Up From the Grave He Arose

Not there?

It’s not possible!

No one rises from the grave!

Stories have been told. Songs have been written. Poetry has been crafted in such a way so that its meaning would beautifully express the authors concept of the power of the resurrection.

Time stood still on Friday last. Today, time was engaged in rewriting history. It was Sunday and the tomb was empty.

For centuries, men of old, men inspired by God’s Spirit, proclaimed and wrote that a King would come, die and be raised again on the third day. But they were just stories. There was no evidence that what they proclaimed was truly going to come to pass. Surely no one really believed that the Messiah, the promised Savior of all mankind, would die upon a rugged cross, be buried in a borrowed tomb, and then proceed to be raised from the grave.

Within the heart of all of us, we want to believe that there is something greater than death. The unknown tomorrow’s frighten us all. Its secret dominion over our mortality causes us much anxiety and fear. We don’t like to not know about our future. The shadowy darkness is too sinister for us.

Death has a gruesome sound to it. We don’t delight in talking about it. It is not what we focus our daily lives upon. We would sooner talk about life and its fulfilling joys that it can bring than to spend too many moments speaking of death. But death is the reality of life. You can’t hide from it. You can’t tell it to wait. No matter how hard you try, no matter what medications you take to try and slow it down, death will always have its way.

But not always.

Death came to Jesus on that dark, God forsaken day. But death didn’t get the last word. Not this time.

The scene was set. The powers of darkness stood guard over the entry to the tomb. Death’s grip was strong and steady. The clock was ticking and all of eternity was poised for this moment. Who would win this battle of death?

Up from the grave he arose!

No power on Earth or in hell would be able to withstand the Creator’s sovereign ability to raise the One who had proclaimed his right to conquer sin and forgive mankind. No one, no ruler, no power would stand in the way of our redemptive Savior from finishing the work of defeating death’s hold on us. 

The earth shock. The demons screamed as they fled away. The stone slowly moved aside as the One, the King of kings and LORD of Lords, stepped out of death’s tomb and walked into the light of a new day. The day of all days. The greatest of all moments. Perhaps even greater than creation itself. 

Jesus was alive!

His position of authority over life and death, heaven and hell, was restored. His place of honor was exalted. He would once again be established as the King who would bring life back into his greatest creation. Mankind was being offered forgiveness. The once broken relationship with their Creator had been restored. Heaven’s door was once again opened to us. The Angels sang. The seraphim shouted in one accord as they proclaimed peace to all mankind. The Prince of Peace had reclaimed his rightful place. Order had been restored. The enemy had been defeated and Jesus stood, exalted and glorified as the risen Savior.

The resurrection was the moment when God once again breathed life into his creation. The power of the resurrection lives in the person of Jesus, the Christ. That same resurrection power is ours when we humbly bow before this sovereign LORD and acknowledge our need of his life transforming power to raise our dark, broken, sin-filled hearts. 

The resurrection breathed life into Jesus. The resurrection can breathe life back into your soul as well. The same power that it took to raise Jesus from the dead, is the same power that can raise you from death’s cold, hard grip. There is power, wonderful working power in the resurrection.

The resurrection has the power to save; the power to change lives; the power to give life; the power to raise us up from the grave.

Jesus rose so that we might never die alone.

May you know such love. And may you have the assurance that death no longer has a hold on you.

Jesus rose to give you life…everlasting life.