Christ Is Risen - Believing in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
by Mark Parsec(351)
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Luke 24:1-12
But on the first day of the week at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “ Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise. And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
Over the next 40 days, Jesus would reveal himself to the apostles and many other people and they would come to believe in his resurrection.
And, like the apostles, it is the question pertaining to Christ’s resurrection that has pervaded through the ages… Did he or did he not rise from the dead?
Did Jesus rise from the grave?
Through the ages, skeptics have attempted to explain away the miracle of the resurrection of Christ. These so-called explanations fall into several general categories.
1. Those who believe that Jesus did not die on the cross. This would include the more than 1.2 Billion Muslims throughout the world. In fact, one of the key tenants of the Muslim faith is that God would not have allowed His Son to die such a dishonorable death. The Muslims believe that the body of Christ was switched for another. That it was someone else who died upon the cross.
2. Then there are those who believe that Christ did not really die, but that he was merely in a coma and he was revived or resuscitated.
3. Then there are those who believe that Jesus did die, but that the body was secretly removed from the tomb as part of a plot. They do not believe that he was resurrected.
The Switcheroo Well, I have news for those 1.2 Billion Muslims and all the others that believe it was some imposter that died upon the cross. Jesus’ mother Mary was there when he died, and a mother knows her son, and there is no mother alive who would ever have allowed some stranger to be buried in her son’s tomb. It was her son, Christ our Lord, whom she and the others wept for as he died on the cross. It was his body that they took down off the cross and buried.
Mary saw her son, Jesus, die.
Coma For those who believe that Christ did not really die… for those who think that he was only in a coma… Modern science has determined that death by crucifixion was a very effective form of capital punishment. The torture was excruciating. Bones would be removed from their sockets, ligaments and tendons torn, the cardio pulmonary system would be traumatized, the nervous system overloaded, the lungs would fill with fluid, the liver would shut down, separating the blood from other fluids. The individual would suffocate and have a heart attack.
When Christ was on the cross, a Roman guard pierced him in the side with a spear to see if he was dead, and water and blood spewed forth from the wound. This separation of fluids indicated that Jesus was dead, not in a state of a coma. Christ died. He was dead. He had been executed. His life had been terminated.
Incidentally, it was the Roman executioner’s job to carry out the death of all prisoners sentenced to crucifixion. Failure to carry out orders would mean the Roman officer would have to pay for his mistake with his own life. You can be sure there were not any Roman soldiers who would be willing to die by crucifixion for a Jew.
Stolen Cadaver And finally for those who explain away the resurrection by saying that the body of Jesus was secretly removed from the tomb… Well, freshly executed bodies were not a hot item in those days, especially among the Jews. To touch a corpse was to become unclean. Once unclean, the Jew would have to go through a period of separation from his family and ritual cleansing. It is highly unlikely that any faithful Israelite would forego their customary activities as a consequence of polluting themselves with the dead.
Then again, why would anybody want to do such a thing anyway? Stealing a corpse? Absurd! However, just to make sure that this did not happen… there were Roman guards posted at the tomb of Jesus to make sure there would not be any problems with grave robbers. In addition, if someone DID steal the body out from underneath the Roman guard’s noses, guess what would happen to those guards? They would pay with their lives. The guards would have been executed.
Defining Moment The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the defining moment of Christ’s life and of the Christian faith. As Christians, we believe it is an indisputable truth. Jesus lived a sinless life and He died for our sins on the cross at Calvary. He was buried and rose again to life on the third day.
Yet, despite this defining tenant of our faith, there have been individuals throughout the ages claiming to be Christians whom do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They believe Jesus was a good man, an honest man, a spiritual leader, even a prophet… but they do not believe he rose from the dead. There are those who believe this in our day and age, and there were those who believed it in the first century Church.
The Apostle Paul addressed this error…
1 Cor. 15:12-23 pg 163 NT
Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
The Apostle Paul indicated that there were five serious consequences if we did not believe in the resurrection:
1. Preaching is in vain.
2. Faith is in vain.
3. We misrepresent God and become false witnesses, liars.
4. We are still in our sins.
5. We become pitiful, miserable, people.
If Christ did not rise from the grave, then He must have been a false prophet, a liar… because he had prophesied on many occasions that he was going to rise from the dead.
It was the purpose and intent of Christ’s ministry to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. He could have avoided the cross… but He did not. He did not have to die, but He did. Yet, without His resurrection, it all means nothing.
His resurrection was a guarantee that there is more to life than the here and now... that there is life after death. He gave us the promise that where He is we can be also.
Think about it, if Christ did not rise from the grave, He would not have been any different from any other religious leader. He would not be any different from the Buddha, no better than Mohammed, no better than Confucius, Krishna or Apollo. Our religion would not be any different from any other religious cult.
There is one major thing that separates us from them. We serve a risen Savior. Christianity begins where religion ends – with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Some people have not experienced the power of the resurrected Savior. However, if Christ is not risen, the best you can do is spend eternity in hell. There would be no resurrection morning, there would be no marriage supper of the Lamb, there would be no mansion built for us in glory. We would be hopeless.
The cruel beating that Jesus received and the stripes that were placed on His back for our healing would all have been for nothing. The blood that flowed down from His brow where the crown of thorns was thrust on top of His head and the blood that poured from His nail pierced hands and feet would be of no effect. We would still be lost in our sins if Christ is not risen.
If you’ve never made a real commitment to live for Christ, this can be your day. Easter can have a new meaning for you; because this can be the day you leave the deadness of sin and come alive in Jesus Christ.
If you are only living for the moment, you are going to be greatly surprised when your moment ends. Every day people die and know for sure there is a real heaven and a real hell.
This Easter, I want to ask you, “What are you going to do with Jesus?” Will His death be for nothing for you or will you allow Him to impart resurrection life to you?
Listen to your heart, it is telling you to give it to Him.
Article submitted Friday, April 02, 2010 & read 618 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by Linda DeWitt (159 days 18 hours ago.)
Good article Mark. Happy Easter.Respond to this comment
» left by Mark Parsec(351)
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your comments. Hope you have a great Resurrection Day!
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