Resurrection Sunday

 Sunday:  The Resurrection.  Mk. 16, Mt. 28, Lk. 24, Jn. 20, 21

He lives!  Do not look for a dead Jesus.  You cannot find Him in a tomb.  He is no longer on the cross.  When preaching the gospel I must always remember that while the death of Jesus is wonderful and necessary I cannot leave Him there.  He is not dead—He is alive!  I am afraid that, at times, we expect to find a dead Jesus in our religion, faith, church, or life.  All too often there is no energy to what we believe.  We are going through the motions of religion without experiencing its life.  We have “a form of religion but deny its power.”  Such a lack of power can come when we have no expectation of God’s presence.  If we will listen carefully however, we can hear the angel say, “You are looking for Jesus who was crucified, He is not here (dead in a tomb) He is risen!”  When it literally dawns on us that Jesus is alive then everything changes: our mood, our perspective, our witness, our life. 

Because He lives we will live also.  And He will energize our lives with His resurrection power!  “The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead” will live in us when we trust Christ as Lord and Savior.  He is not a dead historical figure.  He did walk this earth and He did die but overcame the tomb.  And now He wants to live in our hearts.  Invite Him into the dead areas of your life.  Declare Him Lord and see the miracles He can do in your life.  Let your life be a “Hallelujah” to Him.

Let us “go to Galilee.”  There we will see Him.  Go back and read the pages of the gospels with the perspective that Jesus is alive.  What He did for the people in the Bible He can do for you.   Let Him heal you, calm the storms in your life, turn the water of drudgery into the wine of joy, provide for you, and teach you.  He will be your Shepherd, Bread, Light, Way, Truth, and Life.  He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  You will find Him in the scriptures for they bear witness of Him.  But trust Him to come off the pages and into your heart and you will experience His resurrection power.

He wants you to tell Him you love Him.  Worship the once-crucified but now-risen-Lord with all that you have.  Respond to His life by telling others about Him.  This is the gospel:  Jesus is alive and He will bring life to all those who are dead and want His life.  The gospel is good news.  News, in order to be news, must be told.  We have the greatest news in the world!  And they really want to hear it.  If you discovered a cure for cancer, you could not keep it a secret.  You would not only have a moral obligation to tell others but also the shear excitement would compel you let the world know.  We have something better than a cure for cancer!  We have the cure for death!  How can we not tell such news?

The angel told the women.  The women told the disciples.  The disciples told the world.  The disciples told the world.  The rest is history!