Why Did He Need to Rise?
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.” Matthew 28:1-10
Jesus did great things while He walked on the earth. He healed many, giving people back their lives, their brothers, their daughters. He taught many people how to forgive, how to love, what it means to live for God. This in itself left a great legacy. He even trained 12 disciples to continue in the good things He started. So His work would carry on. Jesus could have died and it would have been good enough. But that isn't the ending. If it stopped there it might have been a good story. But that would have been it. When Jesus died the curtain to the Holy of Holies tore in two. The curtain that separated us from accessing God (in the Jewish Temple and the Holy of Holies), His death allowed our access to the Father without going through a Rabbi or Priest. It was His death that gave us access to God not His resurrection.
So why did He need to conquer death by rising again? First John 4:9 says "God showed how much He loved us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him." If He didn't rise again, then we might not have had eternal life? II Corinthians reiterates this point, it isn't just that He needed to die for us. He needed to rise again so that we could live (II Corinthians 5:15 and also in I Corinthians 6:14). It isn't enough that we just talk about the good things, maybe even do some good things, we still need the RESURRECTION POWER. No matter what society says, no matter what anyone tells you, it is not enough that you are "good". We all still desperately need the resurrection of our Savior. He didn't just come to die for our sins, to forgive us so that we could access God. He gave us life. He came to life again so that we can have a promise of life. It would be like giving someone access to a shower to clean up, clothes to wear to look nice, but they are not allowed to live outside of their 4 walls of their room. He gave us life.
He didn't just give us life and leave us empty handed. He says the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead is given to us (Romans 8:11). What does this resurrection power mean? The resurrection power means that what was once dead can be FULL OF LIFE. What once was beaten down and stricken can now be thriving. What once was hopeless, now has hope and promise but also the security of something better.
I like how 'The Message' bible translation puts this common passage “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." (John 3:16-18). If you have never had the opportunity I want to give it to you now. God desperately wants a relationship with you, He wants you personally. He did it all by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross. His payment paid all the debt you had. But through Jesus rising again we are now able to rise after death and spend eternity in Heaven with God. We are now able to have an everlasting life. It wasn't enough for Jesus to just be "good", and it's not enough for us to just try hard to be "good". We need to be right with God. The way we do that is simple, we say a prayer, we ask Jesus to be the LORD of our life. We live for Him, because He is the reason we can live. Please, my friend, say this prayer with me.
Dear Jesus, I believe in You, God, and Holy Spirit. I believe that You, Jesus came down, walked among us, and died for me on the cross. God I accept Jesus, Your Son, as a covering for my sins and now you forgive me and you see me as without any sin. I invite you right now into my life. I choose today to follow you. Come now and be my LORD of my life. I want to live for You. Please send Holy Spirit down to help me obey and learn more about You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer right now. I want to follow up with you and I want to bless you with a free bible. Please click on the link to the left, I would love to hear from you.
