Christ is risen indeed!
Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!! A regular natural question on the lips of people this week is “how did you celebrate Easter last weekend?” The answers would be different and from different perspectives.
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On a Friday, Jesus was killed by crucifixion through the plot of Jewish religious Leaders and the support from their Roman civil authorities.
They made sure that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was sealed and guarded by soldiers. In spite of this, Jesus couldn’t be kept in the tomb.
He arose and showed Himself alive to His followers.
“It was Friday. The cynics were lookin’ at the world and sayin’, “as things have been so they shall be”. You can’t change anything in this world, you can’t change anything”. But those cynics didn’t know that it was only Friday. Sunday’s comin’! – Tony Campolo.
How important was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? The historical bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the central fact of Christian history.
Dr Harold Dollar, a Seminary Professor notes, “the resurrection of Jesus determines the nature of Christianity and defines its uniqueness.
Of all religious systems, Christianity alone has made the bodily resurrection of a historical person the centrepiece of its message and faith”.
On this, the Christian faith and Church is built. Without it, there is no Christian faith. Jesus’ resurrection is unique. Only Christianity has a God who became human, literally died for His people, and was raised again in power and glory.
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So a person of the Christian faith can say with certainty, “I know that my redeemer lives!”. We believe in Christ who, “suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead”.
The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 gives the meaning of the Resurrection of Christ as follows: “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me.
Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him”. (1 Cor 15:3-8 NLT)
The death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead on the third day are the twin most important events of the Christian faith. The empty tomb was a proof of the resurrection. Jesus conquered death and the grave.
Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, “just as the Scriptures said”.
Jesus Himself said His bodily resurrection was according to what the Old Testament Scriptures said , and He had a small group Bible study on this with some of His followers from Emmaus (Luke 24:25-27).
Next, Jesus appears to the Apostles over a period of 40 days, thereby confirming His resurrection. He appeared to many others too.
Matthew shows the resurrected Jesus, “royally enthroned as the Lord of the Nations, commissioning the Apostles to go and make disciples of all Nations or people groups”.
The resurrection event was the central content of the Gospel message proclaimed by the Apostles.
The Christian faith and message is grounded in the resurrection. “If Christ has not been raised then all our preaching is useless and your faith is useless.
If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still in your sin..... and if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world..... but infact, Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17, 20 NLT).Another important proof of Jesus’ resurrection and its effect is, “the transformation of the Apostles from a fearful band into fearless followers and bold preachers of Christ, resurrected from the dead; with signs and wonders accompanying their preaching”.
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Some think that, one of the best proofs of the resurrection of Jesus is the existence of the Christian faith (the Christian Church). “Within three centuries of the resurrection, Christianity has become the dominant religion within the Roman Empire.
This growth has continued steadily and today, people of the Christian faith number over two billion worldwide, larger than any other religious faith”.
Finally, what difference does the resurrection of Christ make in our everyday life? The resurrection changed everything in the world and everyone who would say yes to Christ would be different.
The empty tomb is a symbol of hope – the hope that is ours when we put our trust in Jesus to save us. The resurrection is also a sign of the ability of God to breakthrough every form of barrier, hindrance and grave that stands in His way.
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This resurrection power for breakthroughs is ours also to experience when we accept Him. We have the power to live the resurrected life.
One of the most amazing truths of the Bible is that the incredible power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power at work in and through the life of the Christian believer!! (Ephesians 1:19 - 20). The Apostle Paul’s goal in life is, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead”. (Philippians 3:10).
(The author is a Leadership Development and Cross-cultural Ministries Consultant, an International conference speaker and formerly General Director / CEO of Scripture Union Ghana.
Email: ghanajesuscrusade@gmail.com / sughanaho@gmail.com )
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