Jesus has risen, he is alive

603 jesus has risen he is aliveFrom the beginning, God's will was for man to choose the tree whose fruit gives him life. God wanted to unite with the spirit of man through his Holy Spirit. Adam and Eve rejected life with God because they believed Satan's lie without having a better life without God's righteousness. As Adam's descendants, we inherited the guilt of sin from him. Without a personal relationship with God, we are born spiritually dead and must die at the end of our life because of our sin. The knowledge of good and evil leads us on the self-righteous path of independence from God and brings us death. If we let the Holy Spirit lead us, we recognize our own guilt and our sinful nature. The result of this is that we need help. This is the prerequisite for our next step:

"We were reconciled to God through the death of his son when we were still his enemies" (Romans 5,10 New Life Bible). Jesus reconciled us to God through his death. Many Christians stop at this fact. They find it difficult to live a life conforming to Christ because they do not understand the second part of the verse:

"Then, even more so now that we have become his friends, we will be saved through the life of Christ" (Romans 5,10 New Life Bible). What does it mean to be saved by the life of Christ? Anyone who belongs to Christ was crucified, died and buried with him and can no longer do anything of their own accord. Christ rose from the dead to give life to those who died with him. If you claim the life of Jesus for your salvation as much as you do for reconciliation, then Jesus has risen to new life in you. Through the faith of Jesus, with which you agree, Jesus lives His life in you. They have received a new spiritual life through him. Eternal life! The disciples of Jesus could not understand this spiritual dimension before Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was not yet in the disciples.

Jesus lives!

It had been three days since Jesus was condemned, crucified, and buried. Two of his disciples were walking to a village called Emmaus: “They talked to each other about all these stories. And it came to pass, as they were talking and asking one another, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him »(Luke 24,15-16).

They didn't expect to see Jesus on the street because they believed Jesus was dead! That's why they didn't believe the women's news that he was alive. The disciples of Jesus thought: These are stupid fairy tales! «Jesus said to them: What kind of things are these that you negotiate with one another on the way? There they stopped, sad ”(Luke 24,17). This is the symbol of a person whom the risen One has not yet met. This is a sad Christianity.

«One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to him: Are you the only one among the strangers in Jerusalem who does not know what has happened there these days? And he (Jesus) said to them: What then? " (Luke 24,18-19). Jesus was the main character and pretends to be clueless so they could explain it to him:
“But they said to him, About Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; as our high priests and superiors delivered him up for the death penalty and crucified him. But we hoped it was he who would redeem Israel. And above all, today is the third day that this happened »(Luke 24,19-21). The disciples of Jesus spoke in the past tense. They hoped that Jesus would save Israel. They buried this hope after witnessing the death of Jesus and not believing in his resurrection.

In which tense do you experience Jesus? Is he just a historical figure who lived and died about 2000 years ago? How do you experience Jesus today? Do you experience it at every moment of your life? Or do you live in the awareness that he reconciled you to God through his death and forget the purpose why Jesus rose again?
Jesus answered the two disciples: “Didn't the Christ have to suffer this and enter into his glory? And he (Jesus) began with Moses and all the prophets and explained to them what was said about him in all the scriptures ”(Luke 24,26-27). They had no clue of anything God said beforehand about the Messiah in Scripture.

“It happened when he was sitting at table with them, he took the bread, thanked him, broke it and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And he disappeared from them »(Luke 24,30-31). They realized what Jesus was saying to them and believed his words that he is the bread of life.
Elsewhere we read: «For this is the bread of God, which comes from heaven and gives life to the world. So they said to him, Lord, always give us this bread. But Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not go hungry; and whoever believes in me will never thirst »(Johannes 6,33-35).

This is what happens when you actually encounter Jesus as the risen one. You will experience and enjoy a kind of life, just as the disciples themselves had experienced: "They said to one another: Didn't our hearts burn in us because he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures for us?" (Luke 24,32). When you meet Jesus in your life, your heart begins to burn. To be in the presence of Jesus is life! Jesus who is there and living brings joy with him. His disciples learned this together a little later: "But since they could not believe it for joy and were amazed" (Luke 24,41). What were they happy about? About the risen Jesus!
How did Peter later describe this joy? «You have not seen him and yet you love him; and now you believe in him, although you do not see him; but you will rejoice with unspeakable and glorious joy when you reach the goal of your faith, namely the bliss of souls »(1. Petrus 1,8-9). Peter experienced this inexpressible and glorious joy when he met the risen Jesus.

