Easter is in just a few days and I love to remember the resurrection and new life in Christ. Here are the notes I hope to use for Sunday school.
He is risen, He is risen indeed! This is a salutation I first heard on Easter Sunday in 1976 when I first became a Christian. It was a greeting of sorts where the first person would say, "He is risen." And the second believer would respond, "He is risen indeed." We still celebrate our faith in Christ this way because we look forward to our own resurrection from the grave one day. This greeting is always delivered with great enthusiasm as we understand its significance and as we seek to encourage one another in the faith.
Let's look at "He is risen" from the Scriptures. First, we see the narrative of the resurrection from all four of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a fourfold perspective. The resurrection of our Savior also distinguishes Christianity from all other religions where their leader is dead and gone. We not only remember our leader with us, but we also declare that He is risen from the dead and is alive forever more. Where can we find these truths in the Bible?
In Mt 28:5-6, "But the angel said to the woman, '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 where he lay.'" One of the greatest commandments in Scripture is "fear not." The angel comforted Mary for she certainly did not expect to see him, nor did she expect to find the Lord's grave empty.
In Mk 16:6, "And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him."" Again the angel calms Mary with words of comfort for she is in shock. It is a great shock still today for many to know that Jesus was not in the grave or that someone could rise from the dead.
In Lk 24:5-6, "And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."" The last thing the women expected was to find angels in the graveyard saying that Jesus was among the living and not the dead. But isn't this exactly what we also hope for, to find life after the grave?
In Jn 20:16-17, "Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."" Jesus gives evidence of his resurrected state to Mary and proclaims he will yet ascend into heaven. It is significant that Mary was given the great honor of announcing to the disciples that Jesus was indeed alive I believe, because she showed the most love to Jesus.
This is the record of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave and it is historically reliable. It was not fabricated as it shows genuine personality and perspective. It gives us great confidence that there is hope for those with faith in Christ, and that we too will rise from the grave someday as well.
We also say, "He is risen indeed," to emphasize this great truth. We can see even more truth in Scripture about Christ in heaven, both now and in the future.
What will heaven be like? That can be a difficult question because we don't have that much knowledge. But we see many glimpses from the book of Revelation in some key chapters.
In Rv 1:10-18, v. 10, John says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches." We see John who heard Jesus speaking from heaven to explain things to come. John was in the Spirit in a transcendent way. John had a transcendent vision as heaven is not a place but a realm.
In Rv. 4:1-11, v.2, "At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne." Here we see God the Father seated on the throne, with angels and elders worshipping him as, (v.8), "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty." There is a throne in heaven that is the center of attention for everything. In 1 Peter 3:22, we see, "(Jesus) who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him." How significant a place does God the Father have? What position does Jesus hold in heaven?
In Rv 5:1-14, v.5, "And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." We see that Jesus has been resurrected and he has conquered, he is the Lion of Judah and the Root of David. He is the fulfillment of all Messianic prophecies.
In Rv 21:1-27, v.6, Jesus says, "And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."" This is the Spiritual life that Jesus is speaking about. Are we thirsty for the water of life? How can we drink the water of the spring of life?
In Rv 22:1-22, v.7, "And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." From this we see that Christianity is not something just of the past, it is of the present and the future too. We also see that we are blessed if we keep the words of the Book, the whole Bible. They are our life and they give us Spiritual life.
There's another saying that pertains to the resurrection of Christ that is so beneficial to remember at Easter. This is the saying, "The already, but not yet." By this we mean that the kingdom of God has already begun, Jesus has been raised from the dead, he is the king and he has begun his Spiritual kingdom. But it is not yet consummated, it is still to come in fullness in the future. From this, we can live the Spiritual life today, as we know Jesus alluded to in Rev 21:6, "To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."
The apostle Paul teaches us in many places how to live the Spiritual life today. The book of Ephesians is especially significant for the life of the believer and thus the life of the church.
In Ep 4:17-32, v.17-18, "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." Paul makes a connection between the head and the heart in that we can be darkened in our minds because of the hardness of our hearts. The Spiritual life requires both the head and the heart given to God.
In Ep 4:23, "and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds..." We all grow weary and discouraged, yet Paul explains that we must be renewed in our minds, this is the key point. We must have the Word of God refreshing our minds as this, in turn, connects to everything else in our lives. We must learn about God through his Word primarily, and we cannot just hear it from someone else, we must ingest it.
Easter Sunday is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year as it gives us "A past forgiveness, a present strength, and a future hope," as I remember a pastor proclaimed many years ago. This is all because Jesus rose from the grave, He is seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and the Holy Spirit empowers our lives with faith today. In my conscience, I know there is more to life than just the here and now, and the Holy Spirit gives me the confidence of eternal life when I die. This is a great hope and it all comes from the resurrection of Jesus from the grave on Easter Sunday.
