He Is Risen

Christians do not follow a dead man; they worship the risen Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely central to the Christian faith. If the resurrection is removed the whole edifice of Christianity collapses into a pile of dust. Christian preaching is useless, Christian faith is futile, the Christian claim of forgiveness is rendered void, the Christian hope of heaven is a make believe.

As St. Paul said, “If Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless and so is our faith. If the dead won’t be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life when he really did not…Unless Christ was raised to life your faith is useless and you are still living in your sins. And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.” (1Corinthians 15;14-15; 17-19)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, the belief in God's saving grace through Jesus is destroyed. When Jesus rose from the dead, he confirmed his identity as the Son of God and his work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. The resurrection was a real, literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead.

Both the Old and the New Testament speak of the truth of the Jesus being raised from death - Jesus testified of his resurrection before he died on the cross and his disciples witnessed his body after the resurrection. 

The Gospel of Mark gives this direct account of the fact and reality of the resurrection:

“1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just  sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ “(Mark 16:1-7)

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself  declares  in no uncertain terms, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

My friend come to Christ today, surrender your life to him, believe in him, the Risen Savior who is able to save.

Happy Resurrection Day.