"he Is Risen!" Now What?

HE IS RISEN! (He is Risen indeed!)

That is the shouted declaration of triumph and its reaffirming response. The fact that Christ is risen is the pinnacle of our Christian faith. Christianity stands or falls on the resurrection. The Apostle Paul stated;

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,…” (1 Cor.15:3)

For Paul, the resurrection was of FIRST importance. He would go on to write why;

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Christianity stands or falls on the person and claims of Christ. If He did not rise as The Old Testament states that God said He would, then God is a liar, and we have no hope.

But not only was he seen alive by many before his ascension, but Paul saw him and encountered him on the road to Damascus after his glorification at the Father’s side.

However, Paul goes on to state the truth;

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”

Christ has become the “firstfruits” from the dead. That means He is the first of the harvest and leads the way to Glory. It is through faith in Christ’s atoning death and resurrection that we have forgiveness of our sins and assurance of our salvation.

The resurrection proves and vindicates every claim Jesus made. Jesus stated, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”(Jn.14:6) His resurrection proved that He is THE TRUTH and that the resurrection wasn’t fake news. The disciples shared their story with the two from Emmaus excitedly saying; “IT IS TRUE! The Lord has risen…”

This is the truth that turned a small group of disillusioned men and women, huddled in fear from the authorities, thinking they would be next to be arrested and crucified, into a bold and valiant army of preachers defying all threats to be silent. The truth of the resurrection was so true that they went to their deaths in some of the most gruesome ways as martyrs. Some people will endure torture and death for something they believe is true, but no one dies for a known lie. They died because they had seen and believed.

He is Risen, but we ask, “What now?” What does it mean for us and how does it impact our lives today? Is it just to be an awesome historical event and left there? The answer is no. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith in three areas: relationship, mission, and message for all believers.

So let’s turn to our text.

“On the evening of that first day of the week,…”

The first day of the week was Sunday, and the resurrection to life is the reason Christians celebrate on Sunday instead of Saturday. The resurrection initiates a “New Creation.” The old, decaying world of death has been conquered by Christ, who is called the Second Adam. By now, it was evening on the first day of the week, and a lot had happened already.

We are told of five appearances of Jesus on the resurrection day.

· To Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18).

· To the other women (Matthew 28:9-10).

· To the two on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12-13, Luke 24:13-32).

· To Peter (Luke 24:33-35, 1 Corinthians 15:5).

· And our text, To ten of the disciples, Thomas being absent (John 20:19-23).

From early morning until evening, Jesus had been appearing to different individuals. A slow walk on the road to Emmaus while talking to the two disciples probably took about two hours as Emmaus was 7 miles from Jerusalem. Of course, once Jesus revealed himself to them He vanished and did not have to walk back but simply appeared back in Jerusalem later as we continue reading;