Luke 24:1-7 - ”He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”

The fact and the truth of theresurrection of Jesus cannot be underestimated! John Stott said,"Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The conceptof resurrection lies at its very heart, and if you remove it, Christianity isdestroyed." Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:17: “If Christ benot risen, then our faith is vain.  It isempty. It has nothing to it. And we are yet in our sins”. Yes, the Bibleteaches, and the gospels affirm, and the witnesses affirm, and history affirmsthat Jesus Christ indeed rose from the grave early that Sunday morning 2,000years ago after His crucifixion on the cross.  

Theresurrection of Jesus Christ affirms to us that He is indeed the Son of God,just as He claimed to be Romans 1:4: “And declared to be the Son of God withpower, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead”. It also proves that His sacrifice forsin has been accepted and that the work of salvation is completed (Romans4:24-25). Those who trust Him can "walk in newness of life" becauseHe is alive and imparts His power to them (Romans 6:4; Gal. 2:20). Our Lord'sresurrection also declares to us that He is the Judge who will come one day andjudge the world (Acts 17:30-31).

 

Itis no surprise, then, that Satan has attacked the truth of the Resurrection.The first lie that he spawned was that the disciples came and stole Christ'sbody (Matthew 28:11-15), but it is difficult to imagine how they could havedone this. To begin with, the tomb was carefully guarded (Matthew 27:61-66);and it would have been next to impossible for the frightened Apostles tooverpower the soldiers, open the tomb, and secure the body. But the biggestobstacle is the fact that the Apostles themselves did not believe that He wouldbe resurrected! Why, then, would they steal His body and try to perpetrate ahoax?

 

Asecond lie is that Jesus did not really die on the cross but only swooned, andwhen He was put into the cool tomb, He revived. But Pilate carefully checkedwith the centurion to see whether Jesus was dead (Mark 15:44), and the Romansoldiers who broke the legs of the two thieves knew that Jesus had died (John19:31-34). Furthermore, how could a "cool tomb" transform Christ'sbody so that He could appear and disappear and walk through closed doors?

 

Themessage of the Gospel rests on the death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection(1 Corinthians 15:1-8). The Apostles were sent out as witnesses of Hisresurrection (Acts 1:22), and the emphasis in the Book of Acts is on theresurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul put it plainly in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: “Andif Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then theyalso which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only wehave hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

Thisexplains why Luke climaxed his book with a report of some of the appearances ofJesus after He had been raised from the dead. He first appeared to MaryMagdalene (John 20:11-18), then to the "other women" (Matt. 28:9-10),and then to the two men on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-22). At some time, Healso appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34) and to His half-brother James (1 Corinthians15:7).

Thatevening, He appeared to the Apostles (Luke 24:36-43), but Thomas was not withthem (John 20:19-25). A week later, He appeared to the Apostles again,especially for the sake of Thomas (John 20:26-31). He appeared to seven of theApostles when they were fishing at the Sea of Galilee (John 21). He appearedseveral times to the Apostles before His ascension, teaching them and preparingthem for their ministry (Acts 1:1-12).

Whenthe believers discovered that Jesus was alive, it made a tremendous differencein their lives. And it has transformed millions of lives since then like mineand yours!

“Heis Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”