RESURRECTION SUNDAY - HE LIVES!

From the Board of Elders

Dear Members in Christ,

Resurrection Sunday - He lives!

“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins”. 1 Corinthians 15:14,17

Last Friday evening, we celebrated Good Friday. We remembered the events leading to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, death and burial.

This morning is Resurrection Sunday. An important historical event that undisputably confirmed that the Lord Jesus Christ is not only man BUT also God. Jesus was born of virgin Mary. He lived and walked among man for 33 and a half years. He gave His life for sinful man in order that sinful man may be redeemed back unto God the Father.

With His precious blood shed on the cross at Calvary, man’s sins were cleansed and purged away. Man is now made clean and righteous before God the Father. Man is now adopted by God the Father as His sons. God remembers the sins of man no more. Man has been imputed with the garment of righteousness of Christ. He is saved unto Christ! This is the message of the Gospel of Salvation.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Romans 5:12 & 18

There is no dispute that the Lord Jesus Christ was a historical figure. From the early writings found in historical records, the man Jesus indeed existed. 

For Christians, God had inspired and preserved His Word, the Bible, for man to know Him. The Bible consists of 66 books, also known as the Scriptures. It was written over 60 generations and a span of 1,600 years by some 40 writers, in 3 continents (Asia, Africa, Europe) and in 3 different languages i.e. Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

In order for man to know, understand and worship God, the Bible is translated and made available in most languages known to man. For the English speaking community, the most faithful and accurate English language Bible is the King James Bible (KJB). Its purity and clarity of which is without challenge. Do not let anyone give you any reason in not using the KJB as the basic Bible to study God’s Word. You may say that the KJB’s English is archaic and difficult to understand. Let it be assured that the Holy Spirit and your persistency in using the KJB prayerfully and consistently over time, will “see” you having “no problem” with the English.

Unbelievers deny the resurrection of Christ. They say that Jesus did not die on the cross! What blindness of eyes and hearts! Records from the Bible proved otherwise. Jesus, as a man, indeed died on the cross!

He died on the Cross:

Evidence 1: Jesus died! The sword which pierced the side of Jesus would have killed Him even if He was not dead earlier. “ … But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:31-34.

Evidence 2: Jesus died since He was wound up in a hundred pound of mixture of myrrh and aloes and in linen clothes with spices! Have you seen pictures of a body wrapped up in linen clothes? If you had, you would have no difficulty to accept that even if the person was not dead, yet with the wrapping up of the body, from head to toe, with a hundred pound of myrrh, aloes and spices in linen clothes would have suffocated the person to death. Indeed, there is no question that Jesus died! “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.” John 19:38-40.

Evidence 3: Jesus would have died in the tomb for the lack of air. The tomb’s mouth was sealed off with a great stone and Roman soldiers watched over the tomb to ensure that Jesus’ dead body stayed inside the tomb. “And laid it (Jesus’s wrapped body) in his (Joseph of Arimathaea) own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” Matthew 27:60 & 66.

These 3 evidences would be sufficient to confirm that Jesus, as a man, died on the cross and was buried in the tomb. He could not have lived!

He lives!

Now, let us examine some of the evidences that proved beyond doubt that Jesus, though dead, resurrected 3 days after His burial. He lives! 

Evidence 1: Jesus had risen! Jesus’ tomb (also known as sepulchre) was empty. He arose! “In the end of the sabbath … came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay … that he is risen from the dead;” Matthew 28:1, 6&7.

Evidence 2: The resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples. His pierced hands and side convinced the disciples that he was the same Jesus whom they followed and died on the cross. "… the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst … he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” John 20:19-20.

Evidence 3: Jesus appeared 10 times to His disciples over a 40-day period and once after His ascension to Paul “And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once … was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

The Resurrected Christ:

Are we not glad that we worship a true and living God? The Lord Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead. He lives! We who are believers will also not die but will rise from the dead when our time on this earth is done. In fact, the resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms all the doctrines of the Christian faith.

Thus, on this Resurrection Sunday, believers rejoice and thank God for the message of salvation and of eternal life. We pray that those who are unaware, ignorant or resisting the good news of salvation will come to repentance and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal God and Saviour. Do not delay. Today is the appointed time! Speak to us and we will be glad to share the gospel message. You too can live in Christ and have eternal life as the second death (separation from God and eternal condemnation in the Lake of Fire) has lost its power over you. To God be the Glory.

 

In Christ,

Eld Choe Tong Seng