In one sentence we go from the deepest darkness to the most glorious light: We all live then die, Christ died and then lived! That’s the greatest news ever reported to mankind and it will change any life.
Christ is alive and there is a vacated, empty tomb, and as a result of that fact all who believe in Him shall live forever with Him.
We are not surprised that one of the earliest messages preached after the crucifixion used these words: “you killed him, but God raised him” (Acts 3:15). Condemned and crucified, now God raised Him and declared Him to be both Lord and Savior. Humans crucified Him, but God crowned Him. It was the public proof that Jesus was who He said He was and the purpose of His death can now be explained.
So then, no longer do we need to live in a fog and stumble along the path of life in continual hopelessness. The resurrection of Jesus is the light that shines brighter than any ever known before and it offers a living hope to everyone who comes to believe in Him. That’s what Jesus Himself openly declared in total triumph:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever has faith in me shall live, even though he dies; and no one who lives and has faith in me shall ever die …”
(John 11:25-26, NEB)
Jesus met death head on knowing that it was the greatest enemy. Now Jesus has defeated death! It has been said that “Death cancels everything but truth,” and, that being so, the death and the resurrection of Jesus establishes the greatest truth, “Whoever has faith in me shall live …” Jesus said that with the authority of heaven.
Death comes with an undeniable dread. Throughout history the greatest thinkers have considered it as a mysterious monster that brings even the most mighty to admit, “we are all equal in the presence of death.” (Publilius Syrus) The greatest have quaked and trembled at the very thought of death. When the greatest king of France, called the Sun King, traveled in Paris, the coach was to plan a route that avoided cemeteries. When that could not be done, the coach stopped and the shades were pulled down so Louis XIV would not see the reminder.
Long ago, Job asked the question that is universal, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14) Death is called “the grim reaper” because it stalks with certainty the famous and the unknown, the educated and the illiterate, the rich and the poor. Someone said, “Give death the credit, it does not respect any race, color, or creed.”
But believers in Christ have confessed with confidence, “I am more sure that, because of the resurrection of Jesus, I will be in heaven when I die than I am sure I will be physically alive at sunrise.” Yet, to live without Christ means we have to live denying the reality of death—yet, it still haunts us and shadows every step. A great Christian said, “Death is the great fact that all acknowledge but very few realize.”
So, because we never know when we will be next—the question is, “Is there any hope?” That is why the greatest and the most glorious news ever to reach the human ear is that of the resurrection of Jesus. And when He spoke, He promised us we could, like He, conquer death. All that causes me to say we should reread the report of the resurrection of Jesus in the gospel. We should study Paul’s explanation of what it means to us. Personally I’m never tired of picturing that angel sitting atop the stone rolled from the mouth of the tomb now empty. Saying essentially, if you are looking for Jesus, you will not find Him here—“ He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:6-7). Then the angel adds, “This is exactly what He promised He would do! Now go quickly and tell the world.”
The resurrection is the first, and last, and the chief proof of the entire Christian faith. Some said the resurrection is to the Christian what blood is to the body, what water is to the ocean, what stone is to the mountain and air is to the lungs. So we declare that the entire Christian faith is a resurrection religion. And it means we believe the same power that brought Christ back to life is the same power that will do the same for us. In that sense the resurrection continues.
All true Christians agree with Donald Grey Barnhouse’s comment “The angel rolled away the stone from Jesus’ tomb, not to let the living Lord out, but to let unconvinced outsiders in!”
Yet, there is more, for if we did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, there would be no personal forgiveness of sin and salvation. It would make the Bible a book of lies and all the apostles total frauds! But the confession is, if “faith that God raised him from the dead is in your heart, you will find salvation.” (Romans 10:9)
Scholars are brave and bold to say, “Taking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say,” said Dr. B. F. Westcott, “that there is no single historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.” The resurrection demands unconditional surrender of all unbelief and it produces unending celebration of all believers. But it is not shallow applause that is proper but total allegiance. Simply, the crucified, condemned Christ is now the living Lord and He is at loose and at large. So that, the best news ever has come from a graveyard! (read John 14:19) We will all die, but because of this fact we will be raised to new life.
But now a vital point—the resurrection of Jesus is a historical event and it is dateable because it happened “on the third day” after His crucifixion. Never allow anyone to say, “It was a spiritual event only.” He arose bodily as an objective event in history, so that, the resurrection of Jesus is declared as the greatest display of God’s supernatural power. His body was raised, and later it was gloriously transfigured. That is essential, it was a bodily resurrection. There is no preacher who is a true messenger of God’s truth who does not say it with conviction.
It is Christ alive and Christ in you that is “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). There is profound truth, often too great to fully grasp. It is a mystery beyond us, and yet it is glorious. The resurrection of Christ now alive makes a difference in another way—it is “Christ in you.” He lives there! So that, our eyes are now His eyes to see human need. Our face becomes His face to show the beauty of His glory. Our lips become His lips to speak the message of hope and grace, our ears to hear the cries of desperation, and our minds to think with the “mind of Christ,” our hands to be His hands to touch with pure grace and mercy, and then our feet to move with rapid steps to go to the lost.
Spurgeon once said, if people are determined to go to the bottomless pit, let’s make them leap over our bodies to reach hell’s gate. The resurrected Christ should have all of us—our resources, our time, our talents and God-given ability to bear witness of His name.
But to speak of the resurrection and to not mention the Holy Spirit is a fault. Acts speaks of the early Christians’ being “all filled with the Holy Ghost … And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus …” (Acts 4:31, 33, KJV) In one breath Peter spoke of the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Jesus. (see I Peter 1:2-3) When God’s Spirit is active, that is always the theme.
The risen Christ, through the Holy Spirit not only dwells in every heart in order to give supernatural power for living and laboring. Paul, the apostle, spoke of how the very same power that raised Jesus will raise us if the Spirit lives controlling us. (Romans 8:11)
But the greatest news ever is not really great if it is not personal. And I am sure someone now reading this has never known personally what the living, risen Christ can do for them. Not till you come to stand at the cross and then before the empty tomb and believe are your sins forgiven. You must rely on the Christ totally and exclusively. He suffered your judgment for He suffered in your stead. He took it all on Himself. The cross is the cost of our forgiveness and the resurrection is the confirmation of it— when we yield our life to Him. Therefore, renounce your sins and respond to Him—now!
Your conversion means what He did on the cross, you can now claim for your own and the power of the resurrection is yours to know. This means, of course, that, as a result, the resurrected Christ comes to live in you—it’s to experience and to know the supernatural power of the risen Christ. It also means He is continually with you as you face life’s challenges. He comes into your life to transform, to put life and eternal life in you. Nothing you face in life will you face alone. That is, “if”—yes, if—you will let the risen Christ come into your life.
This is called “being born again.” It’s a spiritual birth. And realize, the new birth is not only a mystery that none of us can explain, it is also a miracle that none of us can get to heaven without! “You must be born again,” Jesus said.
That would be the greatest news ever announced becoming the greatest experience you can ever know. — Alive with Christ to live in you!
“Now we live in the hope [hope means confidence] of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead.” I Peter 1:3, Living Bible
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