The Ressurection of Christ: He is Risen

The most holy day in our calendar is today, Resurrection Sunday. It is the day Jesus Christ proved He was, "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die." (John 11:25). It was today, two thousand and sixteen years ago that Christ rose from dead and death lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55). We found ourselves free of the fear of perishing, eternal life shown to us by God incarnate. Resurrection Sunday is precursor to the day when we all shall be raised from the dead, "It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed." (1 Corinthians 15:52). O glorious day! How we await with sheer anticipation for the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Resurrection of the dead, and radical transformation of our broken bodies into eternal bodies!, "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands." (2 Corinthians 5:1).

On this Day of celebration with Alleluias and Hallelujahs, I have decided to explore artwork from Resurrection of Christ.

Easter eggs have long been a tradition on Resurrection Sunday. There has been a movement to claim they are pagan and in worship of Ishtar or Eastre (Astarte, Ashtoreth), but the tradition actually comes from Russia. In the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches they use the egg as sign of the Resurrection, the shell being the tomb, and when cracked a yoke of golden light, for Jesus is Light of World (John 1:1-5, ) and the cracking itself symbolizes the breaking of chains of bondage, the power of the gates of hell, and the power death; now Christ holds the keyes to Hades and Death (Revelation 1:18). In Russia there are very ornate painted eggs that have gold, precious gems, and glistening silver which commemorate the Resurrection. Do not be ashamed or tell your children they cannot hunt for Easter eggs, the practices is very much Christianized and it came from the Slavs, not the Samarian worship.

In this Romanesque depiction of the Resurrection, Christ is clade in the Catholic red and existing a tomb that is not rotunda, but square. Revealing the wound in His hand, Christ points at the Centurions guarding the tomb, and they all fall backward and flee, this is remnisance of the scene at Gethsename, "Jesus said "I Am he," they all drew back and fell to the ground!" (John 18:6). In the background we see a city that is probably Jerusalem, but it has more of Roman and Athens quality to it. This particular Ressurection piece has foliage and flowers coming out of the Tomb, this is because it is written, "At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid." (John 19:41). The blooming of flowers around the Tomb probably is allegorical and symbolic of new life and resurrection.

The Ressurection by Ron Dicianni is a wall mural of magnificent proportions. Here we see Christ emerging from the tomb in white robes, and two angels with long swords bowing. These angels probably allude to the two angels that greeted the Apostles, "and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot." (John 20:12). On either side of the angels are important figures from Old Testament, on the left is Moses holding the Law, King David in gold and purple/blue, and on right side nearest the angel is Abraham, Isaiah, Elijah, and other prominate figures who were foreshadowings and prophets of the coming of Christ. Far in the up right corner we see the crosses and calvary, this again alludes to the fact that the Garden Tomb was near the Crucifixion site (John 19:41). On the waste and belt of Christ is the keyes to death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). This particular piece has the more traditional round stone and tomb that you can see in Jerusalem, at the British Garden Tomb Site.

In this Ressurection piece Christ emerges from Tomb Risen, and the setting is night, rather than early morning or even afternoon light. He holds a white cross, rather than crosier or scepter. There is no halo, but a light does surround his head. An attending angel kneels before him offering what appears to be a girdle or belt to tie his cloak together. Christ's right hand it makes a gesture, perhaps something similar to ICXC or Sign of the cross.

In this depiction of the Ressurection there is Reanissance interpretation of the entire scene. Jesus Christ stands on coffin, rather than emerging from the Tomb that traditionally is a cave that Jews buried their families. The guards are not Centurions or Jewish Temple Guards, but rather men in European harness and chain mail, with arms of the 13th-15th centguries. The artist is unkown, but certainly this was painted for a Catholic patron, Christ has the wounds bleeding and fresh to see. His complexion is pale and the body is austerely shaped like His crucifixion. In Christ's hand is a crosier with an Apostolic Cross. The surroundings are certainly a garden, but the sky being red is unique, making this a sunrise setting of the Ressurection than the later Midnight and dawn scenes in other depictions. In front of the Sepulchre is a soldier, a knight with buckler and a broken sword, this probably harkens to two passages, "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword," (Matthew 26:25), and "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4).

