He Is Not Here; He Has Risen (Luke 24:1-12)
There are two tombs in Jerusalem that have been
claimed to be the place where Jesus' body was actually laid before he
was resurrected.
One is the Holy Sepulchre, located inside the Old City of Jerusalem, that has been claimed by the Catholic Church for long years; and the other is the Garden Tomb, located outside the Old City which was discovered by General Gordon on a visit to Jerusalem in 1883. The Protestants claim that this is the real place where Jesus' body was laid. There is a skull-shaped hill not far from the tomb as Scriptures tell us that Christ was crucified at Golgotha, which means "place of the skull."
And the author of the book of Hebrews also tells us in 13:12, "And Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood."
On the door of the Garden Tomb, there is a sign, saying, "He is not here for He is risen."
On the very early Sunday morning, the first day after the Sabbath, the women- Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others as are listed in verse 10-brought spices to the tomb where Jesus was buried. They wanted to put spices on the dead body of Jesus as a sign of love and respect.
Approaching the tomb, they remembered that the tomb would be closed with a large stone. So these women began to say to each other, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"
But when they arrived at the tomb, they found that the stone covering the entrance had been already rolled aside.
They entered the tomb and were shocked to find that the body of Jesus had disappeared. They were really bewildered and did not know what to do.
Then, suddenly, two men appeared to them clothed in dazzling robes, standing by their sides.
They were terrified by the sudden appearance of the two men and bowed low before them.
Then the men said to the women, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen."
The angels reminded the women that Jesus had accurately predicted all that what had happened to him:
"Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified , and that he would rise again on the third day?"
The resurrection of Jesus is the central fact of our Christian life and history.
The church has its vitality based on it.
Without the resurrection of Jesus there would be no Christian church today.
There would never have been Jesus' witnesses who were willing to give up their lives spreading the Gospel unto the end of the earth.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:14-15 says, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead."
The women rushed back to tell eleven disciples of Jesus and everyone else what had happened. Did the apostles believe the women?
No, of course not!
They, even including Peter, did not believe the women because the story told by them sounded like nonsense.
Some early manuscripts do not include verse 12, which says, "Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened."
Peter did not run to the tomb with assurance of faith about the resurrection of Jesus but with dubious mind. Even Peter was not sure whether the women's story was true. That's why he wondered to himself what had happened.
Later, Jesus appeared to the women, his disciples, and the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, and again to the seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus' opponents could not believe the rumor that Jesus was resurrected. So they claimed that his body was stolen by his disciples and that his disciples absurdly said that he was resurrected.
Today, the critics of Christianity did not deny the historical existence of Jesus. But, what they do challenge is its claims that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that He was raised from the dead.
Some begin by questioning if He was really dead when He was taken down from the cross. How do we know that Jesus was dead? Perhaps he only "swooned" and regained consciousness while in the stone tomb.
But, you should know that nobody can survive after hanging on the cross for six hours. Jesus Christ was almost dead being beaten severely by the Roman soldiers even before he was hanged on the cross, nailed on his hands and feet.
The Gospel of John witnesses in 19:33, "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. Blood and water were poured out from Jesus' body.
Hanging on the cross for six hours, being pierced at the side, pouring out blood and water cannot let any mighty man survive.
Then, his body was laid inside the stone tomb, and the entrance was blocked with a large stone. And the Roman soldiers were taking a guard there.
It was impossible for him to escape alive from the tomb.
The explanation for the disappearance of Jesus' body is rather obvious.
That Jesus has risen is a very obvious answer even to those who live now 2,000 years after the event.
Tertullian, one of the most famous church fathers, who had lived in the second and third centuries, speaks rhetorically of Jesus' death and resurrection in his book 『The Flesh of Christ』, which is one of my favorite quotations:
The Son of God was crucified. I am not ashamed because it is shameful.
The Son of God died. It is credible because it is absurd.
He was buried and rose again. It is certain, because it is impossible.
It is a shameful thing for the Son of God to be crucified, and it is an absurd thing for the Son of God to die.
It seems to be an impossible thing for any man to be resurrected.
Yet, seeing the reckless boldness of Jesus' disciples witnessing his resurrection at the cost their lives, it is a sure thing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is risen indeed.
Thomas, Jesus' disciple with many doubts, was very troubled with Jesus' shameful death on the cross.
But, when he saw the risen Jesus, he confessed, "You are my Lord and my God."
And he committed his whole life to the Lord with gladness.
According to a tradition, Thomas went to India to spread the good news, that is, Jesus came down on earth, lived among people, died for the people, and rose again on the third day.
He spread the good news to many people whom he met. However, at last, he was caught and killed by a spear, piercing into his body.
Yet, he was not afraid of his death at all.
He was not a selfish doubtful coward anymore. It's because he saw the risen Jesus Christ who loved him very much and was his Lord and his God.
Peter, seeing the risen Jesus, could be crucified with his body upside down.
There were so many Christians who were not afraid of being killed witnessing Jesus Christ as they saw or believed in the risen Jesus.
Believing and fixing your eyes on the risen Jesus Christ can definitely change your Christian life completely.
Believing the risen Jesus makes you commit yourself more to the Lord, serving him with your whole self not for worldly blessings but for his glory.
One of my teachers at the seminary was an excellent New Testament scholar. But, he could not believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
One day while he was teaching the New Testament Greek, he told the students with teary eyes, "Only if I could believe the resurrection of Jesus, ..."
He could not finish his sentence.
Do you believe in the risen Jesus?
Do you look to the risen Jesus Christ?
So are you prepared to give up your life for him?
