Risen!

“He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. 
Come, see the place where He lay.” 

—Matthew 28:6

Hallelujah! He has risen! The greatest single event in the history of the world is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the hinge upon which Christianity turns. Christianity has three legs on which it stands—much like a tricycle. There is the incarnation (God becoming man), the crucifixion—the death of the Son of God for sin, and the resurrection—the Son of God’s victory over death. If one of these three doctrines is removed from Christianity, then it falls. The incarnation was important because it showed the depth to which God was willing to reach in order to identify with man. The crucifixion demonstrates what payment was required for our sins, but the resurrection is the greatest single event the world has ever known. It demonstrates God’s victory over death. The Son of God becoming a man—divine humility, the Son of God paying for our sins—an unfathomable mystery, and the Son of God conquering death—the greatest victory. No one has ever risen from the dead on their own—no one, never, ever. Only one has—Jesus the Christ, the one true Son of God. The resurrection was the exclamation point in God’s story of redemption, the victory over the greatest enemies—sin and death.

The resurrection is part and parcel of the Christian faith. As Peter wrote,  

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”—1 Peter 1:3. 

We have a living hope because Christ rose from the dead—not a dead hope, but one that lives—Christ is alive! As John wrote,  

"Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades”—Revelation 1:17-18.

The resurrection was the vehicle by which God’s gift was brought to our door. When Paul preached, it was the resurrection he proclaimed (Acts 17:18, 32). It was the resurrection that has been mocked, misunderstood, and maligned. If there is no resurrection, then all hope is lost. There is no Christian faith, and we have believed a lie. As Paul wrote,

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied”—1 Corinthians 15:14-19.

If Christ didn’t die, we are to be pitied, but Christ has risen from the dead! Praise the Lord! He has conquered sin and death! He appeared to His disciples. He conversed with them. He walked, talked, ate, and was touched. Paul testified,

“…that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles”—1 Corinthians 15:4-7.

Jesus appeared as the victorious Son of God, and by His resurrection, we have been given new life. As Paul wrote,

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His”—Romans 6:3-5.

By His resurrection we have been given a new and living hope—one that enables us not to cower in fear at what the future may hold. His perfect love casts out fear, and by the demonstration of His love on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we can take courage and be bold! There is nothing that we need to be afraid of any longer—death has had its stinger taken away; the teeth with which it snarled at us have been removed. He has conquered, and through Him we become “more than conquerors”—Romans 8:37.

May we see the resurrection in all of its glory, fully comprehending Jesus’ wonderful accomplishment. May we live lives fully aware that this world is passing away, and may we bask in the knowledge that heaven will be our home forever. May our lives be living sacrifices that acknowledge and honor what Jesus Christ has done for us, in order that we may bring glory to Almighty God. Amen.