As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I am thankful for four great reasons to be excited about what happened one Sunday morning 2,000 years ago.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we receive compassion, power, glory, and hope from the God of all comfort.
1. The Resurrection of Jesus Displays the Compassion of God
Our lives are filled with pain, sorrow, and suffering. We are “born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:8). And we don’t have to go far to see the evidence of that – look how vulnerable we are to sickness and death; microscopic organisms wreak havoc on us daily. No matter how strong we think we are, we are truly frail human beings. Our lives hang by the thread of God’s sovereign grace. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
Paul laments the plight of living in a mortal body while proclaiming the promise of a resurrected body: 22 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.” (Romans 8:22-24)
God is the Redeemer of both soul and body from the corruption caused by sin. This is the good news of the Gospel! This is the love, mercy, and grace of God on display.
2. The Resurrection of Jesus Unleashes the Life-Giving Power of Jesus
Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, so will He raise us from the dead. “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).
Jesus foretold the bodily resurrection of all people, some to eternal life and some to eternal condemnation:
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:24-29)
3. The Resurrection of Jesus Anticipates the Future Glory of God’s People
What will it be like to “hear the voice of the Son of God . . . and live”? (John 5:25). It means that we will become like Jesus, with a resurrected body like His.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)
We will receive “a spiritual body” that replaces our decaying “natural body” (1 Corinthians 15:44). We will be like Jesus and never sin again, nor will we suffer the physical or spiritual effects of sin. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
4. The Resurrection of Jesus Guarantees the Eternal Hope of God’s People
My friend, this is what eternity has in store for us. For the believer, the best is yet to come. Therefore, we have hope, and this hope motivates us and sustains us to persevere to the end.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory . . . 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-54, 58)
I trust you find these truths a source of much encouragement and joy today. If so, let me know by leaving a comment below.
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