Fresh off the sobering week contemplating the last week of Christ’s life, we turn the corner to celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive! Death could not hold the Son of God. The grave held no sway over the power of the Holy Spirit. His resurrection gives hope and assurance to every believer. This world, with all of its sickness, disease, violence, and evil, will one day kill our bodies.
But by the power of our Lord Jesus, it can’t keep us in the grave either. The resurrection power of Christ lives in each one of us. His death demonstrated the dreadful fate of every man. His resurrection guaranteed eternal life to all who will surrender their lives to Him. Jesus is alive, and because He is, we too can live in eternity with our Creator.
No day brings more joy than Easter. It is the culmination of the ministry of Jesus. From the beginning, He knew His path would lead to a gruesome death. And yet He did not shy away from it, knowing that death is not the end. We tend to think of our dying as the final act of life, but it is only the beginning. Our view of reality is too limited, focusing on the temporal and physical. The truth is reality is much more revealed in the spiritual realm. God is spirit, so that is where true life resides. Our physical life is only a shadow of what our eternal life will be.
If Jesus were to have just loved us and been a great prophet, He would be worthy of our admiration, but not our lives. What separates Jesus from every other exceptional individual in history is that everyone else died and stayed dead. Jesus didn’t play by the rules of humanity. In his humanness, He did indeed die. But it was His spiritual Godliness that allowed Him to rise from the dead on His own accord. No one else has ever pulled that off, and no one ever will. Jesus is different because while He walked the earth as one of us, He is so much more than that. He is God, the Creator and Savior of the world.
If the resurrection of Jesus does not excite you and fill you with immense joy, it would tempt me to question the sincerity of your commitment to Christ. His resurrection changes everything. He died a death no one else could have died to provide a life no one else could have given. The sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf is amazing and jaw-dropping. But His resurrection trumps everything. His resurrection proves He is who He said He was and, therefore, can do everything He said He would.
Jesus is alive! Just saying that out loud brings an irrepressible smile to my face. My King, my Lord, my Savior lives. Satan could not defeat Him. Death could not hold on to Him. Jesus showed His love for us not only on the cross but also in His resurrection. He is alive so we might live with Him for eternity. How great must His love be for us to desire to have us ever near Him? Our response is simple and required. We cannot help but praise Him. We cannot help but live in thankful awe and reverence. Jesus is alive. Let’s make sure we spend our lives bringing glory to the only God who is and forevermore shall be. Jesus alone is the way. Jesus alone is the truth. And He alone is alive!