Title: The Living Lord/Luke 24:1-12
Contents of the living Lord
Bible Text: Luke 24:1-12
The cross is central to Christianity. On this cross, Jesus Christ paid the price for the sins of all people in the world and opened the way for people to be saved. If anyone repents of their sinfulness to God and accepts Jesus as their Savior through faith, their sins will be forgiven and they will be saved. It is the resurrection of Jesus that guarantees this fact. The text records an event that occurred early in the morning on the day of His resurrection.
First, the resurrection is mankind's greatest hope.
Humanity had a dream to fly. I even wished to go to the moon. But the greatest hope is not to die and live long. Efforts to eradicate diseases are still ongoing, and for good health, I go jogging and hiking. In order to live a long life, cover food, eat and exercise. Health-related booklets, supplements, and equipment are selling hot.
In the old days, people mummified dead bodies in hopes of rebirth, but in modern times, vegetative humans or people who are about to die are frozen and processed while waiting for medical advances in the distant future. Modern medicine has something called senescence chemistry. This is the study of how to find the cause of aging and prevent aging and extend lifespan. However, even the root cause of aging is still not fully understood. Longevity and even resurrection for mankind still remain a dream.
Second, Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected.
Occasionally, there are interesting cases that claim to have died and then miraculously came back to life. It is said that the heart stopped beating for several hours and then recovered, or was unconscious for several days and then recovered. This is regeneration, not resurrection. Those who are regenerated must have a longer life span for a while, but they will die again someday.
Jesus was not resurrected in that sense. He was resurrected. And the resurrected One has been alive ever since, is alive today, and will live forever.
"...I am the first and the last, even the living; I was dead before, and behold, I live forever and ever, and have the keys of death and Hades" (Revelation 1:17).
Jesus prophesied of his resurrection several times during his lifetime. Not only modern people do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, but people at that time did not believe it, and even Jesus' disciples did not believe it. On the third day after Jesus died, the women who had followed Him came to the tomb at dawn to anoint His body with spices. But to their surprise, the large rock that blocked the entrance to the tomb had been moved to one side, and the body of Jesus that should have been in the tomb was not seen. The tomb was empty. Faced with a completely unexpected situation, an angel appeared to the bewildered women and announced His resurrection. They hastened to go to Jesus' disciples and tell the news, but they too did not believe at first (verse 11).
The resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples during the next 40 days.
“After He was harmed, He showed Himself to live by many sure proofs, appearing to them for forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God.”
And after that, the disciples boldly testified of the death and resurrection of Christ. Has anyone in human history ever died and rose again? Only God, the Creator, who gives life, can resurrect Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24). Through this resurrection event, God proved that Jesus was the Son of God and that everything He claimed was true (Romans 1:4).
Third, all people will be resurrected later, without exception.
People do not perish when they die. Jesus, the Son of God, said that those in the tombs would someday hear His voice and be resurrected. Those who are saved by accepting Jesus as their Savior will participate in the resurrection of life, and those who do not will participate in the resurrection of judgment and suffer eternally in hell. What kind of resurrection do you want?
"Jesus said to me, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)