FAITH TODAY: Revelation 21:6, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."
He is risen, He is risen indeed! This is a salutation I first heard on Easter Sunday in 1976 when I first became a Christian. It was a greeting of sorts where the first person would say, "He is risen." And the second believer would respond, "He is risen indeed." We still celebrate our faith in Christ this way because we look forward to our own resurrection from the grave one day. This greeting is always delivered with great enthusiasm as we understand its significance and as we seek to encourage one another in the faith.
Let's look at "He is risen" from the Scriptures. First, we see the narrative of the resurrection from all four of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a fourfold perspective. The resurrection of our Savior also distinguishes Christianity from all other religions where their leader is dead and gone. We not only remember our leader with us, but we also declare that He is risen from the dead and is alive forever more. Where can we find these truths in the Bible?
In Mt 28:5-6, "But the angel said to the woman, '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 where he lay.'" One of the greatest commandments in Scripture is "fear not." The angel comforted Mary for she certainly did not expect to see him, nor did she expect to find the Lord's grave empty.
In Mk 16:6, "And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him."" Again the angel calms Mary with words of comfort for she is in shock. It is a great shock still today for many to know that Jesus was not in the grave or that someone could rise from the dead.
In Lk 24:5-6, "And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."" The last thing the women expected was to find angels in the graveyard saying that Jesus was among the living and not the dead. But isn't this exactly what we also hope for, to find life after the grave?
In Jn 20:16-17, "Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."" Jesus gives evidence of his resurrected state to Mary and proclaims he will yet ascend into heaven. It is significant that Mary was given the great honor of announcing to the disciples that Jesus was indeed alive I believe, because she showed the most love to Jesus.
This is the record of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave and it is historically reliable. It was not fabricated as it shows genuine personality and perspective. It gives us great confidence that there is hope for those with faith in Christ, and that we too will rise from the grave someday as well.
We also say, "He is risen indeed," to emphasize this great truth. We can see even more truth in Scripture about Christ in heaven, both now and in the future.
What will heaven be like? That can be a difficult question because we don't have that much knowledge. But we see many glimpses from the book of Revelation in some key chapters.
In Rv 1:10-18, v. 10, John says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches." We see John who heard Jesus speaking from heaven to explain things to come. John was in the Spirit in a transcendent way. John had a transcendent vision as heaven is not a place but a realm.
In Rv. 4:1-11, v.2, "At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne." Here we see God the Father seated on the throne, with angels and elders worshipping him as, (v.8), "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty." There is a throne in heaven that is the center of attention for everything. In 1 Peter 3:22, we see, "(Jesus) who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him." How significant a place does God the Father have? What position does Jesus hold in heaven?
In Rv 5:1-14, v.5, "And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." We see that Jesus has been resurrected and he has conquered, he is the Lion of Judah and the Root of David. He is the fulfillment of all Messianic prophecies.
In Rv 21:1-27, v.6, Jesus says, "And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."" This is the Spiritual life that Jesus is speaking about. Are we thirsty for the water of life? How can we drink the water of the spring of life?
In Rv 22:1-22, v.7, "And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." From this we see that Christianity is not something just of the past, it is of the present and the future too. We also see that we are blessed if we keep the words of the Book, the whole Bible. They are our life and they give us Spiritual life.
There's another saying that pertains to the resurrection of Christ that is so beneficial to remember at Easter. This is the saying, "The already, but not yet." By this we mean that the kingdom of God has already begun, Jesus has been raised from the dead, he is the king and he has begun his Spiritual kingdom. But it is not yet consummated, it is still to come in fullness in the future. From this, we can live the Spiritual life today, as we know Jesus alluded to in Rev 21:6, "To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."
The apostle Paul teaches us in many places how to live the Spiritual life today. The book of Ephesians is especially significant for the life of the believer and thus the life of the church.
In Ep 4:17-32, v.17-18, "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." Paul makes a connection between the head and the heart in that we can be darkened in our minds because of the hardness of our hearts. The Spiritual life requires both the head and the heart given to God.
In Ep 4:23, "and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds..." We all grow weary and discouraged, yet Paul explains that we must be renewed in our minds, this is the key point. We must have the Word of God refreshing our minds as this, in turn, connects to everything else in our lives. We must learn about God through his Word primarily, and we cannot just hear it from someone else, we must ingest it.
Easter Sunday is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year as it gives us "A past forgiveness, a present strength, and a future hope," as I remember a pastor proclaimed many years ago. This is all because Jesus rose from the grave, He is seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and the Holy Spirit empowers our lives with faith today. In my conscience, I know there is more to life than just the here and now, and the Holy Spirit gives me the confidence of eternal life when I die. This is a great hope and it all comes from the resurrection of Jesus from the grave on Easter Sunday.
FAITH TODAY: Revelation 21:6, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."
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