He is risen!

(Message by Philip Joseph on April 4, 2010)

My message today is on the Resurrection of Christ. Many tourists go to Jerusalem to see the tomb of Christ. On the door of His tomb, are the words of the angel to Mary Magdalene “He is not here, for He is risen” (Matthew 28:6). His tomb is unique! Christ’s tomb is the only tomb in the world that is empty! In the early church, they often used the words “He is risen!” as a greeting, just like we use the greeting ‘Praise the Lord!”. The fact that He rose from the dead, set the early church ablaze with awe & excitement. Their hopes & aspirations which seemed lost when He died, was set ablaze after His resurrection. The New Testament abounds with over 100 references on Christ’s resurrection.

The Bible says in 1 Cor 15:4-6 : “and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time.”

Jesus appeared ten times over 40 days to His followers. He appeared to Mary Magdalene & some other women, Peter, 10 disciples (without Thomas) & then later to the 11 disciples (including Thomas). He even appeared to over 500 people. There was absolutely no doubt in the early church that He rose again. It was something the early church was even willing to die for. Jesus talked with them, walked with 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus & even ate & drank with them. (Acts 10:41).

At Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

The Resurrection of Christ is pivotal to the Christian faith. Our salvation depends upon it. As the scripture says in Rom 10:9 : “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus {as} Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I would like to share the following 4 things concerning the Resurrection of Christ :

1. Confirms the truth & validity of Christ’s teachings
The Bible says in 1 Cor 15:16-17: “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

Many sages has come in the world & taught wonderful things. But Christ is the only one who died & was raised again! This confirms the truth of all that He said & did. We can now firmly hold on to all that He said. Truly heaven & earth can pass away, but His words will never fail.

2. First fruit of our own resurrection
The Bible says in 1 Cor 15:20 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”

With Christ being resurrected, we know that we too will be resurrected. We now have a living hope, as the scripture says in 1 Pet 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”. We know that death is not the end, but only a beginning of a wonderful life with God. When we die, immediately our spirit goes to be with the Lord in paradise. Our body is buried in the grave, but at Christ’s 2nd coming, we shall experience the resurrection of our body. (1 Cor 15:23)
Like Christ’s resurrected body, we too will be able to talk, walk & interact with our resurrected body.

3. Living presence of Christ
After Christ rose again, He promised us in Matt 28:20 “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

We serve a living Christ! We don’t follow a religious leader who is dead & gone, but one who is alive forevermore! He will never ever desert us nor will He forsake us. He is with us always right upto the end of this age.

Whenever we experience tumults in our lives, we must learn to "Cease {striving} and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.” (Ps 46:10-11).

When Christ is in our boat, it can never capsize! Once His disciples who were experienced fishermen, panicked in the storm, even though Jesus was there in the boat. But the Lord rebuked them & asked “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). At times all our past experience doesn’t help us, but His presence gives us the strength to go through the storms of life. Let us never panic, because Christ is always with us. I’m not saying that we will not experience trouble & hardships. All I’m saying is that with Christ with us, we shall overcome every trial we face. As Paul said in Rom 8:39, nothing can ever separate us from the love of Christ.

4. Living power of Christ
Paul said in Phil 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection”. We must increasingly know the power of His resurrection. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in us! (Rom 8:11). His resurrection power is available to us. Whenever we face dead situations in our life, we must look upto the Lord & seek for the power of His resurrection. With God all things are possible! All things are possible with them that believe!

Paul prayed for the Ephesian church that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what ..is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. {These are} in accordance with…His might.. when He raised Him from the dead” (Eph 1:18-20)

May God enlighten our eyes. We should not go through life with our spiritual eyes closed. Elisha’s attendant was distraught at seeing the army of Aram encircling the city. But Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his attendant’s spiritual eyes. After his eyes were opened, he could see the spiritual protection around them. (2 Kings 6:17). Indeed greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world! (1 John 4:4) Let us not fear. When faith enters our heart, fear disappears! We can look to our future with hope, knowing that His resurrection power is available for us who believe.

May the knowledge of His resurrection not merely be some abstract theology. But may the Lord enable us to understand the practical implications of this wonderful truth in our day-to-day lives. Amen.