“He is not here, but He is risen…”
A Christian missionary to a Muslim country was talking to a Muslim. The Muslim said: “We have a tomb that contains the body of Mohammed; you Christians do not have that.” The missionary replied: “That’s the point. Mohammed is dead, but Jesus rose from the dead and His tomb is empty.” The resurrection of Jesus authenticates at least three aspects of the Christian faith. The resurrection authenticates Jesus’ claims for Himself. Jesus did not go about Palestine loudly proclaiming, “I am the Messiah,” but He did make that claim. One example of this claim is found in a statement that Jesus made to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well in John 4. In John 4:25 the woman mentioned the Messiah and in verse 26 Jesus replied, “I that speak to thee am He.” There are other places in the gospels where Jesus made this claim, but this incident is sufficient to prove this point. When Jesus arose from the grave, His messiahship was authenticated. Keep in mind that Jesus never attempted to prove who and what He was, but the events spoke for themselves. The resurrection authenticates our claims about Jesus. First, we need to establish that the resurrection is a well-documented fact. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:5-6: “And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once…” There were at least five hundred and twelve witnesses to the fact that Jesus arose from the grave. Besides that, His body, obviously, was never found. If a body had been found, I would not be writing this article. Second, everything that we teach and preach depends on the fact that Jesus is still alive. In 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 Paul wrote: “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.” In verse 20 Paul wrote: “But now is Christ risen from the dead…” Third, 2,000 years later we still have a Messiah to proclaim. Jesus is alive, and because He is alive, people can have eternal life through faith in Him. The resurrection makes our message valid, and will continue to do so until Christ returns. The resurrection authenticates the importance of Christ’s Church. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He did not leave a group of individuals with no idea of what to do. He left His church to carry on in His stead. In all four gospels, Jesus challenged believers to witness to the world. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples that they would be witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Jesus left His church together and He left His church with a missionary purpose. He told His church, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” As Christ’s church, we do not serve a martyred Jesus; rather, we serve the risen Lord. Why is church important today? The church is important today because she is the church of the Living Lord, and has the responsibility of witnessing to people about Jesus and winning them in Him. The fact is that the tomb is still empty. The claims of the Bible about Jesus are authentic. Our claims about Jesus are authentic, and the message of the church is still authentic. These facts should enable us to have a happy Easter. Bro. Joe
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“He is not here, but He is risen…”
A Christian missionary to a Muslim country was talking to a Muslim. The Muslim said: “We have a tomb that contains the body of Mohammed; you Christians do not have that.” The missionary replied: “That’s the point. Mohammed is dead, but Jesus rose from the dead and His tomb is empty.” The resurrection of Jesus authenticates at least three aspects of the Christian faith. The resurrection authenticates Jesus’ claims for Himself. Jesus did not go about Palestine loudly proclaiming, “I am the Messiah,” but He did make that claim. One example of this claim is found in a statement that Jesus made to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well in John 4. In John 4:25 the woman mentioned the Messiah and in verse 26 Jesus replied, “I that speak to thee am He.” There are other places in the gospels where Jesus made this claim, but this incident is sufficient to prove this point. When Jesus arose from the grave, His messiahship was authenticated. Keep in mind that Jesus never attempted to prove who and what He was, but the events spoke for themselves. The resurrection authenticates our claims about Jesus. First, we need to establish that the resurrection is a well-documented fact. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:5-6 :“And after that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once…” There were at least five hundred and twelve witnesses to the fact that Jesus arose from the grave. Besides that, His body, obviously, was never found. If a body had been found, I would not be writing this article. Second, everything that we teach and preach depends on the fact that Jesus is still alive. In 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 Paul wrote: “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.”In verse 20 Paul wrote: “But now is Christ risen from the dead…” Third, 2,000 years later we still have a Messiah to proclaim. Jesus is alive, and because He is alive, people can have eternal life through faith in Him. The resurrection makes our message valid, and will continue to do so until Christ returns. The resurrection authenticates the importance of Christ’s Church. When Jesus ascended to the Father, He did not leave a group of individuals with no idea of what to do. He left His church to carry on in His stead. In all four gospels, Jesus challenged believers to witness to the world. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples that they would be witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Jesus left His church together and He left His church with a missionary purpose. He told His church, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” As Christ’s church, we do not serve a martyred Jesus; rather, we serve the risen Lord. Why is church important today? The church is important today because she is the church of the Living Lord, and has the responsibility of witnessing to people about Jesus and winning them in Him. The fact is that the tomb is still empty. The claims of the Bible about Jesus are authentic. Our claims about Jesus are authentic, and the message of the church is still authentic. These facts should enable us to have a happy Easter. Bro. Joe “And (Jesus) said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day. 47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things.”
