He Is Risen!

“Why do you seek the living One among the dead?  He is not here, but He has risen.”

These words of the angel, found in Luke 24:5-6, reflect not only the greatest joy of Passion Week but also the greatest hope of all time. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is God the Father’s consummate validation of His Son, His ministry and His power over sin and the grave. It secures the victory that the writer of Hebrews describes in Hebrews 2:14-15:

14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

And it gives us the living hope that Peter writes about in 1 Peter 1:3:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

No wonder Satan goes to such extreme—and even ridiculous—measures to try and deny its truth.

We will try to comprehend the realities of this day and let us begin by considering the disciples. They would never know a greater emotional swing within a twenty-four hour period. Can you imagine any human being ever experiencing such a sway of emotions? Nothing is more hopeless than Christ remaining in the grave but nothing is more hopeful than Him out of it. To go from the abyss of despair to the pinnacle of hope represents an emotional distance second to none. And it happened to them in a single day.

This day began with a strange combination of love and despair. Several women are enroute to the tomb with burial spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They are motivated by a courageous love; remember, it is not popular to be a follower of Jesus. The Jewish leadership had long since decided to excommunicate those who believed in Him (John 9:22) and now that He is dead, perhaps they will take more severe measures against those closest to Him. But these women care not as love is greater than fear and their attitude must be like that of Esther centuries earlier, “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

However, that does not deny the despair they also feel. Jesus is dead and even if the religious leaders understood His prophecies of resurrection (Matthew 27:63-66) the disciples did not. It was hidden from them until it actually happened. Remember again John 20:9 is written after Jesus arose, “For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”

The agony that began on Friday has no end in sight. On the contrary, from the disciples’ perspective it is only beginning. The last sound sleep they knew occurred in Gethsemane. Would it be the last they would ever know? Would Peter ever doze off without seeing the look Jesus gave him after his denials (Luke 22:61-62)? The rest of the disciples abandoned Him; could they ever shake off the guilt that shakes a person restlessly through the night? The women slept no better, either, though out of sorrow, not shame.

Thus they began this day fatigued and despondent. Hopeless walks with them as they walk to the tomb. Joy belonged to a former life. They did not know what to expect for the near future, let alone the distant. They would never live again, only exist. Life without Christ had no meaning. The incarnate Son of God—the perfect embodiment of love, holiness, purity, truth and every other virtue—was gone. Crucifixion had no recovery. And if the Father had forsaken Jesus, what would become of them? Perhaps the Romans hunting them down would be a merciful coup de grace. Why carry on?

Such thoughts grossly understate the mindset of Jesus’ followers as it is impossible to describe their trauma. Whatever despair, hopelessness, or disillusionment you and I have ever known does not remotely compare to this. That is because there is no greater loss than losing Jesus Christ. Try to let that thought sink into your soul as deeply as possible.

But just as they failed to comprehend God’s plan on Friday, neither did they comprehend it today. As the women approach the tomb, their eyes deceive them. The stone has somehow moved. Weren’t they just discussing who would move it? And as they enter the tomb, a new disbelief overtakes them. Jesus’ body is gone. How can this be? Who would have had a reason to move Him? Suddenly two men stand before them in dazzling white and their disbelief turns to terror as they bow to the ground.

“Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”

As they heard the angels speak these words to them, they knew their senses were no longer playing tricks on them. Why? Because of what we read next in verse 8, “And they remembered His words.”

These women now trembled with joy as they ran back to Peter and the rest of the disciples who greet this glorious news with disbelief. But their faith will turn to sight when they behold the glorified Christ later that day. And mere words once again fail to describe their joy.

Jesus would appear to the disciples on at least five occasions over the next forty days. The first was the evening of His resurrection, the second a week later when Thomas was in their midst (John 20:26-29), the third being at the Sea of Galilee where Jesus restored Peter to ministry (John 21), the fourth being on a mountain in Galilee where He also appeared to five hundred other brethren (Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 15:6), and the fifth at the time of His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:3-9). These times would all be for a final preparation for their upcoming ministry as we see in Acts 1:3, “To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

We can hardly imagine what Christ taught them during that time. What a thrilling and fascinating time they must have had with Him, not to mention the deepest joy and love they could possibly know.

What would Christ have us learn in our day? There are many things that we can learn about His resurrection but let me share five things with you.

1.It is the Father’s validation that everything Christ said about Himself was true. Romans 1:4, “[Christ] was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This does not mean that Jesus somehow failed to be the Son of God prior to the resurrection but rather that the resurrection is the final validation of that fact. In other words, if Jesus was not the Son of God then God raised a phony from the dead.

2.It proves to us that God accepted His work on the cross as a complete payment for our sins. Romans 4:25, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

Let us illustrate it this way. If a man is sentenced to prison for five years because he committed armed robbery, how do we know when the state is satisfied with the time he has served to pay his crime? When they release him. When he is walking the streets five years later, it is the state’s way of saying, “We are satisfied with the time you have served.” In the same way, God’s release of the Son from the “prison” of the grave testifies that He accepted the Son’s work on the cross as payment for our sins. If somehow the work of the cross were incomplete, God would never have raised the Son. That is one reason why salvation is totally a free gift—Christ has done it all. No good work or religion or anything else can add to what He has done.

3.It testifies of the absolute certainty that Christ will raise from the dead all who belong to Him and give them a glorified body to spend eternity with Him. Much of 1 Corinthians 15 is dedicated to this truth.

4.It demonstrates His complete victory not only over sin and death, but also over Satan. We saw that in Hebrews 2:14-15 above but listen also to Colossians 2:15, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He make a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” The “rulers and authorities” Paul speaks of here are not civil rulers but rather angelic, namely, Satan and his demons. Think about it this way—Satan had every one of his resources at the tomb to try and keep Jesus in the grave. If he can do so then he will defeat his adversary. This is hell at its strongest but what happens? Heaven wins. And that is a victory that belongs to everyone who knows Christ.

5.It testifies of the certainty that Christ will come back and judge those who do not belong to Him. Listen to what Paul says to the men of Athens in Acts 17:30-31:

30Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead (italics added).

Remember, Jesus only appeared to a select few after His resurrection, all of whom were believers. He did not appear to the world at large. In other words, when was the last time the world saw Him? On a cross…dead. And when will be the next time they see Him? In the sky, in glory, as He comes to judge them. Listen to Matthew 24:29-30:

29But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

God fully judged the Son so that all who truly are His children would never experience that judgment. May this be true for you. May you belong to Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, whom to know is life eternal (John 17:3). Call upon Him to save you today.

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Is this hope yours? If not, it can be by sincerely and genuinely praying along these lines: “Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and deserve death and hell because of my sins. But I also know that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins. I now repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save me and I accept His work as full payment for my sins. I receive the free gift of eternal life as I receive Him as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiving me and for giving me eternal life. Amen.”