YL Jami, IAS (Retd)
Kushiabill, Dimapur
The resurrection of Christ from the dead signifies that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Before Jesus ascended to heaven he could triumphantly report, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me" (Matt.28:18). When a new king was ready to assume his throne in ancient times, tradition required a ceremony of pomp and power. In regal splendor the ruler stepped forward to assume the symbols of authority: a crown, a scepter, or a throne. The former King was gone, defeated or deceased. The new ruler was now elevated to his rightful place and would from this time rule all the territory under his dominion. Christ's resurrection assures resurrection of all. (Acts 24:15) There will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
We pray to the triumphant Lord with two natures who continues to serve as our mediator. Advocate and faithful high priest. He fellowships with us and liberates us from the kingdom of evil here and now. It is he, who will receive the worship of his people when he returns from Heaven in glory and power.
The life changing story of Christianity centres in who Jesus was, as well as what he was able to do for people unable to save themselves. John wrote his gospel "that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing, we may have life in his name" (John 20:31). A person can be a Hindu without trusting Krishna, or a Buddhist without commitment to Gautama, but not a Christian without commitment to Jesus the Messiah.
Jesus identified with the fallen people of the world in their humanness, but not in their will. Like our spiritual master, we are to identify with our friends in the world, but not to the extent of committing their private sins or public crimes. Christians involve themselves in the lives of those who most need them. So our Christ likeness can be tested by checking our relationships to others. A spiritual life not only separates from the evils of the world and reaches out to the people of the world, but also overcomes the world's evils.
"As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" (John 7:18). Our Lord commissions us to go to a lost world, not wait for the world to come to us. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see the clear display of the power of the true God - Ephesians 1: 19-21.
The resurrection validates the fact that Jesus Christ is God - Romans -1:4.
Our salvation is dependent on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true. John 6:40.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ secured our justification. Romans 4:25.
Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14 and others.
The power for our Christian life in the present is the power of his resurrection. Ephesians 1:19-21, Romans 6:4
The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that this Jesus Christ is going to be the appointed Judge of all people in the world. Acts 17:31; John 5:22-29.
“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the man. “He is not here, but he has been resurrected! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, “The son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and rise on the third day?” And they remembered his words.
The simple truth is that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a well-attested fact of history. He presented himself a life to his followers after his passion by many infallible proofs. One of the great foundation stones, unshakable and unmovable, of our Christian faith, is the historic evidence for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here you and I can stand and do battle for the faith because we have a situation which cannot be contradicted.
