Show Notes
In this final Eastertide episode of Peaceable and Kind, host Derek Vreeland invites listeners into a powerful reflection on the resurrection of Jesus—not just as a past event, but as the beginning of God’s ongoing work to make all things new.
Drawing from the Christian calendar and the story arc of Scripture—from Advent to Pentecost, and from creation to new creation—Derek unpacks how the resurrection is the first sign of God’s “new creation project.” This episode explores how the Holy Spirit empowers us to love, why Jesus’ resurrection signals hope for all humanity, and how Revelation 21 offers a stunning vision of God dwelling with His people in a remade world filled with light, love, and life.
Through personal stories, biblical insight, and reflections on the foundational truths of the faith, Derek reminds us that the Christian journey is not just about what we’re saved from—but what we’re saved for.
Key Takeaways
Pentecost marks not just the end of Easter, but the beginning of Spirit-empowered living.
Jesus doesn’t just give us commands—He gives us the power to fulfill them.
The resurrection of Jesus is the first step in God’s plan to renew all creation.
“New creation” is not just symbolic; it’s a real, ongoing reality we’re invited into.
Revelation 21 isn’t about escaping earth—it’s about heaven coming to earth.
The end of the story is hope: no more death, no more tears, only the light and love of the Lamb.
Whether you’re walking through grief, wrestling with tradition, or seeking a deeper hope, this episode will reorient your heart to the promise that God is making all things new—starting now.
🎧 Listen now and be renewed by the promise of resurrection and restoration.
Scriptures mentioned in this episode:
Galatians 6:15 2 Corinthians 5:17 Revelation 1:1 Revelation 21:1-5 Revelation 21:22-26
Preorder Derek’s new book, Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us here: https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
Did you find this episode helpful on your spiritual journey? Consider helping us out!
Leave a review
Share it with your friends
Give us a 5-Star rating on your podcast app of choice
Get to know the host: https://derekvreeland.com
Interact with Derek on Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, or Facebook Episode Website
Transcript
Narrator: Dokken Welcome back to another episode of Peaceable and Kind, where we are sowing seeds of peace and kindness in a world of growing division and hostility. I’m your host, Derek Vreeland. And in today’s episode, I want to wrap up our mini-series on the resurrection of Jesus. Because this is the last week of Eastertide. So we have been celebrating the resurrection of Jesus now for seven weeks. And this Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, when we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. And so with this coming up Sunday, with Pentecost Sunday, that’s the end of the season of Easter. And Pentecost also closes out the first half. of the Christian calendar where we’ve been telling the story of Jesus. So the Christian calendar has two parts This first part where we’ve been telling the story of Jesus, and then the second part, which we call ordinary time, and it does kind of cut our calendars in half. Because the telling the story of Jesus part starts end of November, beginning of December, and lingers to the end of May, beginning of June. So it’s about a six-month block And then the other six months is what we call ordinary time, because we spend most of our days following Jesus in just ordinariness And so we want to punctuate. We want to wrap up the season of Easter with this celebration of Jesus. And I want to end today by talking a bit about Jesus revealing to us God’s desire to make all things new. This is how we tell the story of Jesus. And so to back up a little bit and to review where we’ve been through the church calendar, we started in the season of Advent. An Advent is about preparing. It’s about building in anticipation of the coming of Jesus And we go from there into Christmas, which is then the celebration of the birth of Jesus, that God has come to us in the person of Jesus. It’s a celebration of the incarnation that God took on human flesh, that he became a human being just like us. And then the Christmas celebration then spills over into Epiphany, which is a time of revelation. So in Epiphany, we reflect On how God is revealing that Jesus is not just the King and the Savior, the Messiah, just for the Jewish people, but for the entire world. And then Epiphany ends with Lent. Again, another season of preparation and anticipation. Lent is a time for confession and Repentance, self-reflection, contrition, and it’s all about identifying with the sorrow of Jesus So that we can prepare ourselves for Easter, which is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus So we here we are at the end of that season, getting ready for Pentecost Sunday. That’ll come up this Sunday. And you know, Pentecost is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but I like to think of it as the outpouring of the spirit of Jesus on the people of Jesus. And as I’ve mentioned in previous episodes, I love the church calendar because it allows us to tell the story of Jesus, the saving story of Jesus, which doesn’t end with Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. But at least the first half of the calendar ends with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is unique as a religious leader in a number of ways. But one of the ways that Jesus is unique, at least I find this most fascinating, is that Jesus not only gives us commands, because you know all religious leaders have their principles, their teaching, their commands, their axioms. And so Jesus comes with his commands. He sums them up with love God and love neighbor But what makes Jesus unique and what sets Jesus apart from other religious leaders is that Jesus not only gives us commands. But then gives us the promise of the power to fulfill those commands. In other words, Jesus commands us to be people of love First, loving God and then loving one another, loving our neighbors, loving even our enemies. But Jesus promises to give us the power to love So the promise of the Father, this is how Jesus speaks of the coming Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father would be given to us, that the Holy Spirit would live within us. Directing our attention towards Jesus, pouring out love on the inside of us and transforming our very being, our very essence, our character into the kind of people who want to do things that are loving towards God and neighbor. And I find it fascinating because You don’t see that in other religious systems. They have their commands, their principles, but it’s that power element that makes Jesus so unique. And so we worship God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so Jesus gets a lot of attention. The church calendar is about telling the story of Jesus. But the story of Jesus gets lived in our lives through the Holy Spirit And so we don’t love God and love other people simply in our own strength. The Christian life is not a matter of willpower, but a willingness to open up to the Spirit’s power. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the love to love other people. And I find that beautiful. That God through Jesus calls us to love, but then God says, I’m going to give you that love. And I can just testify for myself how much I’ve been transformed by that. I am not by nature, just in my natural state, a very compassionate or empathetic person, at least not not in my natural state. I mean, people are having a hard time. My sort of gut reaction is, well, good luck with all that. I I I you know it’s it’s funny as a pastor to admit this, but I’m just telling you the truth That I would not be a person of love left to my own devices But I can say that in these 35 plus years of following Jesus, I have grown to be a very empathetic. and very compassionate person, not because of anything I’ve done, but because God the Holy Spirit has been at work in me, not just giving me the power to love. but changing me, transforming me, so that I can become a person of love. And so Pentecost is coming up. I wanted to mention that because we’re going to talk a little bit about resurrection as we wrap up this mini-series through the season of Easter. But I had been reflecting recently about the work of the Holy Spirit, so wanted to share that Now, with this episode today, I want to share with you one of my favorite passages of scripture. But before we get there. . Let me invite you, if you’re new to Peaceable and Kind, that you subscribe wherever you’re listening to this podcast . Leave a rating or a review. That surely helps us out. And if you want to turn this episode from a monologue into a dialogue, I would love to hear your thoughts, your insight, your questions. And so you can reach out to me on social media. I am at Derek Vreeland. on Instagram, Facebook, Blue Sky, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, we’ll have all those links in the show notes. But if you want to have a conversation about Things like this about the love that transforms, about the resurrection of Jesus. Reach out to me. I’d love to have a conversation. So in our final reflection on the resurrection of Jesus, I want to talk about God’s new creation project. I’ve mentioned that in previous episodes, but I want to explore it with just a little bit more depth today. Because it seems to me that the theme of new creation hasn’t received much attention. I was recently listening to a podcast interview and the guest was talking about the discovery of this image of new creation. And he talked about being in church for such a long time as an adult and didn’t hear a whole lot. And I think that’s true. I think we emphasize themes like eternity and heaven and all of those things are great. But I think one of the missing concepts in our understanding of God’s work is this idea of new creation. And one of the reasons that the resurrection of Jesus brings me so much joy and why I love Easter and the Easter season so much. Is because the resurrection of Jesus is the first sign that God is making all things new. That the first