Jesus’ resurrection is not just the “happy ending” to the story about Jesus Christ. It is just the beginning of His purpose for coming to earth, dying on the cross and rising the third day. This is noted in the text above from Luke, and is attested at the end of all four of the gospels and in Acts.. Following is what Jesus’ disciples did after His resurrection, and this also gives us an idea about what we should be doing: First, Jesus' disciples did not go about their own business; rather, they went about His business. Each of His disciples, including the original disciples (excluding Judas) and the other disciples that followed Jesus by faith, went to work preaching, teaching and living by example the preaching of “repentance and remission of sins…” Some of them, like Peter, Andrew, James and John, gave up their secular work and gave full time to spreading the good news. Others did not give up their secular professions but witnessed where they were. That’s similar to how it is done today. Second, they went about His business literally. What do I mean? The answer is in the above text and is literally illustrated in Acts 1:8: “But you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth.” They began in Jerusalem and the work spread until it reached to the “uttermost part of the earth.” This is the same pattern for our mission today. They literally did what Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8. The work still expands from where we are to the ends of the earth. Incidentally, we should not forget that we are witnesses “where we are.” Third I want to give two illustrations of this expanding ministry. After “Saul of Tarsus” was converted on the Damascus Road, he became “Paul the Apostle.” In the book of Acts, beginning in Acts 13, you can follow his expanding mission from Antioch to Rome. Do you remember “doubting Thomas”? There is good evidence that Thomas, no longer “the doubter,” traveled as far as India, where he started a work that is still remembered in India today. He was martyred in India in 72 A.D. Both of these surrendered their lives, along with many others, to carry out Jesus’ command in all four gospels to take His good news to the world. It is still our ministry today “after the resurrection.” Bro. Joe “He is not here, but is risen…”
The above text is the angel’s messages to the women who brought spices to Jesus’ grave. This message had a profound meaning to these women and to all of the followers of Jesus. Christ’s resurrection brought three significant gifts to those who believed in Him and followed Him. The resurrection brought a new hope to believers then and now! When Jesus died on the cross and was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, the hopes of His followers were dashed. They were still afraid and were hiding out together in the upper room. His disciples doubted that He had risen, but when they saw Him their hope was renewed. This hope is a gift to all of us who believe. Because Jesus lives, we are never without hope. Like His early followers, we need to grasp this gift of hope and live our lives in that hope no matter what life brings. If you have Jesus, you have hope. Believe it and live it! The resurrection brought a new life to believers then and now. It is eternal life that begins with the moment that we believe and will end in heaven with Him. The essence of this life was caught in 1 John 5:10-11: “He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself: he that believes not God has made Him a liar; because he believes not the record that God gave of His Son. 11. And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” This is as true to those of us who believe today as it was to the women at the tomb and to Peter, James, John, Andrew, etc. The life that Christ gives us is a new quality of life. I do not like to think about what the quality of my life would have been if Christ had not come into my life. This gift of new life is available to all who believe. The resurrection brought new opportunity into the lives of believers then and now. For example, Jesus told His disciples that He would “make them fishers of men.” In Acts 1:8, just before He ascended, Jesus told His disciples what this new opportunity would entail: “But you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” We have the opportunity of being Christ’s witnesses wherever we are. These “gifts of the resurrection” are gifts to us. Let’s grasp them as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. I Bro. Joe “Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15. Yea and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.”
The cross has become the primary symbol of the Christian faith. We cannot diminish the importance of the cross to our faith, but without the resurrection the cross would lose its meaning. When Christ arose, the cross took on a profound new meaning. The cross was not the final word, for Christ arose and defeated death. Through Christ’s blood we are saved and cleansed, but it is the blood of the living Christ, not the blood of a dead Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:12-15 reveals the importance of the resurrection. The concept of resurrection is important. There were people in Corinth who were preaching that the whole concept of resurrection was false. The idea was that when a person dies that’s it – it is all over. This is why Paul wrote in verse 19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” If this concept of the resurrection was false, then Christ was still dead. This is unthinkable. The resurrection is important in Christian preaching. In verse 14a, Paul wrote: “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain.” It would be impossible to preach a good news message about a dead Christ. In fact, there would be nothing to preach, and all Christian preaching would have died at Calvary. The resurrection is important to the Christian’s faith. In verse 14b Paul wrote: “(And if Christ is not risen) your faith is also vain." It would be impossible to have faith in a corpse, which is what Christ would have been if He had not risen. We are “saved by grace through faith” because Christ rose from the grave. We are sustained in our faith in Christ because He is alive and still at work in our lives and in our world. We have joy in our faith in Christ because He is alive. We have power due to our faith in Christ because He is still alive. This is why we can sing: “He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives, He lives salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.” The resurrection is important to the Christian’s witness. In verse 15, Paul wrote that if Christ is not alive, “we are found false witnesses of Christ.” We have a witness to the world because Christ is alive. In all four gospels, and in Acts, Jesus commanded his disciples, and us to witness to the lost both near and far. It is a biblical doctrine. The whole basis of our witness is that Christ is relevant to people’s lives. A dead Christ would certainly be an irrelevant Christ. Christ can save us and work in our lives through the Holy Spirit because He is still alive. Imagine trying to tell people about a man named Jesus who died two-thousand years ago and had never been seen nor heard from since then. Such a witness would certainly fall on deaf ears. It is of ultimate importance that we can call people’s attention to the empty tomb. The empty tomb is the sealing of the whole gospel story. All of Jesus’ healings, and other miracles, would be empty without the empty tomb. Thank God! We have a message about our living Savior. We can gladly sing: “Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with the saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose.” We can gladly sing this great old hymn because it carries the weight of eternal truth. It is good news to a lost and dying world. Let’s tell them about it. Bro. Joe “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. 2. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4. When Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then shall ye appear with Him in glory.”
