Tag Archives: Luke 24

Because he lives..

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..at the first signs of dawn on the first day of the week, [the women] went to the tomb, taking with them the aromatic spices they had prepared. They discovered that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on going inside, the body of the Lord Jesus was not to be found. While they were still puzzling over this, two men suddenly stood at their elbow, dressed in dazzling light. The women were terribly frightened, and turned their eyes away and looked at the ground. But the two men spoke to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here: he has risen! Remember what he said to you, while he was still in Galilee – that the son of man must be  betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and must be crucified and must rise again on the third day.”

(Lk 24.1-7: JB Philips translation)

Stephen, filled through all his being with the Holy Spirit, looked steadily up into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus himself standing at his right hand. “Look!” he exclaimed, “the heavens are opened and I can see the Son of man standing at God’s right hand!”. At this [the Sanhedrin] put their fingers in their ears. Yelling with fury, as one man they made a rush at him and hustled him out of the city and stoned him… So they stoned Stephen while he called on God, and said, “Jesus, Lord, receive my spirit!” Then, on his knees, he cried in ringing tones “Lord, forgive them for this sin.” And with these words he fell into the sleep of death, while Saul (later Paul) gave silent assent to his execution.

(Acts 7.54-8.1: JB Philips translation)

Next day the colonel, determined to get to the bottom of Paul’s accusation by the Jews, released him and ordered the assembly of the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin. Then he took Paul down and placed him in front of them.  Paul looked steadily at the Sanhedrin and spoke to them, “Men and brothers, I have lived my life with a perfectly clear conscience before God up to the present day…… It is for my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!”

(Acts 22.30-23.1&6: JB Philips translation)

I was challenged this week, as to whether if I were put on trial for believing in the resurrection of the dead, as Paul was, would there be enough evidence to convict me? In other words, does my belief in the resurrection of Christ make a real and effective difference in the way I live, work, and look to the future?

Our meeting took some time to think about the question and came up with varied responses, all of which demonstrate how the resurrection changes those who put their faith in Christ as risen Saviour and Lord..

Because He lives – He prays for me continually to the Father, and intercedes for me; I am never alone in my need, or without access to help. Because He lives – I can die, as Stephen did: dying in faith and confidence that my death is but the brief transition into a life of glory which is utterly beyond my imagination, and which Christ has won for me. Because He lives – my future is secure, and I need have no fear in life. Because He lives – we can know that sin, death and the devil are defeated as our enemies and their power over us is broken. We are truly forgiven and accepted as God’s beloved children.

I invite you to consider what difference it makes to you, that Jesus rose from the dead that first Easter Sunday morning.  And I share this this much-loved song which expresses so many of the ways in which belief in a risen, and ascended Lord impacts on our lives as believers. May we take time today to thank God for the ways that belief in Jesus’ resurrection has changed, and continues to change us. May our lives become an ever clearer testimony to the power of that resurrection, as our foundation for living, and our motivation for mission. God bless you this Easter Sunday, with joy and great peace in his finished work of salvation.

God sent his Son, they called him Jesus, he came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon, an empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives..

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow, because he lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living, just because he lives.

And then one day, I’ll cross the river, I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory, I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know he reigns…

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow, because he lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living, just because he lives.

(W&G Gaither, 1971)

A sure and certain hope!

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Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…You are witnesses of these things.”

(Luke 24.44-48)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

(John 20.19&20)

Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him…God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear….therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

(Acts 2.22-24,32,33&36)

On the eve of Passover, as darkness fell, the city of Jerusalem returned to the business of preparation and observance of the coming feast, a great time of rejoicing and remembering God’s deliverance of the people from Egypt – when many signs and miracles had accredited Moses as God’s servant and they had trusted for deliverance.

The Pharisees and leaders of the religious community were hugely relieved that the trouble with Jesus of Nazareth was over just in time; the body was gone – it didn’t really matter where, there could be no doubts that he was dead because Roman executioners couldn’t risk getting it wrong. The people would forget soon enough, and be content to return to the routines of temple worship, of looking back to God’s faithfulness in the past, and looking ahead to the Christ, the Messiah who was yet to come in power to save them from Rome…

But life would never return to the old ways, because in the quiet tomb, out of sight and in the mystery of God’s power, the Messiah whom the people had so utterly failed to recognise – in spite of the signs and wonders he had done – was not to remain dead, his body would never decay and be gathered into a jar of dry bones for storage…

On the morning of the first day of the week, something happened in that forgotten corner of the city, something utterly outside human comprehension, when the eternal divine erupted into the temporal and earthly, and a dead man breathed again, walked again, talked again! In a body utterly transformed and yet immediately recognisable, he encountered his dearest friends and blew apart their grief, engulfing them in a joy and excitement beyond anything they could have imagined. He that was dead, now lived! The grave had been no more than a resting place for him, and now he was alive – more fully alive than anyone they had ever known.

I sometimes catch a hint of that incredible experience, can almost sense the wonder and the shattering power of realisation, as the women and men who knew Jesus so well held his hands, heard his voice and saw the love and joy and exultation in his eyes as he shared with them the victory which he had realised so completely.

I think we hear that sense of triumph in Peter’s words in Acts as he laid out with brutal clarity for the crowds at Pentecost just what God was doing when Jesus died. This life, this death and above all this resurrection were all God’s doing; in them the eternal plan for redemption was fulfilled. All the signs and wonders had been from God, showing that He was about to achieve a deliverance far greater than that of the Exodus, by means not of slaughtered lambs, but the sacrificial death of the perfect Lamb, the promised Messiah.

This life, death and resurrection are our sure and certain hope for the one deliverance we need – from our own sin and the penalty which it requires. The testimony of the disciples, so carefully recorded for us, is our foundation for belief, and on that we rest.

Today, I rejoice that my Lord lives; that the grave could never hold him; and because of him, I too may live. He has triumphantly completed his work, and I have everything I need. One day I too will know the resurrection power and exultation of a new and perfect body, but even now I can rejoice in the glory and power and mercy of my God, prostrate in wonder and love and soaked through with deep gladness and thanksgiving.

Hallelujah, Christ is risen!