Christ is risen

594 christ has risenThe Christian faith stands or falls with the resurrection of Jesus. “But if Christ is not risen, your faith is vain and you are still in your sins; then also those who fell asleep in Christ are lost »(1. Corinthians 15,17). The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just a doctrine to be defended, it must make a practical difference to our Christian life. How is that possible?

The resurrection of Jesus means you can trust him completely. Jesus told his disciples beforehand that he would be crucified, die, and then be resurrected. «Since that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer much. He would be put to death by the elders, chief priests and scribes, and he would rise on the third day "(Matthew 16,21). If Jesus spoke truthfully in this regard, of the greatest of all miracles, then this shows that we can be sure that He is reliable in all things.

The resurrection of Jesus means that all of our sins have been forgiven. The death of Jesus was heralded when the high priest went to the most holy place once a year on the Day of Atonement to make an offering for sin. The time when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies was followed with tension by the Israelites: would he return or not? What joy it was when he came out from the Most Holy Place and uttered God's forgiveness because the sacrifice was accepted for another year! The disciples of Jesus hoped for a savior: “But we hoped that it would be him who would redeem Israel. And above all, today is the third day that this happened »(Luke 24,21).

Jesus was buried behind a large stone and for a few days there was no sign that he would reappear. But on the third day, Jesus rose again. Just as the high priest's reappearance behind the curtain showed that his sacrifice had been accepted, the resurrection of Jesus proved that his sacrifice for our sins had been accepted by God.

The resurrection of Jesus means that new life is possible. Christian life is more than just belief in certain things about Jesus, it is participation in him. Paul prefers to describe what it means to be a Christian by expressing it "in Christ". This expression means that we are connected to Christ through faith, the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, and all of its resources belong to us. Because Christ has risen, depending on His living presence, we live in Him from our union with Him.
The resurrection of Jesus means that the last enemy, death itself, is defeated. Jesus broke the power of death once and for all: "God raised him up and freed him from the pains of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by death" (Acts). As a result, "As everyone dies in Adam, everyone in Christ will be made alive" (2,24. Corinthians 1). No wonder Peter was able to write: "Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, after his great mercy, reborn us for a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, for an imperishable and immaculate and witherable inheritance, that will be kept in heaven for you »(15,22. Petrus 1-1,3).

Because Jesus put down his life and accepted it again, because Christ rose and the grave was empty, we now live in Him, depending on His living presence, from our union with Him.

by Barry Robinson