The Risen King

Two-thousand years ago, an astonishing event in history occurred. It was so significant that recorded history became defined as B.C.--"Before Christ" to A.D.--"Anno Domini" (Latin for "the year of our Lord). It was an event that not only changed the references on our calendars, but it so completely changed the hearts and lives of eleven men, to the point that all but one of them died as martyrs.

About a fifteen minute walk from the center of the city of Jerusalem, Israel, there lay an empty tomb. I've run into people who didn't know very much about Jesus. But even two-thousand years of history, much of mankind knows about that empty tomb, and even have a general (if somewhat flawed) notion of what the Gospel is. There is a body of evidence to go along with that empty tomb, evidence that has led millions of people to repent of their sins and place their trust for eternal salvation in Jesus Christ. Many of those are lay people like myself, but plenty were highly educated and had the skills to investigate what the Bible says, and evaluate its truths. I mention that because there have been and still are, those who attempt to debunk the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How does all of this affect our lives? What does it mean to us?

"14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15 Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. 18 Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone." 1st Corinthians 15:14-19

This man who left that tomb empty was unique in the extreme. Other than He, through all of history, there has never been any philosophical or religious leader who has ever been proclaimed to be a risen Savior. Rather, many religious leaders have at their grave sites, shrines. Their dead and decayed bodies lie within, with nothing but their man-made religion to mark their passing.

That Jesus rose from the grave proves that He was sent by God, and that what He spoke was precisely what God wanted us to hear. There was no one like Him, and His resurrection shows His authenticity as God's Son. "who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 1:4

His resurrection shows that unlike anyone else, He is the one and only way to God, the only one who can provide access to the Father. He claimed to be the way, the truth and the life everlasting, and that He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Apart from all man-made belief systems, whether philosophical, political or religious, Christianity is based on the historical acts and facts contained within the Bible. All other belief systems are based upon the teachings of their respective founders. Islam is based upon the teachings of Mohammed. Buddhism is centered on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. Confucianism on the teachings of Confucius. Marxism on Karl Marx and so on and so on. These were mere men. Jesus was more than a man. He was fully man, but He was fully God, too. Christianity is founded upon Jesus Christ, the architect of creation and redemption. It is based not upon strictly what Jesus taught, but upon who Jesus is, and upon what He did. These gave His teaching authority, and showed His words alone to be absolutely true. This is why as believers we stand upon and hold fast to what Jesus taught.

His resurrection means that we should place our faith in Him to save us from God's wrath toward our sins. It means that we should place our trust in Him as the only one who is able to give us the gift of eternal life, and restore us to a relationship with an infinitely holy God. The Apostle Peter wrote, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.” That empty tomb means that our Savior is alive, and that although He is set down with the Father in His throne, exalted, that He is also with us in His Holy Spirit, and that He wants to fellowship with us. We should be seeking Him out and confessing our sins to Him, and asking Him to take control of our lives in every respect, because as the Lord God, He has the sole right to lead us, and direct our lives as we fellowship with Him.

What we should be living is a total, living sacrifice to Him. That empty tomb proved that He is the Creator God who must have preeminence in each of our lives. Anything less is just not logical. Their is no place for complacency on our parts. A half-hearted approach to the very Lord God and Creator of the universe is an insult to Him. Our life is supposed to be a sacrifice, as our reasonable service to God, not just a tip of the hat to Him, while we are living the rest of our lives. The joy of our risen Lord is our strength and, recognizing that, we must never fail to commit ourselves to doing His work.