HE IS NOT HERE; HE HAS RISEN! -- Pastor David Tsai

​1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; He has risen!” (Luke 24:1-6, NIV)

The final verses of Luke 23 record the actions of several faithful women who had followed Jesus. After seeing where and how he had been entombed, they gathered spices and ointments to honor His dead body. They did this on Friday, but did not go to Jesus’s tomb until Sunday because they rested on the Sabbath “according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). On Sunday morning, the women brought their spices to the tomb, yet they did not find Jesus’s body. The body of Jesus, who died a terrible death on a Roman cross, was not to be found in the tomb where He had been buried. This was perplexing to them. But all of a sudden two angels appeared to the women, saying, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” (24:5).

Here is the core of Easter truth, the reason for the Easter celebration. Jesus truly died and was truly buried. But He was not in His grave because “He has risen!” The Greek verb translated here as “has risen” is a passive verb. A more literal translation would be “He is not here, He has been raised!” Jesus did not raise Himself from the dead. No, God raised Jesus from the dead, thus breaking the power of sin and death. In this miracle, God vindicated His Son. God broke the bondage of sin and death. God began a whole new chapter of history, one based on the truth of the resurrection of Jesus.

For centuries, Christians have celebrated the resurrection by a traditional dialogue, the so-called Paschal Greeting. One person says, “Christ is risen!” The other responds, “He is risen, indeed!” There, in a nutshell, is the good news of Easter. There is the news that rewrites history. There is the news that changes everything.

Though the resurrection of Jesus happened almost two millennia ago, it still has the power to change everything. And it’s all based on the simple good news: Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! It can turn unbelief into faith, pessimism into hope, defeat into victory. The resurrection reassures us that, no matter how hard things are in this life, there is a life to come. The resurrection shows us that God wins and so will we. Because of the resurrection, everything changes. What difference does the resurrection of Jesus actually make in your life?

So much more could be said about the resurrection, its meaning, and implications. But, today, I’d like to conclude by focusing our attention on the simple truth, the basic good news of Easter.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Lord Jesus, You are risen! You are risen, indeed! What marvelous good news!
I praise you today as the One who died so that I might live.
I praise you for your victory over sin, suffering, and death.
I praise you for being the One who makes all things new.
All praise, glory, and honor be to You, Lord Jesus, the Risen One.