Their hearts were filled with great anticipation as they were approaching the tomb. They said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” (Mark 16:3). When they arrived at the tomb, the stone they had been concerned about had already been rolled away.
They entered
the tomb expecting to find the body of Jesus. Instead, they were alarmed by the
presence of a man in a long white robe who was sitting there. He said to the
women, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He
is risen!” (Mark 16:6a)
The
resurrection of Jesus is the foundation for our faith today. Paul said that
without the resurrection of Christ, we are still lost in our sins, our
preaching in empty, our faith is in vain, and those who have died before us
have perished. Thankfully, Paul continued his letter by affirming the validity
of Jesus’ resurrection. This gives us our great hope and joy for the future.
Because Jesus
is no longer held by death, we can have confidence in the cleansing of our
sins. Paul wrote, “In Him we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) Jesus was that pure and perfect sacrifice
who was offered for us (Heb. 4:15). He is therefore the only one who can
cleanse of our sins through His precious blood. It is the resurrection of Jesus
that confirm who He was (Romans 1:4) and what He has accomplished for us.
Through the
resurrection of Jesus, we no longer have the fear of death looming over us. In
1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul not only assures us of the resurrection of
Jesus, but also confirms that His resurrection is proof that we too will be
raised from the dead. In verses 50-58, Paul teaches that Christians will all be
changed from mortal to immortal and from corruptible to incorruptible. Since we
have this great hope, we know that our labor we do for God is not in vain.
The apostle
Paul not only taught these words, but he also lived them. He stated to the
brethren at Philippi, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
(Philippians 1:21). He wrote to Timothy concerning his death, “Finally,
there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give to me on the Day, and not to me only but also to all
who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8).
We rejoice
every Lord’s Day that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. Because of His
resurrection we have the cleansing of our souls from sin, and we have hope of
life everlasting beyond the grave.
God Bless each
of you,
Eric Hicks
Comments
Post a Comment