You are the most blessed person whom the crown of righteous and the crown of victory are already guaranteed.
One is the Holy Sepulchre, located inside the Old City of Jerusalem, that has been claimed by the Catholic Church for long years; and the other is the Garden Tomb, located outside the Old City which was discovered by General Gordon on a visit to Jerusalem in 1883. The Protestants claim that this is the real place where Jesus' body was laid. There is a skull-shaped hill not far from the tomb as Scriptures tell us that Christ was crucified at Golgotha, which means "place of the skull."
And the author of the book of Hebrews also tells us in 13:12, "And Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood."
On the door of the Garden Tomb, there is a sign, saying, "He is not here for He is risen."
On the very early Sunday morning, the first day after the Sabbath, the women- Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others as are listed in verse 10-brought spices to the tomb where Jesus was buried. They wanted to put spices on the dead body of Jesus as a sign of love and respect.
Approaching the tomb, they remembered that the tomb would be closed with a large stone. So these women began to say to each other, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"
But when they arrived at the tomb, they found that the stone covering the entrance had been already rolled aside.
They entered the tomb and were shocked to find that the body of Jesus had disappeared. They were really bewildered and did not know what to do.
Then, suddenly, two men appeared to them clothed in dazzling robes, standing by their sides.
They were terrified by the sudden appearance of the two men and bowed low before them.
Then the men said to the women, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen."
The angels reminded the women that Jesus had accurately predicted all that what had happened to him:
"Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified , and that he would rise again on the third day?"
The resurrection of Jesus is the central fact of our Christian life and history.
The church has its vitality based on it.
Without the resurrection of Jesus there would be no Christian church today.
There would never have been Jesus' witnesses who were willing to give up their lives spreading the Gospel unto the end of the earth.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:14-15 says, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead."
The women rushed back to tell eleven disciples of Jesus and everyone else what had happened. Did the apostles believe the women?
No, of course not!
They, even including Peter, did not believe the women because the story told by them sounded like nonsense.
Some early manuscripts do not include verse 12, which says, "Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened."
Peter did not run to the tomb with assurance of faith about the resurrection of Jesus but with dubious mind. Even Peter was not sure whether the women's story was true. That's why he wondered to himself what had happened.
Later, Jesus appeared to the women, his disciples, and the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, and again to the seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus' opponents could not believe the rumor that Jesus was resurrected. So they claimed that his body was stolen by his disciples and that his disciples absurdly said that he was resurrected.
Today, the critics of Christianity did not deny the historical existence of Jesus. But, what they do challenge is its claims that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that He was raised from the dead.
Some begin by questioning if He was really dead when He was taken down from the cross. How do we know that Jesus was dead? Perhaps he only "swooned" and regained consciousness while in the stone tomb.
But, you should know that nobody can survive after hanging on the cross for six hours. Jesus Christ was almost dead being beaten severely by the Roman soldiers even before he was hanged on the cross, nailed on his hands and feet.
The Gospel of John witnesses in 19:33, "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. Blood and water were poured out from Jesus' body.
Hanging on the cross for six hours, being pierced at the side, pouring out blood and water cannot let any mighty man survive.
Then, his body was laid inside the stone tomb, and the entrance was blocked with a large stone. And the Roman soldiers were taking a guard there.
It was impossible for him to escape alive from the tomb.
The explanation for the disappearance of Jesus' body is rather obvious.
That Jesus has risen is a very obvious answer even to those who live now 2,000 years after the event.
Tertullian, one of the most famous church fathers, who had lived in the second and third centuries, speaks rhetorically of Jesus' death and resurrection in his book 『The Flesh of Christ』, which is one of my favorite quotations:
The Son of God was crucified. I am not ashamed because it is shameful.
The Son of God died. It is credible because it is absurd.
He was buried and rose again. It is certain, because it is impossible.
It is a shameful thing for the Son of God to be crucified, and it is an absurd thing for the Son of God to die.
It seems to be an impossible thing for any man to be resurrected.
Yet, seeing the reckless boldness of Jesus' disciples witnessing his resurrection at the cost their lives, it is a sure thing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is risen indeed.
Thomas, Jesus' disciple with many doubts, was very troubled with Jesus' shameful death on the cross.
But, when he saw the risen Jesus, he confessed, "You are my Lord and my God."
And he committed his whole life to the Lord with gladness.
According to a tradition, Thomas went to India to spread the good news, that is, Jesus came down on earth, lived among people, died for the people, and rose again on the third day.
He spread the good news to many people whom he met. However, at last, he was caught and killed by a spear, piercing into his body.
Yet, he was not afraid of his death at all.
He was not a selfish doubtful coward anymore. It's because he saw the risen Jesus Christ who loved him very much and was his Lord and his God.
Peter, seeing the risen Jesus, could be crucified with his body upside down.
There were so many Christians who were not afraid of being killed witnessing Jesus Christ as they saw or believed in the risen Jesus.
Believing and fixing your eyes on the risen Jesus Christ can definitely change your Christian life completely.
Believing the risen Jesus makes you commit yourself more to the Lord, serving him with your whole self not for worldly blessings but for his glory.
One of my teachers at the seminary was an excellent New Testament scholar. But, he could not believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
One day while he was teaching the New Testament Greek, he told the students with teary eyes, "Only if I could believe the resurrection of Jesus, ..."
He could not finish his sentence.
Do you believe in the risen Jesus?
Do you look to the risen Jesus Christ?
So are you prepared to give up your life for him?
You are the most blessed person whom the crown of righteous and the crown of victory are already guaranteed.
No comments:
Post a Comment