“By defeating Satan through his death and resurrection, Jesus reframes our ethics by showing that our primary moral adversary has no lasting authority or power on those who are in Christ. By conquering sin, he reshapes our ethics by demonstrating that all this world can boast is nothing compared to the glory of faithfully obeying the call of Christ. By overcoming death, Jesus reorients our ethics by defeating the fear of death that overwhelms the anxieties of every person.”

What is the relationship between Easter and ethics? How does the crucifixion shape the Christian life? How does the resurrection reorient our moral intuitions?

The answer may come from an often-overlooked part of Acts 1. When most read the beginning of the chapter, they fixate on several features: (1) Acts as a continuation of Luke (1:1), (2) the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1:6), and (3) the missionary commission to be witnesses to the end of the earth (1:8).

But buried in that text are a few nuggets of truth that shed light on the relationship between Easter and ethics. It highlights how, before his ascension, Jesus gave “commands through the Holy Spirit” while “speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:2-3). What Luke makes clear is that, after the resurrection, Jesus reframes how to live as a follower of Christ in light of the inbreaking kingdom of God.

Ethics and the Victory of Christ

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus achieves a decisive victory over his enemies Satan, sin, and death. This conquest is precisely why Jesus has the authority to instruct his apostles with the commands Luke mentions in Acts 1:2. With victory comes authority. With conquest comes credibility.

By defeating Satan through his death and resurrection, Jesus reframes our ethics by showing that our primary moral adversary has no lasting authority or power on those who are in Christ. By conquering sin, he reshapes our ethics by demonstrating that all this world can boast is nothing compared to the glory of faithfully obeying the call of Christ. By overcoming death, Jesus reorients our ethics by defeating the fear of death that overwhelms the anxieties of every person.

If Jesus died and rose on the third day in victorious triumph, it changes our cultural engagement. We do not enter the public arena seeking to crush enemies but persuade captives. We are not held captive by the allure of Satan’s deceits but set free to follow the way of Christ with joy.

Ethics and the New Creation

Through his death and resurrection, Jesus ushers in a new creation. He is the forerunner who launches a cosmic reconstruction project by which the broken world is becoming untrue. All things are being made new. And the down payment that functions as the sign and seal of this new creation is the Holy Spirit, who Luke highlights in Acts 1:2.

By ushering in a new creation through his death and resurrection, Jesus reframes our ethics by transforming our mission. For those now part of this new creation order, the call of Christ is to restore the shalom shattered by sin through declaring the word of God in proclamation and demonstrating the power of God in ministry. Our cultural engagement is no longer about self-preservation or power, but about applying the transformed order of the new creation to our broken world.

By ushering in a new creation through his death and resurrection, Jesus also reframes our ethics by transforming our context. Followers of Christ are now citizens of a new creation. This transforms our allegiances and our authority. We perceive the daily events of life that demand ethical clarity through the lens of an unfolding new creation kingdom that will not fail.

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