Introduction:
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The resurrection of Christ is central to the Christian faith. It proves that Jesus Christ is exactly who He claimed to be and that He had accomplished His mission on earth. It proves that He is the Messiah and that on the cross He defeated Satan, sin and death. The resurrection is proof that Christ’s sacrifice for sin was far greater than God’s judgement on sin and that no other sacrifice would ever be needed again. It is our receipt that Christ has paid the full payment for sin on our behalf and that Satan can no longer accuse us of sin or legally prevent us from receiving God’s gift of eternal life. The resurrection of Christ guarantees our own resurrection. It is our only hope of eternal salvation, and our only hope of being with God in glory forever. Christ’s victory over death is also our victory over death and we can shout with joy that Christ is risen, alleluia He is risen indeed.
Step One: The resurrection of Christ
a) Confirms that He is the Messiah
The resurrection of Christ confirms that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He “was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead”. (Rom. 1:4) If Christ is not risen from the dead, then He has no power to pardon or save the sinner.
b) Confirms God’s forgiveness of sin
The resurrection of Christ confirms that God has accepted His sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. It confirms that our past, present and future sins have been fully paid for and that “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them”. (Hebrews 7:25)
c) Confirms God’s gift of a new life
The resurrection of Christ confirms God’s gift of a new life made available to every repentant sinner. “He was delivered up because of our offences and was raised because of our justification”. (Romans 4:25) The resurrection of Christ is our only hope of a new life as Christians since being justified means to be just as if I had never sinned.
Illustration:
The Gospels testify to the importance of the resurrection by not ending in sorrow and despair with His death and burial but in joy and hope of a new resurrected life. Before the resurrection, Christ appeared before two human courts, the religious court of the Jewish Council and the secular court of the Roman Governor. Both these courts rejected His claim to be the Son of God and condemned Him to death. Furthermore, both these courts united to prevent any breaking open of His grave. The tomb was made secure with a seal of the Roman emperor and a Roman guard. The seal of the Roman emperor had all the power and authority of Rome behind it and a Roman guard consisted of a sixteen-man security unit of well-trained armed soldiers. In spite of these precautions on the third day the seal was broken, the stone rolled away, the soldiers were paralysed and Christ rose from the tomb. By this act God reversed the decisions of the Jewish council and the Roman Governor and publicly declared that the claim of Christ to be the Son of God was true.
Application:
“The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) The resurrection of Christ confirms the New Covenant of grace. Under this New Covenant of grace our salvation does not depend on what we do but on what Christ has done.
Step Two: The proof of the resurrection
a) The empty tomb
One proof of the resurrection of Christ is an empty tomb. For the Gospel writers the empty tomb confirms the reality that "he had risen, just as he said". The burial wrappings were undisturbed and still where they had placed His body and it was obvious that human hands could not have touched the body of Christ.
b) The witness of angels
Another proof of the resurrection was the witness of angels. An angel announced the news that Christ had risen from the dead and was going ahead of them into Galilee where they would see him.
c) The witness of men
Christ appeared to many people to serve as eye-witnesses to His resurrection. He appeared to the women who went to the tomb early in the morning. He appeared to the travellers on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to Peter, James and John and to the rest of the Twelve. He appeared to a group of 500 believers, and finally He appeared to the Apostle Paul.
Illustration:
The message of Scripture has always been a message of hope in the resurrection and that death is not the end of life. The people who question the resurrection really are questioning the power of God. They cannot believe that God can raise someone from the dead. But if God can create all things and sustain them, why is it so hard to believe that God can raise someone from the dead. The evidence of the resurrection is so crucial to Christianity that an angel made sure that the evidence was not tampered with. When the angel rolled the stone away it was not so that Jesus could get out of the tomb because a body that could pass through burial wrappings, a body that could enter the locked room where the disciples were meeting, did not need a stone moved in order to get out of the tomb. The angel rolled the stone away not to let the Lord out but to let the women in. God wanted eyewitnesses to the empty tomb because the resurrection of Christ guarantees the resurrection of every saint. This is the reality of what was observed in the practice of presenting the first fruits of the harvest to the Lord. The presentation of the first fruits to the Lord is an assurance that the rest of the harvest will be safely gathered in. Christ was the first person ever to resurrect from the dead and after Him many saints who had fallen asleep also resurrected and Christ presented them to God as the first fruits of those who had risen from the dead. His presentation of the first fruits of the harvest of saints to God gives us the assurance that the rest of the harvest of saints will be safely gathered in at His coming.
Application:
The angel by breaking the seal of the Roman Emperor, rolling back the stone, and paralysing the soldiers, was making a clear statement that there is no power that can be compared to God’s power. A believer has no reason to put their trust in any other power. Let us trust in the Lord with our whole heart and not be deceived to trust in anyone or anything else.
Step Three: The blessings of the resurrection
a) A new nature
The resurrection of Christ confers on the believer a new nature. All of us have inherited Adams sinful nature for in Adam “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) but when Christ died, He died in our place with our sinful nature and when He rose from the dead, we rose with Him with His godly nature.
b) A new status
The resurrection of Christ confers on the believer a new status as God’s beloved children. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection”. (Romans 6:5) As believers it is no longer us who live but Christ who lives in us.
c) A new direction in life
The resurrection of Christ does not only give us a new nature and status, but also a new direction to follow. As believers we are to renew our mind to align our thinking with that of the Word of God. We renew our mind as we constantly study, listen and meditate on the Word of God so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin”.
Illustration:
In Christ’s death we also died to sin, self, and the world. When Christ rose from the dead, we also rose with Him and so are “not to present our members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present ourselves to God as being alive from the dead and our members as instruments of righteousness to God.” The Lord has saved us, made us righteous and strengthened us to renew our minds and put off the old man and the qualities which characterise the old man, just as Jesus, when He rose from the dead, left His grave clothes behind, because they were no longer needed for life in His glorified body. Let us give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever.
Application:
The resurrection of Christ demands a response from all of us. We can reject him outright like the Jewish religious leaders did, we can ignore Him like the Romans did, or like many people today we can pretend we belong to Him. The wise choice, however, is to thankfully and joyfully accept Him as our risen Saviour.
Conclusion:
Jesus Christ came to earth in a supernatural way and left it the same way. His birth and His resurrection were supernatural. It was not possible for Christ to remain in the grave because He did not come from dust. Jesus Christ had to return to heaven because He came from heaven. The resurrection of Christ confirms that the Word of God is true. It confirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God as He claimed to be and that He as God has power over sin, Satan and death. If that power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us, we should be living the life of Christ. As believers we have the spirit of life, which is able to bring everything that is dead in us back to life.
Personal Response:
The witnesses of Christ’s resurrection worshipped Him. Worship is the only proper response to the risen Christ. Let us celebrate resurrection Sunday today by worshipping our risen Lord and thanking Him for bringing all that is dead in us back to life to the praise and glory of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
