Hymns: He’s Alive

I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the in-between hymns.

Today’s song is He’s Alive from 1977.

Now that we are close to Easter Sunday, I thought I’d choose a modern Easter hymn. Well – sort of modern – hard to believe that it’s 49 years since 1977!

Soon after, I left the record out of its sleeve and our little dog scratched it all. I found it upsetting, but I shouldn’t blame the dog or the devil. It was my own carelessness 😀.

Anyway, it’s not the sort of a song that a congregation would sing. It’s more of a narrative on one person’s experience of the resurrection. It’s written from the perspective of the apostle Peter. Peter had denied Jesus. When he first met Jesus, he said “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man”. After he denied Jesus, one might have thought that he’d just disappear back to his old life. Even worse, he might have followed the example of Judas and taken his own life.

But Peter experienced the risen Christ, and Jesus reinstated him into a position of huge influence, even if he wasn’t the first Pope, as Roman Catholics believe. Peter wasn’t the only one to have seen the risen Christ. That’s a key point in my mind. If someone just experienced a personal vision, you could probably dismiss it, unless you had further evidence. But the woman, the apostles and some others, and ultimately over 500 people encountered the risen Christ. And it wasn’t some sort of a distant vision. He spent time with them over several weeks, and brought them through the Old Testament Scriptures that predicted the coming of the messiah, his death and resurrection. And finally, He ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit, which itself was a miraculous encounter.

And in the book of Acts, we read of Peter and other apostles performing miracles and even raising the dead, though few people were raised from the dead, even by Jesus. A key difference with the resurrection of Jesus was that he was raised never to die again, which is a foretaste of what’s to come for everyone. And all who believe are eternally united with him. So that’s much better that temporarily being raised from the dead, like Lazarus was.

If I were Lazarus, I would be a bit peeved to find myself back on earth after spending time in heaven, but perhaps God left Lazarus unconscious until he was raised or wiped his memory of heaven. Being on earth would be a major comedown if you had experienced heaven. But I’m sure that he was pleased to be able to be used as a picture of what’s to come for all of us. Here’s a snippet of a conversation between Jesus and the sister of Lazarus immediately before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead:

John 11:25-27
²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

I’m always encouraged by Peter standing giving what could be classed as the inaugural speech of the New Testament church on the day of Pentecost (See Acts 2). It’s so wonderful to see the man, who was terrified weeks earlier, boldly proclaiming that Jesus is alive.

The New Testament gives little information about the later life of Peter, but it’s traditionally believed that he was crucified upside down later in life. Most of the apostles were eventually executed by Rome. But they will rise, as Jesus did, and as we all will. The key question is what happens when we rise. Here’s two verses from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament about the general resurrection.

Daniel 12:2
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Isaiah 26:19
But your dead will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.

John 5:28-29
²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Acts 24:15
¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

I wouldn’t want to spend my life wondering what’ll happen to me when I do rise, which is why I like the fact that it can be addressed here and now:

John 5:24
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Here are some other versions of today’s hymn: