He is Risen!

             He is risen!

            On that Sunday morning, when the women came to anoint Jesus’ body, the tomb was empty.  The stone had been rolled away and only strips of linen and two angels were there to greet them.  Immediately, fear overwhelmed them.  Who had taken His body?  Where had they put Him?  The angels’ response was probably a shock to them even though Jesus had told His followers several times that He would rise on the third day, they never really understood what that meant – at least not until that day. 

            Within hours, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, then to the other women, to the two on the road to Emmaus, and to many of the Disciples.  Over the next 40 days, Paul says that “he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time,…Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also…” (I Corinthians 15: 5 – 8 (NIV84). 

            How do we know the resurrection is true?

1.    More than 500 people saw the resurrected Christ following His crucifixion.

2.    At least two of those eyewitnesses wrote an account of what they saw and heard during those 40 days following the crucifixion. The other two Gospels were written by men who questioned and examined the eyewitnesses.   None of those accounts contradict each other.

3.    We believe that all the Disciples, except John, were martyred for their faith, as was James the brother of Jesus, and countless other Christians who refused to renounce their faith and worship the Roman Emperor.  Paul was imprisoned, flogged, beaten with rods, stoned, and shipwrecked because of his testimony about Christ (II Corinthians 11: 23 – 29).   All of these went to their deaths testifying to the resurrection of Christ.  What one individual, much less multitudes, would face death rather than admit that it was all a ruse or a hoax if it were not true?  Their courage in the face of death is testimony enough of its truth.

Why does it matter?

            Without the resurrection, our faith is in vain.  As Paul put it “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith….If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (I Corinthians 15: 14 & 19 NIV84).

            I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  I believe that He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  I believe that He laid down His life for my sins and yours. I believe that He arose on the third day. I believe that God has given us eternal life, and that life is in His Son. I have seen the power of the resurrected Christ in my life. I believe that we are to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.  I believe that He will return someday so that we can be where He is, in a place that He has gone to prepare for us.  I believe that time is urgent, and that day is quickly approaching.

            For all those reasons, on this day and every day, we can say with confidence:  He is risen! 

            We can also join with Paul in saying:

 “Death has been swallowed up in victory.

                        Where, O death is your victory?

                        Where, O death is your sting?”

 

                                    I Corinthians 15: 54b, 55 NIV84

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