New Testament church preaching was centered in the death and resurrection of Christ. The risen Christ changed everything historically, but He also changed everything personally for you and me. Because Christ is still alive and is “on the right hand of God,” We can be raised with Him. He raises us to newness of life. If you are raised with Christ, the following changes should have taken place in your life. He changed your past. Verse 3a: “for ye are dead…” How can the past be changed? This was illustrated by Leonard Griffith: “Imagine standing before an angel, attempting to explain the record of your life. When you have confessed what you consider your worst sins, you say, ‘I want to be forgiven.’ The angel looks at the pages of the golden book and says, ‘there is nothing here to forgive. We have no record of such sins.’ You reply, ‘But there must be. Did you get the name right?’ The angel replies, ‘That name isn’t here either. There was once such a person, but he died and closed his account. Your record begins after his death.’” Aren’t we glad that God has an eraser? Aren’t we glad that the risen Christ forgives us? In this life we can carry scars from the past, but the Lord has removed the record that caused the scars. He changed your present . Verse 3b: “And your life is hid with Christ in God.” This means that the risen Christ became an integral part of our lives. When we believed, we became one with the Father and the Son. We should make decisions in our lives now, not based on the “old man” but on the “new man.” The risen Christ has made us new people. We are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. We are different people with new minds and a different way of looking at life. We have a new relationship with God through our faith in Christ; therefore, we now have a new way of living. We know that we are not our own, but we have been “bought with a price,” the price of the body and blood of Jesus. We now look beyond ourselves and “seek those things which are above…” We now, “set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth.” He changed your future.Verse 4: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we appear with Him in glory.” Because of our trust in the risen Christ, our view of the future should have changed from pessimistic to optimistic. We know that we will inevitably face rough times in the future, but we know that we will not face them alone, for Christ is alive and will be with us every step of the way. To quote an old cliché: “We don’t know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.” Furthermore, we know that at some time in the future we will die, but we also know that death is not the end. We know that the grave is not our final resting place. We will be with Jesus in glory. The grave will be the depository of our earthly remains, but it will also be the place of our new birth into the presence of Christ. The entrance of the risen Christ into our lives does, indeed, change everything. He changed everything for His first followers and He changes everything for us as well. Rejoice! Take a few minutes and celebrate by praising the risen Christ!!!! Bro. Joe “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; 4. And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to scripture.”