«But he, Jesus said to them: These are my words that I said to you when I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms. Then he made them understand that they understood the Scriptures »(Luke 24,44-45). What was the problem? Your understanding was the problem!
"When he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this and believed the scriptures and the word that Jesus had spoken" (John 2,22). Not only did Jesus' disciples believe the words of the Scriptures, they also believe what Jesus told them. They realized that the Old Testament Bible was the shadow of the future. Jesus is the true content and reality of Scripture. The words of Jesus gave them new understanding and joy.

Sending out the disciples

While Jesus was still alive, he sent his disciples out to preach. What kind of message did they preach to the people? "They went out and preached that repentance should be repented and cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them" (Mark 6,12-13). The disciples preached to the people to repent. Should people turn from their old way of thinking? Yes! But is that enough when people repent and know nothing else? No, that's not enough! Why didn't they tell people about the forgiveness of sins? Because they knew nothing of God's reconciliation through Jesus Christ.

«Then he made them understand that they understood the scriptures, and said to them, It is written that Christ shall suffer and rise from the dead on the third day; and that repentance is preached in his name for the forgiveness of sins among all peoples ”(Luke 24,45-47). Through the encounter with the living Jesus, the disciples received a new understanding of the risen One and a new message, the reconciliation with God for all people.
"Know that you are not redeemed with perishable silver or gold from your futile walk according to the way of the fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as an innocent and immaculate Lamb" (1. Petrus 1,18-19).

Peter, who tried to avoid the bloodshed on Calvary, wrote these words down. You cannot earn or buy redemption. God gave reconciliation to God through the death of his son. That is the prerequisite for eternal life with God.

«Then Jesus said to them again: Peace be with you! As the Father sent me, so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he blew on them and said to them: Take the Holy Spirit! " (John 20,21: 22).

God blew the breath of life into Adam's nose in the garden of Eden and so he became a living being. "As it is written: The first man, Adam, became a living being, and the last Adam became the spirit that gives life" (1. Corinthians 15,45).

The Holy Spirit brings life to people born in spiritual death through the faith of Jesus Christ. The disciples of Jesus were not yet spiritually alive at that time.

«When he was with them at supper, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which you - so he said - had heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not long after these days »(Acts of the Apostles 1,4-5).
The disciples of Jesus should be baptized with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That is the rebirth and resurrection from spiritual death and the reason why the second Adam, Jesus, came into the world to accomplish this.
How and when was Peter born again? «Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his great mercy, has reborn us to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead» (1. Petrus 1,3). Peter was born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came into the world to bring people to life. Jesus reconciled humanity with God through his death and sacrificed his body for us. God gave us new life so that he can live in us. At Pentecost, Jesus came through the Holy Spirit into the hearts of those who believed the words of Jesus. They know, through the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that he lives in them. He made her spiritually alive! He gives them his life, God's life, eternal life.
"But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit that dwells in you" (Romans 8,11). Jesus also gives you the commission: As the Father sent me, so I send you (according to John 17,18).

How do we draw strength from the infinite source of life? Jesus rose to live and work in you. What authorization do you grant and grant him? Do you give Jesus the right to rule your mind, your feelings, your thoughts, your will, your entire possessions, your time, all your activities and your whole being? Your fellow human beings will be able to tell from your behavior and behavior.

«Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; if not, believe for works' sake. Verily, verily, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and will do greater things than these; for I am going to the Father »(John 14,11-12).

Let God's Spirit work in you to humbly admit that you are the one who cannot do anything on your own. Act with knowledge and trust that Jesus, who lives in you, can and will do anything with you. Tell Jesus everything and at all times what he should do with you with words and works according to his will.
David asked himself: “What is a person that you should remember him, and the child of a person that you care for him? You made him a little lower than God; you crowned him with honor and glory »(Psalm 8,5-6). That is the human being in his innocence in his normal state. Christianity is the normal state of every human being.

Thank God again and again for the fact that he lives in you and that you allow him to fulfill you. With your gratitude, this important fact is taking shape in you!

by Pablo Nauer