The Anistasis

More Than Just A Resurrection

I’ve always been interested in finding out where words come from. Technically, it’s called etymology.

I don’t know if you’ve ever stopped to think about this, but words come from somewhere. When something new comes along, someone has to decide what to call that new thing.

For example, there was a time when there were no automobiles. So when the automobile was invented, someone had to name it.

Here’s where that word came from.

Auto means self. Mobile means moving. So an automobile is a self moving or self propelled vehicle. A vehicle that doesn’t need an animal pulling it.

In England, the automobile was (and in some cases, still is) called the motor car. The word car comes from the word cart. A motor car is a cart with a moter.

In France, the automobile was, at first, called a locomobile. Loco means place, like locale or location. So a locomobile was something that moved you from one place to another place.

See how interesting that is?

There are words that get invented and don’t stick. A decade ago, the hybrid word chillax was popular. Not so much today.

Given what we’re about to celebrate this week, I think we ought to take a minute to consider the word resurrection.

That English word comes to us from the French. They got it from the Romans. The Latin was re-surgere. Surgere means to stand up. Re mean again. So it’s simple. Resurrection means to stand up again.

Pretty basic, right? But here’s where it gets interesting.

The Greek word that is translated resurrection in our Bibles is anastasis. Ana means up. For example, the word anatomy comes from two Latin words – ana and tome. Tome means to cut. Ana means up. Anatomy means to cut up.

So back to anastasis. Again, ana means up. The second half of that word is the Greek word stasis. And here’s what the Strong’s Dictionary of Greek words tells us about stasis.

4714. στάσις stásis; gen. stáseōs, fem. noun from hístēmi (2476), to stand. An insurrection, sedition or uprising (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19, 25; Acts 19:40; 24:5). A contention, dissension, dispute (Acts 15:2; 23:7, 10; Sept.: Prov. 17:14).

Now why did I take you through all that? To get to this one point. I wanted you to see that there is a connection in the original language between what we will celebrate on Sunday – the resurrection of Jesus – and the Greek word for a rebel or a revolutionary.

The resurrection of Jesus was also the insurrection of Jesus. His rising up from the dead was an up-rising.

It was not a political uprising. But it was the most significant, most profound rebellion in all of human history.

And this insurrection was successful. When Jesus was raised from the dead, ruling powers and authorities were overthrown. The Revolutionary who led the rebellion was installed as the reigning monarch. The Bible says that when He was raised from the dead, Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” (Colossians 2:15).

There were ruling powers and authorities that were defeated as a result of this glorious uprising.

We called this coming Sunday “Resurrection Sunday.” We could just as easily call it Insurrection Sunday. Because when Jesus was raised from the dead, He declared victory – over sin and death and hell.

If your allegiance is with Jesus, then the victory He won is your victory too. The rulers and authorities He has defeated no longer have any power or authority over you. All because of your loyalty to the Captain of the insurrection.

Sunday, we mark the anastasis. The uprising. The cosmic insurrection that has changed everything.

And we gather to reaffirm our allegiance to the One who led the rebellion, triumphing over the last great enemy of humanity.

What a glorious uprising.