He is Risen!
By Senior Pastor Prince
Guneratnam
“He is not here; He has
risen…” (Matthew 28:6). These words spoken by the angel to Mary Magdalene
changed her life and that of the disciples completely. From feeling fearful and
abandoned by their Master… from the trauma of seeing Him crucified and now
seeing the empty tomb, they realized the miracle of what He had said was
‘actualized’. One can hardly describe the feelings of joy and hope.
Because He lives, we shall also live. It is important to know that the resurrection
experience is for all mankind. Where we spend eternity is a choice each one
makes while we are here on earth. The coming of Jesus Christ into this world as
a Saviour offers this choice, without Him there is no choice. The Bible says,
“For the wages of sin in death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus
Christ our Lord” (Romans
The man who does not believe
and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour will be cast into the lake of
fire. It is a place of eternal separation from God and where Satan and his
angels will be punished forever (Revelation
In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus
tells a parable of a certain rich man and Lazarus, the beggar. The moral of the
story is not a teaching against wealth neither the teaching that it is a
blessing to be poor but that there is a place called heaven and hell. Hell is
real, so is heaven (Revelation 21).
In Luke 23:43, Jesus said to
the thief, “I tell you the truth, today you shall be with me in paradise.” Who
or what gave Jesus that authority? How could Jesus utter such words of comfort,
hope and assurance in the face of death and trying situations? There are three
reasons:
·
By Him Resurrection Was Visualized
Jesus not only saw the
resurrection power but also understood it. He believed God has the power and
authority over death. John 5:28 & 29 – “Do not be amazed at this, for a
time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear this voice and come
out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil
will rise to be condemned.”
In Philippians 3:10, Paul’s
desire was to know God and the power over His resurrection. Let us not just
sing hymns about the truth of His resurrection. Let us also allow the truth to
be a reality in our lives to transform us in times of difficulty or when we
face death.
·
By Him Resurrection Was Personalized
Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection.”
This is the source of his power and authority. It gave Him the ability to say,
“Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.” For years the resurrection had only
been symbolized by the process of nature, example, a seed and a caterpillar. The
seed that seems so dry and dead, yet when planted or buried in the ground,
springs up with life. There is also the caterpillar, which after some time goes
into a cocoon. As a little boy, seeing a cocoon was nothing more than just dead
dry leaves and looked seemingly lifeless. But in due time, the cocoon breaks
out and the caterpillar is turned into a beautiful butterfly (Isaiah 26:19).
Daniel 12:2 says, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake:
some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Jesus lived in this earth,
died and rose again. He Himself experienced the resurrection power. The first,
for all who will believe on Him. He is the resurrection and the life. The grave
could not keep Him.
·
By Him Resurrection Was Actualized
Jesus took the path of death
and conquered it. When Jesus raised Lazarus, that was not resurrection. Jesus
revived Lazarus; Elijah too brought a boy back to life. Resurrection is not
something dead that comes back to its old form again. When you are resurrected,
you live to die no more. When you are resurrected then there is no more death.
Romans 6:9 says, “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He
cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.”
We are the children of God
and this resurrecting power can then operate in our lives and make us new
creatures in Him. All things have passed away, behold all things become new. A
new life and never to die again (I Corinthians
No. 12, April – June 1991