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"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,
He is not here. See the place where they laid Him'."
Mark 16: 5,6.
The resurrection of Jesus was the pivotal theme
of the early Christians. It was the core and climax of every
sermon the apostles preached. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is
the good news of His resurrection. It is the substance of
the Christian message and of the Christian's faith. Emil Brunner
described it, "The message of Easter is THE Christian
message, and the Christian Church is the Church of the Resurrection."
The reality is that had Christ not been raised from the dead
the apostles would have had nothing worth preaching and the
religion of Jesus would not have survived. It was the resurrection
which gave meaning to the Incarnation and the Atonement, of
Bethlehem and the birth and Calvary and the death of Jesus.
The resurrection was seen as the completion of the plan of
God which began with the birth of Jesus, through his amazing
life and horrific death to the resurrection the final proof
of his divinity. St. Paul explained the life work and worth
of Jesus. he says "that Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he was
raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures;
and that he was seen." 1 Cor. 15:4.
The New Testament is based in the belief that Jesus Christ
rose from the dead. The writers were utterly convinced of
that and that He is alive for ever. This conviction brought
the church into being. It keeps the church in existence. The
church did not create the resurrection: the resurrection brought
the church to birth. The church continuing is the most convincing
evidence of the resurrection. By it defeat had been turned
into victory: courage replaced cowardice; the terrified became
triumphant for their faith in Christ had been fully justified.
The credentials of the living Christ are the living Church.
The message of Easter is of the victory of life over death,
good over evil, God over the devil. He who overcame death
has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. The grave
has been robbed of its terrors. The claims of Christ have
been justified when he said, the creative power of God is
available to meet man's weaknesses, and to refashion his life.
This is our Gospel, writes, J.S. Steward in his book "A
Faith to Proclaim".
"For this is what Christianity essentially is - a
religion of resurrection. This is what every worshipping congregation
is intended in the purpose of God to be - a community of the
resurrection. This is the basic character of every act of
public worship - a proclamation of the resurrection. And this
is what the Gospel offers to our dark and ruined chaos of
a world, where men peering into the future are daunted by
the well-nigh impossible task of creating order out of confusion
and life out of death; the power of the resurrection."
Easter for the Christian is not about a pious hope. It is
speaking of his expectations and joys.
Paul wrote: "Christ has forgiven you all your sins.
He has utterly wiped out the damning evidence of broken laws
and commandments which always hung over our heads, and has
completely annulled it by nailing it over His own head on
the Cross. And then, having drawn the sting of all the powers
ranged against us. He exposed them, shattered, empty and defeated,
in his final and glorious triumphant act," Collossians
2: 13-15.
Thoughts of Easter and resurrection are the reminder that
the great mysteries of God and his plan for mankind are not
to be doubted because our finite minds can not grasp their
meanings. There has to be the leap of faith, the acceptance
that we now see through a glass darkly. We accept by faith
the fact, "Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought
life and immortality to light through the Gospel." 2
Timothy 1:10.
The risen Christ gave His disciples a commission, "Go
and make Christians of all nations," a task "You
shall be My witnesses," a message by which they were
by word and example to persuade people of the value and benefits
of the Christian faith and to point them to Christ the one
who can satisfy the needs, and a promise, "Lo, I am with
you always," what He requires from His disciples He enables
them to perform.
The evidences for the Resurrection are the Church, the Lord's
Day, the New Testament; and the Holy Communion.
"He is not here. He is risen."
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