He Is Risen!Sample

What Does the Resurrection Mean?

In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul, himself a witness of the resurrected Christ, imagined the implications of a reality in which Jesus has not risen. It’s a chilling passage that paints a picture of a bleak and hopeless world. He said that if Jesus is still dead, preaching and faith are useless (v. 14), the disciples are false witnesses (v. 15), we are all still in our sins (v. 17), the dead are gone forever (v. 18), and those who believe are the most pitiful of all people (v. 19). But then, in Verse 20, Paul changed the tone with this amazing declaration that makes all the difference: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (NIV). Early Christians would greet one another with Paul’s words! In place of “hello,” a believer would say, “Christ is risen,” and the other would respond, “He is risen indeed!”

Jesus Christ did rise from the grave! He is risen indeed! The resurrection was God’s supernatural vindication of what Jesus did for us. It means Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be—the Son of God, sent into the world so we could have forgiveness, full and free. The resurrection means God accepted Jesus’ death in our place on the cross. It means Jesus was ultimately victorious over sin, death, hell, and the grave. Because death couldn’t hold Him, because sin has no power over Him, and because Jesus is alive, we have great hope in Him! The Bible says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). That hope is “an anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19).