Risen Today

The Resurrection

Matthew 28:1-8

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.  And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Stand In The River

Joshua 3:8 “And as for you, command the priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”

Joshua and all the Israelites were standing in front of the Jordan River. They were about to experience one of God’s miracles. From their story we can learn how Christians make God’s miracles happen.
The Israelites have to act; they have to go into the river first. I am sure they feared walking into a rushing river. They may have begun to doubt and think, ‘Will this river be cut off? Maybe we should wait until the river is cut off before stepping in!’ But God said to them that no matter what go to the river and stand in it first! That takes a true act of faith!

Many times we want verification before we try to something we are afraid of. We want to step into the river after it is cut off. We want to see first, and then believe. But God said to the believers, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

We have to act first. Often, we are unsure whether or not to step into the river, because we do not trust that God will cut it off as He said. But, we need to rely on our faith and go and stand in the flowing river. God will cut off the river, and we will cross it on dry ground. We will praise God on the dry ground!

A Bit Of Faith Goes A Long Way

Do you ever think along the lines of “If I could just get that new job I would be able to buy a better house, car or whatever?”

This is human nature. There is nothing wrong with having ambitions to better ourselves.

Matthew 9:22 “Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.”

This woman knew what her “If I could only…” was. It was if she could only touch the cloak of Jesus she would be healed. Nothing fancy. Nothing grand. Just a knowledge that faith in Jesus Christ would make her well again.

Do you have a “If I could only…” in relation to Christ? Mine is “If I could only study the Bible better and more indepth then I would be in a better place to teach others so that God’s Kingdom would be furthered.

If you have not considered this then take a few moments to think how your service or worship would be better “if only I….”

The Ultimate Question

Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

  

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about His impending death and resurrection, it was lost in translation. They didn’t seem to get it. The problem was they had visions of grandeur. They envisioned Jesus establishing His earthly kingdom where they would rule and reign with Him, where everyone would live happily ever after. That is why, after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus made them get into a boat and leave. The people had wanted to take Jesus and make him king by force.

Jesus was about to reveal something to His disciples they had not understood up to this point, and it was simply this: He would die on a cross. There would be a crucifixion. There would be a resurrection. There would be a Second Coming. And then His kingdom would be established.

So Jesus posed a very important question to them: Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). This question is still being posed to us today, and it is the most important question anyone ever will respond to.

They are really only four options, four responses to that great question Christ posed. Either Jesus was a legend, a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. We know that He was not a legend, because there is more than enough historical evidence to clearly confirm that Jesus Christ lived and died at a marked point in time. Others will say that He was lying about everything He said, while still others would say that He was stark raving mad.

But we have to respond to this question Jesus posed. And ultimately everyone, everywhere will say that Jesus Christ is Lord. Christians, skeptics, agnostics, atheists, everyone—regardless of their religion—eventually will say that Jesus Christ is Lord when they stand before God.

Jesus posed an important question to His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” What is your response to this same-asked question of you?