Christ Is Risen

After a sinless life, always doing the will of his Father, Jesus Christ gave his life for us. He was dead and buried. Then God fulfilled His promise and raised him, as the angel declared on that glorious day.

Matthew 28:6:
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Christ is Risen—What it Means

Jesus Christ’s resurrection declares him to be God’s Son with power.

Romans 1:3,4:
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Christ is Risen—Jesus Believed God Would Do It

During his life upon earth, Jesus studied God’s Word and learned that God would raise him from the dead. He knew from Psalm 16 that he would not be left in the grave (Psalms 16:8-11). He knew that like Jonah, God would raise him from the dead after three days and three nights (Jonah 2:1-10; Matthew 12:40).

Jesus spoke of his resurrection to his disciples during his earthly ministry.

Matthew 17:9:
And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Matthew 20:17-19:
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Matthew 26:32:
But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

He boldly spoke of his resurrection to those who opposed him.

John 2:18-22:
Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
But he spake of the temple of his body.
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Christ is Risen—Jesus’ Apostles Declared God Had Done It

As an apostle, Peter spoke of the risen Christ on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:24,32: 
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

Peter taught that God raised His Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead to bless us. In him we have remission and forgiveness of sins.

Acts 3:26: 
Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

The Apostle Paul showed from the scriptures that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

Acts 17:2,3:
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Christ is Risen—What It Means to Us Today

God did raise Jesus Christ from the dead. When we believe it, and confess him as our lord, we are saved. We have eternal life.

I Corinthians 15:20:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Romans 10:9:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

This very day, the risen Christ sits at the right hand of God and makes intercession for us.

Romans 8:34:
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

As our intercessor and lord, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to justify us.

Romans 4:25:
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

We can walk each day in glorious newness of life—like Christ was raised from the dead by God’s glory!

Romans 6:4:
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and set him at God’s own right hand. And now we are raised and seated together with Christ in the heavenlies.

Ephesians 1:20; 2:6:
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Christ is Risen—We Look Forward to His Return

From our position with Christ seated in the heavenlies, we can keep our focus on things “above” and joyfully anticipate Christ’s return.

Colossians 3:1:
If [since] ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

I Thessalonians 1:10;4:16,17:
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

What great thankfulness we can have, each and every day, as we walk in newness of life because Christ is risen!