He Is Risen

The entire story of humanity—from Adam and Eve through eternity—hinges on the events we celebrate this weekend.  On our own, we humans are helpless and hopeless in our sin.  But Jesus, as God incarnate, has come to rescue us.  For the joy of restored relationship with us, He died on the cross to pay our “sin ransom.”  And then He rose from the grave as the first fruit of the resurrection to eternal life that we will enjoy with Him.

Does it matter that Jesus’s death and resurrection really happened?  I would argue that the reality of Good Friday and Easter is, along with our receiving Christ’s work on our behalf, the only reality that matters.  The Apostle Paul has put it this way:

                        For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has

                        been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your

                        faith is worthless; you are still in your sins…. If we

                        have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all

                        men most to be pitied.  (I Cor. 15:16-19)

Thanks be to God.  The dead are raised, Christ has risen from the dead, and all who believe will be raised to eternal life with Him.

He is risen.  He is risen, indeed.