Originally Posted on March 31, 2018
In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJV) the Apostle Paul states: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” The word resurrection means arising from the dead. Jesus arose from the grave after He was crucified on the Cross for your sins and my sins and the sins of the world. His resurrection is the foundation for Christian faith, preaching, and hope. If Jesus wasn’t resurrected, then preaching the gospel as I am doing is a lie. Our faith has no meaning, and we have no hope concerning the future. The resurrection of Jesus is God’s final work in achieving His mission of world redemption. As our Lord breathed His last breath from the Cross He said: “Tetelestai”, which means “It is finished.” Jesus had completed God’s redemptive plan for mankind. He had been made sin for us who deserve to die. He suffered the penalty of God’s justice which sin deserved. 2 Corinthians 5:21(NKJV): “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Lee Strobel, a journalist and former atheist, states: “I went to a psychologist friend and said if 500 people claimed to see Jesus after he died, it was just a hallucination. He said hallucinations are an individual event. If 500 people have the same hallucination, that’s a bigger miracle than the resurrection.” Is the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus a reality in your life? If not, let it become real to you on this Easter Sunday as you repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior by faith!
Jeff Harvel 