The Son Has Risen!

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.” Matthew 28:5,6 (ESV)

Easter is upon us once again, the day the church has chosen to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

When most of us speak of Christ's resurrection it is with a view to the change we will experience when we meet Him in the clouds (1^st Thessalonians 4:17). But the historical event of the eye-witnessed bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead is the hub around which our Christian faith revolves. Without it our belief is futile and we should be pitied (1^st Corinthians 15:17-19).

Did you know there are 103 times in the Bible where God the Father, and God the Son tell us not to be afraid? Matthew tells us at the resurrection there was an earthquake and the appearance of heavenly beings announcing the event. The men guarding the tomb were so frightened they fell down 'as dead men' (28:4). People are still afraid of Him today. Maybe not falling down as dead men, but to the point they refuse to investigate the evidence of those who were there and wrote their accounts. Some might be afraid of negative peer pressure, of being ostracized by friends and family, physical harm, or having their unrighteous lifestyles cramped.

Today all the claimed burial sites of the historic figures of the Bible are empty, if they can even be found, and some will say “So what?”. But there is one that yet remains an empty evidence, its existence hovers at the back of the mind an ever distant perplexity that there might be something to it.

If God's word is true, and it's proved itself to be so many times over, then that nagging little voice may be telling you something you need to hear. An empty tomb or an empty heart that refuses to stay filled? If you've been whistling in the dark concerning Christ I'm here to tell you there's good news. The Son has risen. Take another look. The tomb stands empty in the Light. He is alive. All you need to do is accept Him and believe He is God's supreme sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins. That is the good news of the gospel in an empty tomb. He is not there for He has risen indeed.

Ken