Sunday, March 1, 2009

The Cross of Christ Pt. 6 - The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

One day, I was over at my Grandma's house and I was flipping through the channels of the television. I found one very interesting channel (PBS) of a party search in route of finding the body of Jesus. At that moment, you could hear me laughing a mile away. Who are these people? Don't they know that Jesus body is gone. It is gone. He tells us that in the Bible. I continued watching it, while shaking my head over and over again. They never found his body during the program and nobody will every find his body, because it has been raised up and eternally glorified.

Luke 24:4-7 sums it up, "While they were perpelexed 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? HE IS NOT HERE, BUT HAS RISEN. 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.'

He is not in the tomb. He has risen just as he said (Luke 9:21,22; Luke 18:31-34; Mark 8:31; Mark 9:30-32; Mark 10:32-34; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22,23; Matthew 20:17-19). Those verses show Jesus' prophecy of his death and resurrection. Anyways, the point that I am trying to make is that JESUS HAS RISEN. He is ALIVE, not dead. He is alive in heaven preparing a place for those who believe in Him and hold fast to His words. This subject raises up another question. Since he is alive, what is the relationship between his death and resurrection. The answer lies within Jesus' perfection.

The one who knew no sin became sin on our behalf. He did not die for his sins. He was perfect. He died for the sins of those who reviled and despised Him. He became the sin-bearer, not the sin-sinner. Ezekial 18:20 says, "The soul who sins shall die." Jesus died because he became identified with our sin. With that being said, Jesus' death was not a result of His sins. He was sinless. He never ever sinned, not even once, but he was tempted like no man has or ever will be tempted; because Satan knew that if he could make Jesus slip one time. The whole human race would be lost forever. Think about that. We slip everyday and Jesus, throughout his 33 years of life, never slipped once. Amazing! Only God could ever do that and that partly proves Jesus' divinity. Jesus' divinity is proven all throughout Scripture from his birth, life, death, and resurrection; but not sinning once; proves something. He never told a lie, never cheated, never had an impure thought, never hurt anybody with a slanderous comment, never had a defilement type anger. He was perfect and holy throughout his tenure on earth. So, what is my point? Since Jesus died as the sin-bearer and not for His own sins, he must be alive. Reread the Ezekial passage again, "The soul who sins shall die." Jesus never sinned, so in fact, he must be alive. How is He alive? He rose from the dead. He is risen in victory over the grave, over death, and over the enemy. 1 Corinthians 15:54b says, "Death is swallowed up in victory." Why is that? Because of Jesus' death and resurrection. HE IS RISEN VICTORIOUSLY!!!! His perfect life paved the way for His resurrection and His ultimate glorification. Praise Him!!!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, is by far, the most significant event in the history of the universe in proclaiming Jesus' divinity. The resurrection cries forth the divinity of Christ. He ultimately conquered death, demolished sin, destroyed fear from His future followers, and vanquished Satan. He, pretty much, carried the sins of the world upon His shoulders, died, and did not stay dead. Who wants to serve a dead God? I am serious. He rose again to prove to others that He is God. Death cannot hold Him, Satan does not have any control over Him, nothing can stop Him; He is God and that is final. End of story. HE IS RISEN, ALIVE, AND VICTORIOUS OVER EVERY CREATURE AND PIECE OF CREATION. Praise Him forever and ever. Astounding and Awesome is our God.

Before I finish, we cannot end the cross of Christ series without talking about Jesus' return. His first coming consisted of Him taking on the form of human flesh and Him being known as the humble servant. His second coming is going to be much more dramatic. He is coming as the KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS. He is coming to crush and destroy every evil force on this planet to set up His kingdom on a new earth. He will come to initiate justice and order on the new planet. He is coming soon. Repent and Believe for the Kingdom of heaven is near.

Soli Deo Gloria!!!!








2 comments:

Josh said...

Joshua,
This post fills me with such hope!
Intresting that people who study enough to set out on a search, completely overlook the fact that he was risen from the dead on the third day...
I can't wait for the coming "Cross of Christ" post on His return!!! I love reading about the rapture and the gathering of His bride( the church). It fills me with such excitement!

God Bless,
Josh

susanwalkergirl said...

Joshua,

People will do just about anything they can to deny God. The One to Whom they will one day give an account. Even if they have to twist the truth, common sense and reality. Praise God that He has saved and redeemed those who believe in His Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Otherwise we would follow a similar fate. I came to Christ late in my life. Praise God...you were saved at a young age and Lord willing will have many years to bring Him glory, honor and praise with your life.

Lord's blessings...Susan