In this contemporary painting of the Ressurection, Christ is not seen or present. All that remains is the shroud that once encased his body, and above hovering is a dove, probably The Holy Spirit, "and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22). In this piece the viewer is inside the empty tomb, rather than on outside viewing Christ victorious and Risen. Some Protestants and those who have Purtianical sympathies prefer paintings like this because it does not depict Jesus, but it does celebrate the Ressurection. Christ is represented by Light, For He is the Light of World, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life," (John 8:12), "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend/overcome it," (John 1:4-5), and "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness," (John 12:48), "Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them," (John 12:36), and "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19).

Jamie Serra's The Resurrection is perhaps the most unique piece due to its unorthodox colors. Jesus Christ in Catholic art is often robed in red, while in more Protestant and Orthodox Art blue or whie. In this painting Christ is clade in gold leaf and black, the gold appearing like leopard spots and black denoting that He now holds, "the keys to death and hades." (Revelation 1:18). The scene surrounding the Risen Savior is again an allegorized one, it is not the people from time period of the Resurrection: Roman Centurions, The Apostles, Mary Magdalene, Women of Galilee, and so forth. Instead their are men in Renaissance and Medieval armor, and a Cardinal of Catholic Church is seen to right venerating the Risen Christ. Above is a host of angels on either side ascending and probably offering hallelujahs and worship. Another allegory is that Christ is rising from a coffin or sepulcher rather than what He actually rose out of, a Tomb out of cave rock. The reason artists often added people from the times, was because those people were patrons, and so to honor them. Important milestones in the Christian faith like the Resurrection are in more modern imagery is to help people of time understand the message of the Gospel.

Here Jesus Christ has Risen in the proper historical and Biblical setting. The tomb is rounded, and Roman Centurions are strewn everywhere unconscious, "The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men." (Matthew 28:4). To the right we can see visage of some trees and that this is a garden, and the lighting is nighttime rather than dawn or morning. Jesus is being attended to by angel, who is helping cloth him, probably reminding the viewer that Christ was formerly in a shroud and thus would have been naked. This version of painting cuts out a scene to left which has one Centurion who is awake pointing to Christ, probably paying homage to Longinus, "When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:4). The Centurions have played an important role in Christ's ministry. The Apostle John records, "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe." (John 19:35), "And a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him;…When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue." Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. "For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith." (Luke 7:2-9).

In this Resurrection scene we have Jesus Christ walking in background, and Mary Magdalene at tomb in tears. This scene depicts the passages, "But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;  and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her." (John 20:11-18). Mary is in tears because she believes Jesus' body has been stolen, but she gets to be first person who sees the Risen Christ. This was major deal for the Messiah to appear first to a woman, because in Jewish culture of the time (33 A.D.) it was against Talmudic laws for Rabbi to walk on same street as woman, not to mention be touched by one. Jesus is showing Mary and us who read that He is making "all things new," and even bring resurrection to position of woman as equal and partner to man as she was created to be in Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:18-24).

In this depiction of Resurrection, Jesus Christ is not emerging from Tomb, or near it. This is Upper room where He appeared, "So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” However, Thomas the Skeptic was not there and so Jesus has to appear again, and here is what the Scriptures say, "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:19-29). It is interesting that painting above is depicting a scene eight days after when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and the Ten Disciples. Jesus in this depiction is robed in red, which denotes Catholicism, however, it should be noted that the reason so many artists have Christ in red is to remind people of His Passion on Cross and robe he wore to the cross(Matthew 27:28), but also what he shall wear when He returns, "His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God (see John 1:1,15)." (Revelation 19:12-19).

This Eastern Orthodox Mural Icon depicts Jesus Christ rising from the dead and Him touching John the Theologian, and Mary Theotokios. There are two sarcophagus or sepulchers that John and Mary seem to be rising out of, but it is more likely the host of people on both sides came out of these tombs, "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!," (Matthew 27:51-53).

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the seal and completion of the Redemptive mission. On Cross he bores our sins in His body (1 Peter 2:24), and through Resurrection He raised us to new life (romans 6:4), and the promise of salvation is ours (Ephesians 1:13). Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24), and now He holds the Keys of Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). This Sunday we celebrate that death is defeated, our sins forgiven, salvation is ours, and when Christ returns we shall be raised in body or changed in His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). Amen!