The Resurrection and Ascension with Margarita Diaz Lutz
Today we’re chatting with Margarita Diaz Lutz about the resurrection and the ascension of Christ. As you’ll hear, this conversation is rich with Scripture, and Margarita so beautifully reminds us of how the resurrection offers us hope even in the midst of the brokenness of this world. Margarita lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with her husband, Zach and her two-year-old son, Joaquín. She graduated from Covenant Seminary and Wheaton College, and she loves to study and teach God’s Word. We pray this episode leads you to praise Jesus for his resurrection and ascension, which achieved salvation for all who trust in him and offers us hope in the seasons and challenges we face in this life!
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Can you tell us about who you are and what you do?
How does the reality of the resurrection and ascension impact your everyday life?
Can you briefly define terms? What is the resurrection? What is the ascension?
How are the ascension and the incarnation related?
Why is it important that we distinguish between the resurrection and the ascension?
The cross of Christ is rightly emphasized in Christian circles. But why is the resurrection an important reality that we cannot overlook? What did Jesus accomplish in the resurrection?
How is the ascension the climactic moment of Christ's work?
What passages in Scripture would you suggest we turn to if we want to get a better grasp on the resurrection and ascension?
How is the claim of the bodily resurrection of Jesus central to the gospel message?
How does the ascension anticipate Christ's second-coming? Why is that significant for us on a daily basis?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“The reality of the resurrection says that my hope is not in the better I eat, or the more sleep I get, or the more I exercise. My hope is in the fact that Jesus is resurrected. And because he’s the first fruits of the resurrection, I will also be resurrected. I’m looking forward to a transformation of my body, not just me finding a way of healing it here and now.”
“I’m going to be transformed so that my physical body can face Jesus, and see him face to face and delight in him.”
“Because of the ascension, Jesus is on the throne.”
“To be able to look up and see that Jesus is on the throne, and he is weaving a tapestry with these threads that we cannot see yet. But we know he is in control and he’s weaving not only your individual life, but somehow he’s weaving interpersonal lives and communal lives and global lives and cosmic lives. Whatever is happening right now is still part of his plan, so we can look up and trust in his goodness. He is on the throne and none of this is escaping him, none of this is stumping him. You can look up and know he is in charge.”
“The resurrection is Jesus’ vindication. It’s the proof that Jesus is who he says he is. Because he rose from the dead in his body on the third day. He is who he says he is in the rest of the Gospels.”
“The resurrection is the divine reversal of the sentence which the world passed on Jesus.”
“The resurrection is God saying that everything Jesus says about who he is is true. He is God’s Son, his resurrection proves that he’s the Word, that the Father is well pleased with him, that he’s the Messiah, that he’s the promised seed who crushed the serpent. That’s what the resurrection proves. That Jesus is who he says he is.”
“The ascension is when Jesus, forty days after his resurrection, is taken up into heaven and he sits at the right hand of the Father and he receives the reward of who he is.
“In his ascension he receives the glory and the honor and the worship that is due to him because he is the Lord. And he receives the power and authority to do his work as King of spreading his kingdom, of defeating his enemies. And he does this by receiving the promised Holy Spirit and then pouring it out upon his people (at Pentecost which happens ten days later).”
“The gospel isn’t just a set of propositions. It’s a story; it’s history.”
“In Jesus’ resurrection and ascension he inaugurates the new age, the already and the not yet.”
“In his ascension Jesus is given the promised Holy Spirit to pour out upon his people.”
“The gospel is so big, it’s massive. The gospel isn’t less than about how Jesus saved you from your sins; but it’s so much more than that. It’s about what he’s doing in your life now, and it’s about what he’s doing in creation, and where this world is going. It’s about his whole story.”
“Because he rose again, we know that Jesus is King, and that Jesus has saved you.”
“His death puts to death sin and death, and his resurrection allows us to live new lives of obedience.”
“The resurrection is the evidence that Jesus’ work of atonement is real, and that it can be applied to us because Jesus is alive.”
“We are united to a living Jesus, not to a Jesus who is dead in the grave.”
“The ascension is like the coronation of a king.”
“God is not content with just a part of us; he’s in the business of redeeming all of who we are. And not only that, but all of creation. And Jesus’ bodily resurrection accomplishes all of that.”
“Because of the resurrection, Jesus has his foot on death’s neck. Death does not have the final word; it is letting out its last gasp right now. The Bible testifies to this by calling Christ the first fruits of the resurrection. He’s the first to be resurrected, but he won’t be the last. Just as we all died in Adam, those who believe in Christ will be made alive.”
“The bodily resurrection of Jesus means that our bodily resurrection is ensured.”
“The one who created your body is going to transform your body.”
RESOURCES
“A Man Born to Be King” by Dorothy Sayers
Far as the Curse is Found, by Michael D. Williams
Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter, by Tim Keller
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
HYMN
Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands
SIMPLE JOYS OF KNOWING AND LOVING GOD
Reading the Gospel Storybook Bible to my son
Praying other peoples’ prayers
Our church’s women’s Bible study
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How does the reality of the resurrection and ascension impact your everyday life?
Where in Scripture do you most clearly see the resurrection and ascension? Perhaps consider memorizing one of these passages.
How does the ascension and resurrection of Christ lead you to anticipate Christ's second coming?
How do the resurrection and the ascension offer us hope in the midst of life’s difficult circumstances?
What are you going to do or implement as a result of what you’ve learned this week?
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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