step in God’s new creation project is raising Jesus from the dead So while we don’t hear about new creation often, that phrase does appear a couple of times in the New Testament, at least two places specifically. The first is Galatians 6:15, where the Apostle Paul writes, For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision but a new creation The single thread that binds all of Paul’s letters together is Paul’s desire for the church. Those of us who are followers of Jesus to be holy, to be set apart and special and different, and to be unified Particularly, Paul was dealing with the problem of division that was a racial division. between ethnic Jews and those who are not ethnically Jewish. So it was Paul’s dream, it was Paul’s work under the direction of the Holy Spirit. To unify God’s church across racial lines, that Jewish people and non-Jewish people, Gentiles, would worship together in the church as one body, as one people, as the one family of God. And one of the big contention points was circumcision Which was a sign of the covenant in the old covenant. And Paul was saying that because of Jesus Because of his teachings, his death, his resurrection, and now the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we have to begin to rethink some of the markers that identify us as the covenant people of God. Because in the first century church they were debating. Do these Gentiles, who are not ethnically Jewish, who know nothing about the law of Moses, as they’re coming into the church after they’re baptized, should men also be circumcised as a sign of the covenant? And so Galatians 6. 15 is a great summation of what Paul says. And he says, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Circumcision or uncircumcision doesn’t matter. What does matter, what is important, is new creation. Because remember, in Jesus, the new covenant is being established. And this new covenant is bringing God’s new creation project to the earth. So Galatians 6. 15 is one place we see the phrase new creation. The other is 2 Corinthians 5. 17. This is one of those bumper sticker verses, one of those verses people put on their refrigerators. 2 Corinthians 15 17 in the new revised standard version sounds like this. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. Everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new. So there’s that phrase again, new creation. Hey friends, I wanted to pause for just a second to let you know that my next book, Incarnation 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us, is available for pre-order. This Bible study is for individual devotional use or for small group discussion. Link to pre-order is in the show notes. Some translations will render it if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation The English Standard Version does that. The Christian Standard Bible does that. Even the old King James renders it he. If anyone’s in Christ, he is a new creature. So in the King James you see the word creature. Nearly all modern English translations use the phrase new creation And it’s common to see the he is. But what’s interesting is that in the Greek language, there is no phrase in this verse, he is. It’s more to be more literal with how it’s written in Greek. If anyone is in Christ, dot dot dot, new creation. And I feel like the new international version, the NIV, gets this verse right. Here’s 2 Corinthians 5. 17 in the NIV. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone. The new is here. So, if you are in Christ, you are a new creation, but it’s more than that That because of Jesus’ resurrection, all things are being made new And so I think to stay closer to the way 2 Corinthians 5 17 is written in the Greek language, it’s better to see this verse as Paul Exclaiming that new creation is here. And I like using the phrase, this new creation project, God’s work of making all things new. It’s here. Old things are now passing away and new things have come, which brings us great hope because if we’re in Jesus, we forever get a redo. we forever get the opportunity to enter into God’s newness. So if there’s things happening in us, in our lives, with our attitude or our mindset or our habits, We always have the opportunity to enter into newness. I love that. So God’s new creation project Is an important theme throughout Scripture because new creation really is the end of our story. Now, I didn’t grow up in a Christian environment that recited creeds. Maybe you do. Maybe you attend a church where you recite the Apostles’ Creed or maybe the Nicene Creed. When I was young in the faith, I was in churches that saw the creeds and reciting creeds together as pointless ritual. And when I was young, I didn’t understand the value of tradition, and I didn’t even recognize the traditions that were at work in my own church. Because I say every church has traditions. The question is, are these traditions pointing us to Jesus? Are these traditions helping us to grow as followers of Jesus? And so when I was young, I wrongly assumed that tradition itself is to be avoided, and rituals like reciting creeds have no value But what’s