|
| The Resurrection of Jesus Christ |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 31 March 2011 15:05 |
 The resurrection of Jesus Christ has been fiercely disputed, really ever since it happened. The devil knew that Christ could not be bound in death, but that would not stop him from claiming that He was. It is important to understand the truth of Christ’s resurrection, because it is vital to the work of Christ in our lives now. Christ Himself said that He would be raised: As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." (Matthew 17:22-23 ESV)
If He had not been raised, then He would have been a liar. His enemies, the Pharisees, knew this, because after they killed Him, they remembered what He had said and had a guard placed over His tomb (Matthew 27:62-66). But the guard was of no avail (Matthew 28:1-7), and Christ was proved to be the Truth. After Christ was raised from the dead, God the Father raised Him even farther; He raised Him to heaven, and seated Him at His right hand (a position of prominence and honor): But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12-14 ESV)
The resurrection and ascension of Christ showed that the offering He had made was sufficient for all His people for all of time. There was no need for Him to remain in the grave, because His death had satisfied the requirement of God’s justice. Christ’s resurrection and ascension are also important for us because of where Christ is now. All authority in heaven and on earth is His (Matthew 28:18), and everything that exists is obligated to honor Him as Ruler and Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). Jesus Christ is not only our King at the right hand of God the Father--He is also our Priest: Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. ... Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. (Hebrews 7:25, 8:1-2 ESV)
In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were made by the priests to show the people that sin requires atonement (Hebrews 10:1-4). When Christ came, He was the atonement for sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Since He rose from the dead, He stands in heaven to advocate for us before God the Father, and to testify that our sins have been taken away (1 John 2:1). Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34 ESV) We give thanks to God that Jesus Christ is not dead, but lives forever, and that in Him, we will also live forever. |
