He Has Risen

  “ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty…. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile ; you are still in your sins.                               1 Corinthians 15: 13-14,17

According to the entire Chapter of 1 Corinthians 15, our faith rests on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Resurrection is a fact.  Those of us who do believe the Bible is an accurate account of the life,  death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have much to rejoice about.  

The Resurrection is not just a New Testament belief.  Job believed in the resurrection from the grave.   The book of Job is considered to be one of the oldest books in the Bible.  In Job’s deep pain and sorrow, he asked,

                      “If a man dies, shall he live again?                      

                    All the days of my hard services I will wait,

                       Till my change comes  (Job 14:14).

It was not an unusual thing for Job to cry out in his anguish.  Nor is it unusual of us to cry out in ours,  “Is this it?”  But Job shouted out through it all.  “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth”. (Job 19:25).

Although Job speaks here about the finality of death in this age, Jesus taught that anyone who dies in this age will indeed live again in the next, either dwelling in the presence of Almighty God  (John 11;23-26; 1 Corinthians 15:3-57) or the suffering and torment of hell 

( Revelation 20:13-15).  Life is never finished at the grave.  For the Christian, the grave is where real life begins.

Jesus resurrection assures our resurrection as a believer.   Had it not been for Jesus Victory over death, there would still be the sting in death if He had remained dead.  He was the first fruit of resurrection ( 1Corinthians 15:20).   He paved the way for us and I’m so grateful.  As believers we owe a debt we can not repay. Even though we grieve when someone we love is taken in death.  We grieve differently from the way the world does.  As believers we can look forward to a wonderful reunion someday with them and with the One who died—and lives—for us today!   If He had remained dead, we would have nothing. Nothing.  No Hope.  No Faith. No Comfort.  No Real Peace. No Real Joy. Nothing!

But we have a Living Savior, who transcended the laws of death and crushed it forever!

My neighbor often takes me though his garden and shows me the beautiful cocoons of various types.  He waits and watches for butterflies, to break forth from their cocoons.  Butterflies, although a beautiful illustration of new life emerging out of something seemingly dead, do not adequately portray the Resurrection.  Jesus was in a sealed tomb with guards standing nearby.  He was wrapped in a cocoon of death, yet He broke forth.  The stone was rolled away from the tomb not so Jesus could get out, but so the world could look in. His resurrection assures yours.  Because He lives, you will live forever.

For the believer celebrating Easter, is to celebrate the death and life of Jesus.  Life! Resurrection!  On Resurrection Day, we greet one another with the salutation, “The Lord is Risen,” to which the other would add, “He is Risen, indeed.”

                                         Be Encouraged Today!

                    As you walk in the Truth of the Resurrected King Jesus !

Do you know God’s Son Jesus?  John 3:16, says “For God so love world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  If you believe this from your heart, ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.   Then tell someone….   Happy Resurrection Day!  He Has Risen!