HE IS THE LIFE
We don’t understand “life” very well. We are told to “Get all the gusto we can get!” or to “Catch the brass ring.” We are advised to get rich or famous! But is all that life? There is the old story of the man who became very rich. Unfortunately he learned that he was about to die. In his last will he requested that he be buried in his new Cadillac. The family sought to comply with his wishes and on the day of the funeral a bulldozer dug a very deep and wide pit in the cemetery. A hoist then lifted the Cadillac with the dead man inside and slowly lowered it into the grave. As the man in his Cadillac finally rested in the grave, a bystander was heard to exclaim: “Man, that’s really living!”
So obviously we don’t understand life very well and neither do we understand death. Yet, death is the “biggie” of our whole existence. The marvelous news of the gospel is that Jesus conquered death in the natural, spiritual and eternal senses. We see this reflected in his ministry, in that he raised many from the dead, including Lazarus of Bethany. What an astounding scene that must have been, as Lazarus wrapped like a mummy waddled out of the tomb. The news must have spread like wildfire all over nearby Jerusalem.
Yet the resurrection of Lazarus and the many others was nothing compared to the resurrection of Christ himself on that first Easter morning. All the people that Jesus raised physically eventually died again but the resurrection of Jesus was a spiritual and eternal resurrection with a glorified body. Jesus would never die again. He was raised from the dead by the power of God and he lives forever! This was the first time in history that anyone had been raised with a resurrection body and for this reason Jesus is called the firstfruits of all who are dead (1 Cor. 15:20).
There is no Christianity without the resurrection of Christ. In Romans 1:4 we read that he “was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.” The resurrection was proof positive that Christ was who he said he was. Neither was this resurrection something done in secret. It was very public and visible. He appeared to Mary, to Peter, James and then to all the disciples on more than one occasion. He then appeared to over five hundred brethren at one time (1 Cor. 15:6). Thus, Jesus appeared to hundreds of people in his resurrected body.
Some of the wise of this world still claim that the disciples faked the resurrection. When we read the Bible we realize that of all people the disciples really didn’t believe in the resurrection. Somehow it was hidden from them although Jesus had spoken to them about it on several occasions.
So today the leaders of other religions are rotting in their tombs but Jesus lives! That is the glory of the gospel and that is why the early Christians were so excited.
What can we do with this information? Let us dare to believe it and call on the Lord for salvation. The Bible says “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13). Everyone means drug addicts, sexual perverts, adulterers, thieves, murderers, and even people who think they have committed the unpardonable sin.
How do we call and receive it? We can say something very simple like “OK God,” or “Yes,” or “Sure,” or “Count me in God.” We can also say “Here I am Lord,” or “Jesus help me,” or better still “Jesus save me.” Again the scripture promises in Acts 16:31: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved– you and your household.”