Alleluia Christ is risen! He is risen indeed alleluie!
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is in vain. If the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised… If in Christ, we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” These are the words of Saint Paul from First Corinthians chapter 15:13-19.
If the bodily historical resurrection of Jesus Christ did not occur in Jerusalem, in the manner that it has been recorded for us by the gospels, we should just go home. If these things did not occur, we would have no hope. We would remain dead in our sins. And there will be no heaven after we die. Jesus, rising on the third day, cannot be merely a minor detail tacked onto the end of the story. The entire Christian faith realize on the true story of Easter. Every Word recorded in the Scriptures. Every church built from the first century and onward. Every missionary sent. Every single church service. Every single baptism performed and Lord’s Supper celebrated. Every prayer prayed. It all depends on this. Because if Jesus were not raised from the dead, none of these things would have a purpose. And we would be the greatest fools of all.
But why is this so important? Well, what has Jesus said about His own death and resurrection? First, He says, “He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and be raised on the third day.”And, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, then whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Also, “If anyone keeps My word, he shall not taste death,” and finally, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.”
So if He is not raised from the dead, none of these promises apply to us. Yet, without a doubt, Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. This is what the eyewitnesses have testified. The women going on the first day of the week came to the tomb, and when they saw it, the stone was already rolled back. And when they entered the tomb, they saw an angel proclaiming to them that Jesus, who had been crucified, was risen and no longer there. He reminds the women that this is what the Lord Jesus told them prior, and now it has come to pass.
We must not forget that these two women were the first among many who saw the resurrected Christ before His ascension to on high. For He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to over 500 at once, some of whom lived afterward and spoke openly about what they saw. Then the Lord was also seen by James and all the apostles, and finally He appeared to Paul, the one who was untimely born. Even Jesus’ own Jewish opponents knew He rose, and they acted like it when they paid off the guard, they bribed Pontius Pilate to say that the body of Jesus was stolen by His disciples, and when that wasn’t enough, they persecuted the church, killing Stephen and many others. These are all signs given to us by God Himself that His Son lives victorious over sin, death, and the power of the devil.
Now, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the cause of our resurrection from death and sin. By faith in Christ, we will inherit the resurrection of body and soul on the day of our Lord. As Saint Paul calls Christ the Passover lamb “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” This saying is important for our salvation. Jesus is not compared to the entire harvest of the field or even a large portion of the fields’ bounty. Still, as amazing as His resurrection is, He has called the first—the first among many that will follow. This is prefigured in the book of Leviticus, where the Lord commanded that when Israel came to the promised land and harvested, they would bring the firstfruits to the Lord as a thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness, and that all that is received from the land comes from God. And after such an offering, the full harvest could take place.
As the Lord has accepted His Son as the first, we wait for His return with the multitude of His angels to gather all the saints of God, raised from the dead and glorified in their bodies, and to bring the harvest home to the new heavens and new earth. Yet still we, we are united to His resurrection here in time by faith and in baptism. By the water and the word, we are made one with Him, and His death is our death, and His resurrection is our resurrection. For this is where God washes us clean of our sins as the atoning sacrifice of Christ is accounted to us, and by His rising again, we receive His righteousness, holiness, and innocence as our own. And the forgiveness and righteousness that are put upon us are no less trustworthy and certain than the fact that Jesus lives never to die again.
As we are baptized Christians, we never truly depart from the grace and joy of Easter morning. Therefore, we should walk in the newness of life bestowed upon us in this lavish washing away of sins. Believing that the Lord Jesus is no longer in the grave but is alive, and knowing that our glorious resurrection awaits us, we should live in a way contrary to the dying world. This means acknowledging sin and repenting of it because those dead things do not belong to eternal life. Also, forgiveness, as Christ paid the penalty, we are able to forgive those who sin against us. And finally receive suffering and trials from the Lord with joy, as the Lord endured the cross joyfully, knowing the resurrection would follow. For you, dear Christian, do these things because our hope is found in Jesus Christ, risen just as He said.
Since He has been risen on the third day, we trust in the certainty of the hope that is still to come; just as Christ has been raised, we will also be raised on the last day. The work of God through the Holy Spirit that has begun in us in the Sacrament of water and life will be fulfilled on the day of our Lord’s appearing. There we are alive and remain until His coming, will by no means perceive those who are asleep, resting in their graves. For the Lord God Himself will descend from heaven, with a shout, the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will be raised first. Then we are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
What a glorious morning we await, an Easter for us all. Today, the Lord God has accepted His Firstfruit, Jesus Christ, by His own glorious resurrection from the grave. This means that the Lord’s harvest will soon begin, and the resurrection for us all will soon be near. For this, we can say “Alleluia Christ is risen! He is risen indeed alleluie!”
St. John's and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Parish 