HE IS RISEN!
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” — Matthew 28:6
May we rejoice in the knowledge that Christ The Lord is risen today!
On Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. His resurrection was one of two of the most significant events in the history of mankind.
His resurrection is His victory over death. The moment he rose from the dead was the moment of his conquest of death itself. Many glorious historical figures are remembered for delaying death for a time, however The Lord of the Universe did die, but He gloriously rose from the dead. The resurrection is truly a glorious event.
Christ rising from the dead is a fulfilment of His own promises. In the Gospels, we read about Christ mentioning His death and His resurrection before they occurred. Therefore, the resurrection gives us the ability to trust that He was reliable on all the theological matters which He discussed.
On the cross, He atoned for our sins. This means that He took our sins on Himself and accepted our punishment. His resurrection also shows that His atonement for our very own sins on the cross was accepted, sufficient and finished. This is because death is the penalty for sin. All sinners die. However, death was not final for Our Lord. Death could not hold Him indefinitely. He overcame the penalty of our sins, showing that He is the Saviour of Mankind. None of the sins which He was punished for were His own for He was sinless. They were all our sins — yours and mine. Therefore if the punishment (death) for any of our sins still had to be paid, God’s justice would have demanded that He remained dead. However, because He rose, we know that the atonement was completed and the penalty for our sins has been paid.
We can share in His resurrection. Easter gives us hope that through Him we can “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). We can reset our lives by embracing God. This is not mere personal development but the fruits of grace given through union with The Lord. We can have good and honest lives turned away from sin. We can grow in holiness as we grow in faith. We can live lives where love for Our Lord and our neighbour is not only the central feature, but the defining one. We can be renewed through Christ. We are given many opportunities to repent and have our lives renewed.
Of course, Christ’s physical resurrection is an event which points to our own future physical resurrection. I truly believe that we will all be resurrected — not spiritually, but physically as Christ was resurrected — one day. We will all be resurrected for the Day of Judgement.
This Easter, I’d like you to celebrate the glory of Jesus Christ. He is The Lord God Almighty. He is The Alpha and The Omega, The First and The Last. He is The Messias. He is The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is Our Master. He is The King of the Universe. HE IS RISEN!
All the glory to God Our Risen King!
Happy Easter!
