Easter is an extraordinary celebration of Jesus’ empty tomb. While the world scoffs at the idea of believing in a Jesus that died and rose from the dead; for those who do believe, the blessings are innumerable.
Seven hundred years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied; “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him (Jesus); he (God) has put him (Jesus) to grief; when his (Jesus) soul makes an offering for (Our) guilt” (Isaiah 53:10).
Just as Jesus crucifixion was real, so the sin that He answered for was real also – but it was our sin, our guilt.
Likewise, Jesus wounds, both the physical wounds from the Roman soldiers, and the spiritual chastisement and separation from God were equally real. The wrath He took in our place was not pretend, it was not imagined – it was real, because our sin is real, and God’s judgement is real.
Personal recognition that it was your sin in Jesus on that cross is what makes Jesus death your death to sin. Therefore, Jesus death turns your guilt into peace with God. It changes separation from God to adoption into His family. It replaces fear of the unknown to assurance of what God says is certain.
The Christian faith is founded upon belief and confession “that Jesus is Lord and (you) believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead…” (Romans 10:9). If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, He’s not God. If He’s dead in the ground still, we are still dead in our sin awaiting judgement.
For believers, we surrender our lives to the Lord who is master over all of life and death. For Christians, the grave is NOT a dead end. It‘s for us to realise that should your body die, you have NOT fulfilled your part of God’s eternal plan for your eternal life until you are resurrected and given new bodies in preparation for spending eternity with Him. For God, it’s just as important to raise the saints from the grave as it was to raise His Son Jesus from the grave.
Paul explains the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44; “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” You will NOT be a clone or robot. You will still carry your unique bodily features and possess your unique personalities, but without sin. All forms of mortal imperfection and incompleteness shall be gone.
You shall be the same yet very different. Christ’s perfection; His holiness and His completeness shall be yours. Christ’s inability to sin will be your inability to sin. No more conflicts of interest or second guessing your decisions. Christ’s ability to glorify the Father shall be your ability to glorify the Father.
If you lack a sense of security when looking at the world, turn your eyes upon Jesus. If you want a hope that will lift your faith above the mockery of the unbelieving world, a hope that can overpower anxiety, a hope that will fill your entire being with expectation; then believe the promise of the returning resurrected Lord Jesus Christ!
I encourage you to embrace Jesus Christ who gives hope and certainty that lives past the grave.