I am really not trying to be an old “killjoy” when I tell you that I think that we put too much emphasis on eggs and bunnies during this season of the year. We celebrate a miracle, but the miracle is not that rabbits somehow lay eggs at Easter time. (Try to see the humor here) The miracle is that Jesus was crucified and that three days later He arose. Paul wrote about Christ’s resurrection as a historical fact: “He was dead and He arose again the third day…” On March 31, 2013, we will celebrate the fact of Christ’s resurrection. We have good reason to celebrate, for His resurrection brought/brings good news. What is the good news that we celebrate? We celebrate the fact that Christ is still alive. Christ really died on the cross. Some scholars, who had nothing better to do I guess, came up with the idea that Jesus only “swooned” and did not really die. (Ironically, it is called the “swoon theory.”) Others have said that the whole “resurrection thing” is just a myth. The fact is that Christ really died on the cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Christ’s resurrection is not a myth, and He did not merely “swoon” – Christ died. The miracle is that He rose on the third day. He broke the bonds of death and came forth from the grave. Christ was not the first person to be raised from death in the Bible, but He was the first to be raised without outside intervention. The miracle of Christ’s resurrection took place in the heart of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christ Himself defeated death on the cross. This is important, for if this didn’t happen, Christ is still dead. If this is true, “We are of all men most miserable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19b) Furthermore, Christ is still alive today. In Matthew 28, just before Christ ascended, He told His disciples that He would be with them to the end of the ages. The Bible teaches that Christ ascended to the right hand of the throne of the Father and is there making intercession for us. Christ is not a dead Galilean, as some would have us believe, but He is the Living Savior!!! The Bible also teaches that He is coming again. If Christ is dead, He certainly can’t be with us, and He certainly cannot come again. Jesus Christ is alive! Celebrate! We celebrate the fact that we are alive in Christ. The Bible teaches that before Christ saved us, we were dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath He quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins.” We were not physically dead, of course, but we were spiritually dead. Christ’s entrance into our lives brought us to new life in Him. People who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ are still dead in trespasses and sins. You might disagree with me on this, but you are disagreeing with the Bible, not me. Those who are not alive in Christ have nothing to celebrate, for the resurrection has no personal meaning to them. But we who are no longer dead in trespasses and sins have every reason to celebrate. Christ is alive in us!!! I’m sure that you have heard the line from the hymn He Lives: “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart…” We celebrate the fact that Christ is alive in us. If Christ is alive in us, we are aware of it as much as we are aware that we are still alive in 2013. It doesn’t end there, for the Bible teaches that we will live with Christ throughout eternity. Eternal life is the ultimate benefit of having Christ alive in us. Eternal life begins the day that we accept Christ as Savior and culminates in Heaven – which is another good reason to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Let the celebration begin!!!!! Bro. Joe In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul wrote that more than 500 people saw the risen Christ. That is good internal evidence, but you have to believe that the Bible is true to believe it. Have no doubt that I believe it, but we also need some external evidence that might not convince the hardest unbeliever, but if one will think about it this evidence will be convincing. First, either the apostles, and others, were terribly stupid, or they told the truth. What do I mean by stupid? If they pulled some sort of trick to convince people of Christ's resurrection, then they had an enormous death wish. Why in the world would they go through the years of persecution that they did if what they claimed was based on a lie. They were common men, but they were not stupid men. If there had been a dead body of Jesus after the third day, it would have been found and the apostles would have been the laughingstocks of their time. However, if they had lied about the resurrection, we would not have heard about it. The idea of a Christian church would have died with Jesus. Which brings me to the second point. Last Sunday, in celebration of the resurrection, for we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday not just on Easter Sunday, millions of people across the world met to worship at the feet of Jesus. The modes of worship were not the same. Some celebrated in quietness and some celebrated by shouting praises to Jesus and waving their arms in worship. If all of this is based on a lie, then why, 2,000 years later, are we still worshipping Him? Surely, somewhere along the line in the past 2,000 years, this would have all ceased if Christ is dead. Third, every time someone accepts Christ as Savior, His continuing life is validated. A dead Christ could have sent no Holy Spirit to convict and convert a sinner. There is plenty of internal and external evidence. Rejoice in that fact and rejoice in the living Christ. Bro. Joe
I finished reading 1 Corinthians this morning. In chapter 14 I read about keeping worship "decent and in order." I saw plenty in there to cause arguments among different Christian denominations. When I came to chapter 15, I was struck with the fact that there is nothing for any Christian to argue about there. Verses 3-6 of chapter 15 really struck me. If any Christian can find anything to argue about in these verses, he needs to examine his/her faith. Here are the verses: " 3.For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. 4. And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. 5. After that, He was seen of Cephas (Peter), then of the twelve. 6. After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep." Do you see what I mean? If you remove any part of these verses, you might as well say that the Christian faith is not true. I would add one thing to the inarguable facts listed here,i.e.,that Jesus Christ was God come to earth and actually existed in historical time. There is nothing as well-documented in history as
the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Having defeated death, He ascended to the right hand of the throne, still lives and is coming again. You don't really want to argue about any of this do you? Bro. Joe 1 Corinthians 15 is the greatest defense of the resurrection that there is. Everything in the Christian faith depends on the resurrection. Paul wrote that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen and all of those who died in Christ died in vain. Without resurrection they are just dead. How could one deny the resurrection of Christ and call himself or herself Christian? Due to His resurrection, Christ is still alive. If He is not still alive then we have no one to worship, no one to preach about and no one to surrender our lives to. I don't even want to think about a world with a dead Christ. Everything around us would be dead. His church would be dead. The Bible would be useless, because it would be based on the lie that Jesus arose from the grave. 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 gives us a description of a world without a resurrected Christ: "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: Whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16. For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised. 17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. 18. Then they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." If what we have on this earth is all there is, and there is nothing more to look forward, we are miserable beings with no future hope. Thank God we are not miserable beings, because Christ is still alive and we celebrate that during this season of the year.
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