He is Risen!
Easter can mean many things to many different people. For children, it can mean a great opportunity to gorge on jelly beans and chocolate eggs. For some, it can mean an opportunity to eat a giant ham. For others, it might be just another Sunday. For followers of Jesus Christ, it is the most important day in history, because it is the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
He is not here, but has risen:
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. (Luke 24:1-12 ESV)
We have the account of the risen Christ. Many "Messiah" figures have come and gone, claiming that they would die and live again, but Jesus is alive! He is risen! For us as individuals, we have to work out what Christ's death and resurrection means for us.
Why is Easter so important?
C.S. Lewis is attributed as saying, "You don't have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body."
Lewis was wise in saying this because we know death is not natural. If you've ever attended an open casket funeral, you can see this. The body without the soul does not seem natural; it just doesn't look right. Death isn't natural but because of sin, it still comes. We all face death because we all have sinned. This is what makes Easter so important. Jesus died for our sins and was raised so we can have eternal life.
Lewis was wise in saying this because we know death is not natural. If you've ever attended an open casket funeral, you can see this. The body without the soul does not seem natural; it just doesn't look right. Death isn't natural but because of sin, it still comes. We all face death because we all have sinned. This is what makes Easter so important. Jesus died for our sins and was raised so we can have eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 ESV)
How can we receive the free gift?
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:1-7 (ESV)
We need to be born again of the Spirit of God to enter the kingdom of God.
How can we be born again of the Spirit?
In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV)
We can become heirs of eternal life when we hear the gospel and believe!
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:9-11 ESV)
If we have been born again of the kingdom of God by believing in Jesus Christ and receiving the promised Holy Spirit, death will not have the last laugh. The free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Death does not get to have the last laugh because Jesus conquered death.
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57 ESV)
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! He is risen!
Therefore, when we are in Christ we can gain victory over death because his death has purchased our forgiveness for sin and his life means we too can have new life. We can become heirs of eternal life in Jesus Christ. This is good news! This is gospel!
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we too are people who can say, "O death, where is your sting?" This is all because he is risen! This is why Easter is so important and why we rejoice on this day!
Is Jesus your risen Lord?
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