funny is as I’ve grown in the Christian faith, I see how wrong I was when I was young. There’s actual life-giving value, there’s formational value. In the practice of reciting creeds. So now, today, I recite the Apostles’ Creed every day as a part of my prayer time. And the church where I’m a pastor, we recite the Apostles’ Creed every Sunday before we come to the table of the Lord. So I went from not believing in the value of any of this to practicing it on a regular basis. It’s like that song from Rich Mullins about the Creed. I realize that I did not make it. No, it is making me. The ancient creeds are so important that I want to spend some time on this podcast walking through the Nicene Creed. That’s what’s coming up next. We’re wrapping up Easter And in this next season, as we move into ordinary time after Pentecost Sunday, I want to spend some time talking about the Nicene Creed. I have a great interview lined up. I’m excited about that, but I’m going to keep all that a surprise. Now, what I have come to appreciate about the creeds is that they help us to get the story right, the story of our faith, particularly the ending. I like to think of the Christian story as told in Scripture as having five acts. So if it were a play, It would be a play created of five acts. And they would be the following. Act one, creation. Act two, corruption. Act III, Covenant, Act IV, Christ, and then Act V, the conclusion of our story, New Creation. So while the Bible contains different kinds of writing from history to poetry, it is telling this big Overarching story, the story from creation to new creation. And so the creeds are important because they help us capture that. The ancient creeds open with a confession of faith about God’s creation, and then it ends with images of new creation. And so today I want to share one of my favorite Bible passages, and it’s about new creation. It’s about the end of our story. And so it’s going to take us to the end of our Bible to Revelation. Now, I know the book of Revelation can be confusing for a lot of people. It’s a very strange book. You got these Bible prophecy experts or end time experts who have honestly made a mess of things. So if anyone says they’re a prophecy expert, end times expert, book of revelation expert, just know this They’re not. And I’m no expert either. I’ve spent time studying, reading, teaching on the book of Revelation, and I don’t even understand most of it. And so when we open the book of Revelation, this final book of the Bible, just remember the opening lines, which is Revelation 1. 1. It says, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants. The book of Revelation is not a revelation of the end times, the end of the world, the Antichrist. The book of Revelation is a revelation of Jesus Christ. So hold on to that first. Because when I’m reading and studying and teaching the book of Revelation, Honestly, I’m not focused on the seals and the trumpets and the bowls of wrath. So if you want me to explain what are these seven seals that must be open, I don’t know. Because the book of Revelation is highly, highly symbolic. The book of Revelation Is a book of encouragement and challenge to the first century church that was suffering under the Roman Empire That’s what the book of Revelation is. And so I think the best way to read the book of Revelation, well, it’s the best way to read any portion of scripture. is to read it in its historical context. That’s where we start. What did these words mean for the original listeners? We start there. Now we move on from there, but that’s where we start. And so it is necessary to understand just a little bit of world history, church history to make sense. Because everything in the book of Revelation is symbolic. When people try to literalize any of it, you’re making a mistake. You’re already Off base. Revelation is highly, highly, highly symbolic. So when I’m reading it, because I believe Revelation 1. 1 gives us the key, this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. I’m just trying to focus in on Jesus, who is revealed to us as a lamb. Now there’s so much more I could say about Revelation, but I want to get to this due creation passage. And it’s at the end, it’s in Revelation 21. Let me walk through verses 1 through 5. Revelation 21, 1 through 5. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, he will dwell with them, and they will be his people. and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. for the former things have passed away. And he who is seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new I love this passage of scripture so much. There is so much beauty and hope, and there’s a lot of symbolism. So, for example, it says, I saw a new heaven and earth. For the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. Does that mean in the age to come there’s no more sea, there’s no more beaches? No. The sea there is a symbol in the first century world. The sea was a scary place, a foreboding place. And so it spoke of people’s fears that that’s going to be no more. Then there’s this picture of a new city, a new Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city of the king. And who is our king? Jesus. He is going to rule and reign from not old Jerusalem, but a new Jerusalem. And notice the trajectory in this image, in this vision, that new Jerusalem is coming from heaven to the earth. That’s the trajectory of our future, not leaving the earth to go to heaven, but heaven coming to earth, and then heaven and earth itself being remade. Then there’s this voice from the throne, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. One of the primary themes of the story the Bible is telling is God’s desire to be with God’s people. And in this crescendo moment of a new heaven, a new earth, this new Jerusalem coming for this renewed people of God, their God will wipe away our tears Death shall be no more. This is why I connect Revelation 21 to the resurrection of Jesus. Because in Revelation 21, the image here is that finally Death which was defeated by Jesus through his resurrection will be finally done away with. Old things are passing away. And then the voice from the throne, God says, Behold, I am making all things new. This is new creation. This is God’s future for us. And as we saw in 2 Corinthians 5, if you’re in Christ now, you get in on this new creation project. Revelation 21 is telling the end of the story that finally all things will be renewed, all things will be made new, and we get to enter into that now. Let me finish up in Revelation 21 with just a couple more verses. And if you skip down to the end of the chapter, Revelation 21, starting in verse 22. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb and the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the lamp is the lamb By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations, but nothing unclean will ever enter it nor any one who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life So, this is a picture of the end of our story, the full outworking of new creation, all things being made new. And then the kingdom of God is ruling and reigning. And there’s no temple because God’s presence is everywhere. You don’t have to go to a place, but God’s presence can be accessed. Anywhere, at any time, from any place. And the light which illuminates that place is the Lamb And again, remember, Revelation 1. 1, this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, who is depicted throughout Revelation as a lamb. And this symbol of a lamb, and some places in Revelation, it’s a slain lamb, is in contrast to the beasts. There are all sorts of beasts that you see in Revelation. The beast is a picture of the mighty Roman Empire. It’s beastly, right? It’s violent The lamb, on the other hand, in contrast to the beast, is inviting and meek and loving and is a sacrificial lamb. This is a picture of Jesus in his kingdom. Jesus Is not only the shepherd who leads us, but he is the Lamb who gave his life for us. And it’s Jesus and his truth Which he embodied in his very being. It’s the light of new creation. And so I also love this image here that the gates, so this holy city, this new Jerusalem. This picture of God and humanity dwelling together on a recreated earth. The kingdom has gates, but the gates will never be shut. that that people have the opportunity to enter those gates. Now, you can’t enter into the kingdom of God with anything unclean or detestable. That you have to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, all that impurity cleaned out of you. That’s how you get your name written in the Lamb’s book of life. But I love this picture of openness that people are welcomed into the kingdom, into the brightness of the light of the lamb. And there will be no death, no mourning, no crying, no suffering, no pain, and I am hopeful. That this is where we’re headed. So, no matter how difficult things get today, no matter how dark things get today, there’s hope. The hope is God’s going to make all things new, and that all of the nations will walk in the brightness of the light of the Lamb. Jesus Himself. who reveals to us in bodily form what God is like. And that we find through Jesus is that God is love. The light that comes from the Lamb is that light of love, pure love that changes us and transforms us. That’s our hope. That’s our future. And so with the resurrection of Jesus, that new creation, that gets its totality in Revelation 21, that new creation. begins when Jesus’ own physical body is resurrected and transformed and made new So the resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate at Easter is the first sign that God’s new creation project is off and running. So join me in that. Join me in what God is doing to make all things new. And I hope that that understanding turns your mourning into dancing, that it turns your despair into joy I know for me it has. For me, when I reflect on this image in Revelation 21, I can’t help but to be happy That no matter what kind of mess we’re in today, God is making all things new. Well, that’s all I have for you today. Thank you for joining me for this episode.
Derek Vreeland: Go in peace and be kind.
This transcript was generated with AI and may contain errors.