He is risen, indeed!

As the sun begins to rise on this Resurrection Sunday, April 9, 2023, I reflect upon one of the most memorable accounts of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ found in Luke 24:1-9 ((New Living Translation):

The Resurrection

24 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³ So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

⁸ Then they remembered that he had said this. ⁹ So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.

In thinking about this account of the women at the empty tomb, this original reflective piece also comes to mind:

Witness

 Luke 24:1-9 (New Living Translation)

 

Though we did not journey with the women

In the dark before dawn that first day,

Nor were we walking, weeping with them when

Two angels spoke, nor did we hear them say,

“He is not here but risen as he said;

Recall that on the third day he should rise;

Why seek you the living among the dead?”

Though we did not see with our naked eyes,

In our hearts, we know God’s desire to bless.

Though we did not touch Christ nor did we see

The open tomb, yet we still bear witness.

We have a more sure word of prophecy.

By the spirit, fruit of our Promised Seed,

We surely know He is risen, risen, indeed.

Listen to this lively rendition of “Risen”:

Reflections on the Resurrection: Witness

The words of Jesus Christ remind us of his unique position as the Son of God, raised from the dead, who is alive forevermore.

As we reflect on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ this weekend, one of the most memorable accounts of that memorable event  is found in Luke 24:1-9:

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ²But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴And it happened, as they were ^greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

⁸And they remembered His words. ⁹Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.

I thought of this account of the women at the empty tomb which inspired this original reflective piece: “Witness”

Witness

Luke 24:1-9

The account of the women at the empty tomb

Though we did not journey with the women

In the dark before dawn that first day,

Nor were we walking, weeping with them when

Two angels spoke, nor did we hear them say,

“He is not here but risen as he said;

Recall that on the third day he should rise;

Why seek you the living among the dead?”

Though we did not see with our naked eyes,

In our hearts, we know God’s desire to bless.

Though we did not touch Christ, nor did we see

The open tomb, yet we still bear witness.

We have a more sure word of prophecy.

By the spirit, fruit of our Promised Seed,

We surely know He is risen, risen, indeed.

We close with this music video by Keith and Kristyn Getty: “Christ is Risen He is Risen, Indeed.”