He has Risen! He has Risen Indeed!
He has Risen!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Foundation of the Christian Faith.
Without the resurrection, the Cross is meaningless!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives hope to all the world. Lets take a look at this resurrection hope through the eyes of Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' followers. By observing a moment in the life of Mary, we will see the power and glory of our only Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Hope in the Midst of tragedy!
Take a long look at the world that we live in, remember 9-11, the London Subway bombings, the Tsunami, the recent major earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina, and many other natural disasters.
Let alone all of the Personal tragedies we all go through each Year!
We all need Hope!
Hope is the one thing that gets us all through...without Hope, we are utterly lost!
Matthew 28:1-10
The Resurrection
"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.' So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'"
Mary Magdalene:
Most likely she was a prostitute, she had an illness (the Bible is not specific as to what it was), she came from a despised city, she was single and living in a culture that was unfriendly to single women bettering their lives. And she was possessed by 7 demons!
Then she met Jesus of Nazareth!
He cast out the demons, healed her, and gave her hope of a better life!
Then, the man that gave her this wonderful hope was beat to the point of Death, despised, spit upon, made a public mockery, and hung on a cross until Dead.
In that moment...All Hope was gone!
Or was it?
Who would have blamed her for now going to the Tomb that Sunday morning? I certainly would not have!
But what if she had not gone? Just think about that! She would not have seen the Angels at the Tomb...let alone Christ, Alive!
But she did go...and here is what we can learn from her experience!
1. The hope of the resurrection intersects and interrupts our lives.
Vs. 8 "So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples."
Fear and Joy together can be found only in the presence of Hope!
The fear of not fully understanding what is happening, the fear of knowing that you saw Jesus die, but now seeing Him alive and talking with you! The Reverential Fear of knowing deep down in your heart that this man, Jesus...is God!
The Joy of Hope restored! The Joy of having your friend back! The Joy of knowing deep down in your heart that this man, Jesus, your friend...is God!
And then in Vs. 9 Seeing Christ face to face! What a Joy!!!
Mary went from Disaster to New Life and New Hope!
It was the same with Peter...from His denial of Christ in Luke 24 to New Life and New Hope!
It was the same with the rest of the disciples...from Broken and Hiding men to Changing the World with the Gospel of Jesus Christ...the Good News is not merely the Cross...moreso it is the Resurrection and the Hope of New Life that it brings!!!
2. The hope of the resurrection is the ONLY solution to life's ultimate disaster!
What is life's ultimate disaster? Eternity without Christ!
Are YOU prepared for Death? and I don't mean having a will and insurance!
Are you 100% sure that if you die you will spend eternity in Heaven?
Eternal life is not based on being good!
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 3:23-26
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Eternal Life is all about Christ and what He has done! He must be received into your Heart!
Romans 10:9-10
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
John 1:12
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,"
3. The hope of the resurrection must be responded to.
The resurrection is the most hopeful thing that has been offered to us!
There are 2 types of Fear!
A. Paralyzing Fear: Not accepting Christ and Eternal life that He offers!
B. Energizing Fear: The Hope of the Resurrection and a Personal Relationship with Christ!
Check out Vs. 9 again!
"And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him."
Jesus revealed Himself...then what? They came up to Him! We must go to Him as well!
They bowed down! We must bow our hearts and lives!
This is not a cold and stoic bowing, this is personal! As they bowed the took hold of his feet and worshiped him!!!!!
We can approach God and have a Personal Relationship with Him because of Christ!
Reverence and Intimacy = Personal Relationship with God!
It is not about us and what we can do!
It is about God, and what He has already Done!!!
Do you accept it?
In Christ,
David
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Foundation of the Christian Faith.
Without the resurrection, the Cross is meaningless!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives hope to all the world. Lets take a look at this resurrection hope through the eyes of Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' followers. By observing a moment in the life of Mary, we will see the power and glory of our only Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Hope in the Midst of tragedy!
Take a long look at the world that we live in, remember 9-11, the London Subway bombings, the Tsunami, the recent major earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina, and many other natural disasters.
Let alone all of the Personal tragedies we all go through each Year!
We all need Hope!
Hope is the one thing that gets us all through...without Hope, we are utterly lost!
Matthew 28:1-10
The Resurrection
"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.' So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'"
Mary Magdalene:
Most likely she was a prostitute, she had an illness (the Bible is not specific as to what it was), she came from a despised city, she was single and living in a culture that was unfriendly to single women bettering their lives. And she was possessed by 7 demons!
Then she met Jesus of Nazareth!
He cast out the demons, healed her, and gave her hope of a better life!
Then, the man that gave her this wonderful hope was beat to the point of Death, despised, spit upon, made a public mockery, and hung on a cross until Dead.
In that moment...All Hope was gone!
Or was it?
Who would have blamed her for now going to the Tomb that Sunday morning? I certainly would not have!
But what if she had not gone? Just think about that! She would not have seen the Angels at the Tomb...let alone Christ, Alive!
But she did go...and here is what we can learn from her experience!
1. The hope of the resurrection intersects and interrupts our lives.
Vs. 8 "So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples."
Fear and Joy together can be found only in the presence of Hope!
The fear of not fully understanding what is happening, the fear of knowing that you saw Jesus die, but now seeing Him alive and talking with you! The Reverential Fear of knowing deep down in your heart that this man, Jesus...is God!
The Joy of Hope restored! The Joy of having your friend back! The Joy of knowing deep down in your heart that this man, Jesus, your friend...is God!
And then in Vs. 9 Seeing Christ face to face! What a Joy!!!
Mary went from Disaster to New Life and New Hope!
It was the same with Peter...from His denial of Christ in Luke 24 to New Life and New Hope!
It was the same with the rest of the disciples...from Broken and Hiding men to Changing the World with the Gospel of Jesus Christ...the Good News is not merely the Cross...moreso it is the Resurrection and the Hope of New Life that it brings!!!
2. The hope of the resurrection is the ONLY solution to life's ultimate disaster!
What is life's ultimate disaster? Eternity without Christ!
Are YOU prepared for Death? and I don't mean having a will and insurance!
Are you 100% sure that if you die you will spend eternity in Heaven?
Eternal life is not based on being good!
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 3:23-26
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Eternal Life is all about Christ and what He has done! He must be received into your Heart!
Romans 10:9-10
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
John 1:12
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,"
3. The hope of the resurrection must be responded to.
The resurrection is the most hopeful thing that has been offered to us!
There are 2 types of Fear!
A. Paralyzing Fear: Not accepting Christ and Eternal life that He offers!
B. Energizing Fear: The Hope of the Resurrection and a Personal Relationship with Christ!
Check out Vs. 9 again!
"And behold, Jesus met them and said, 'Greetings!' And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him."
Jesus revealed Himself...then what? They came up to Him! We must go to Him as well!
They bowed down! We must bow our hearts and lives!
This is not a cold and stoic bowing, this is personal! As they bowed the took hold of his feet and worshiped him!!!!!
We can approach God and have a Personal Relationship with Him because of Christ!
Reverence and Intimacy = Personal Relationship with God!
It is not about us and what we can do!
It is about God, and what He has already Done!!!
Do you accept it?
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 12:22 PM
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