby changed the cross into a big exclamation point. YES! It is true. His death was not in vain. Paul said it all in one short sentence in Romans 4:25, "He was delivered over to death because of our sins and he was raised to life for our justification."

I wonder if some artistic person could come up with a piece of jewelry that would show the cross and the empty tomb inextricably entwined? We have lots of cross jewelry but the cross by itself, without the resurrection, is just an instrument of death, like a scaffold or an electric chair. Both the cross and the resurrection lose their power when separated. The cross or the resurrection without each other mean little or nothing, but together they mean everything.

How appropriate it is, therefore, on this resurrection Sunday that we remember the cross and give thanks that he was "delivered to death for our sins and raised for our justification."