#Bible Timeless Truths. He is Risen Indeed!
This "Timeless Truth" begins with two extensive Scripture passages. I encourage you NOT to skip them.
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! [emphasis mine] He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Mark 16:1-8
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 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, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 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. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
I Corinthians 15:1-20
Background:
- In 1 Corinthians 15:1-20, Paul speaks of the importance of the resurrection in his life and ours.
- The resurrection story begins with God’s character, not Easter.
- The Corinthians had a hard time dealing with resurrection because a common philosophy stated that creation was evil.
- Paul says creation is good and worthy of resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:13 makes it clear that if there is no resurrection, not even Christ was raised and the Gospel is foolish and without hope.
The Corinthians were attempting to understand Christianity from the viewpoint of their world view and philosophy.
Consider this illustration
- · A couple is in love.
- · Later they divorce.
- · Is the love gone?
- · Or, did they reach a point where they saw no hope of what was to come?
Paul uses a reference to such a situation in verses 12-20 to show the importance of our faith in the resurrection.
Mark tells the story of the empty tomb with the women and the angels.
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| The women go into the tomb, see that it's empty than see and hear the angel. Read on to find out why they didn't run out and spread the news. |
- Notice that the women don’t tell anyone about their experience.
- That’s because they are fearful—not hopeful. They had nothing to relate the words of the angel to since they had not seen Jesus.
- They fled the tomb in fear, not hope.
The Corinthians had a similar mindset.
- Paul says such thinking is destructive—it leads to hopeless lives.
- The resurrection says that there is much more than “eat, drink, and be merry.”
- Jews in Jesus' day saw crucifixion as an impossible end for any Messiah because of the stigma associated with that form of death.
- If the resurrection begins with God’s character, He continues alive in us as we study and dwell in Scriptural things.
- Paul uses the Old Testament image of first-fruits brought to the priest to show God’s promise of much more through Jesus as the farmer hope for abundance in harvest after firstfruits.
- If we have little hope, it is because we have allowed ourselves to be cut off from the source of hope.
Aside
A missionary nurse spoke at our church of her work with refugees just outside Petra, Jordan. The message she brought was one of hope—a message Christians shared with those around them in the refugee camp.
Christians like those she described are sources of hope for the thousands of hopeless refugees in camps around the world.
Christ’s resurrection guarantees us the chance for a relationship with Him that is the source of eternal hope.
End of Aside
Christ's resurrection shows God staring death in the face and saying, “there is more than this ending!”
Hope is not ours for our own sake. With hope, we are able to share the story of God’s work in our lives.
In God is certainty upon which we can build our lives.
The resurrection is part of that certainty.
Be someone who spreads the hope of the certainty of the resurrection this Easter. Follow this example.
The early church had an Easter greeting we still use.
He is risen!
The target of the greeting replied,
He is risen, indeed!
SOE: Easter, resurrection, He is risen, Jesus
Special thanks to Dr. Robert Smith for the primary teachings used in this post.
My website is: www.crdowning.com
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