Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

April 12, 2020

He is the head of the Church, which is His body. He is the beginning, the first to come back to life so that he would have first place in everything. [Colossians 1:18]

The resurrection of Jesus is no less crucial to the Gospel than His death. If He did not rise from the dead then we who believe in Him “deserve more pity than any other people. [1 Corinthians 15:19]

Jesus’ resurrection assures us of our justification. We are made perfect in the sight of God our Heavenly Father. Jesus takes what we have and gives what He has. He takes our sin and give us His righteousness, His perfection. St. Paul wrote, “Our faith will be regarded as the basis of our approval by God. Each of us who believe in the One who brought Jesus our Lord back to life. Jesus our Lord was handed over to death because of our failures and was brought back to life so that we could receive God’s approval.” [Romans 4:24-25]

God gives to us the ability to serve Him through Jesus’ resurrection. “In Jesus you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that He calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit. You will also know the unlimited greatness of His power as it works with might and strength for us, the believers. He worked with that same power in Jesus when He brought Him back to life and gave Him the honored position, the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.” [Ephesians 1:18-20]

Paul further explains that through the resurrection Jesus is now “the head over all things to the Church, which is His body.” [Ephesians 1:22-23]

In His resurrected and glorified state, Jesus continues His ministry to us. “We can hold to our faith because we have a superior chief priest who has gone through the heavens. That person is Jesus the Son of God. We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are but He did not sin. So we can go confidently to the throne of God’s grace to receive mercy and find kindness which will help us in our time of need.” [Hebrews 4:14-16]

Jesus’ resurrection assures us that we too will one day be raised. We know that the one who brought the Lord Jesus back to life will also bring us back to life through Jesus. He will present us to God together. [2 Corinthians 4:14]