Risen! Revelation 1:12-18.
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The most compelling personal story ever told is surely what Jesus said to the Apostle John – ‘I died and behold I am alive forevermore.’ Jesus made a spectacular appearance to John as we read in Revelation 1 and it was in that context that he said those amazing words.
The risen Christ appears in various ways in the New Testament.
- As the Risen Man. Jesus was no ghost or spirit, when he appeared to the disciples he could be touched and ate food. (See Luke 24:36-43). His was a bodily, physical resurrection. The disciples did not see a ghost, they saw the risen Christ. The disciples did not simply look into an empty tomb, they saw the risen Christ. Jesus did not recover in the grave and then appear, he rose from the dead. The first disciples said, ‘God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of that fact.’ (Acts 2:32). The Church has always been a witness to the real bodily resurrection of Jesus, the only thing that can explain her continuing existence.
- As the Risen Saviour. Revelation 5:6. Jesus is seen standing as a lamb that had been slain. Jesus is the greater fulfilment of the Passover Lamb. His death proclaims a new Exodus, deliverance from the slavery of sin and into freedom. This slain lamb stands – a picture again of resurrection. But the fact that he looks like a lamb that has been slain tells us that the marks of the death of Christ always remain with him as a reminder of the importance of his death. Therefore the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday is clearly linked to his death on Good Friday. Resurrection proclaims God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. The response to this has always been the worship of those he has saved.
- As the Risen Lord. It is incredible to think that as Christ proclaims himself in Revelation 1 to be the Living One that he can also say ‘I died’, but there is also the assurance that he is now alive forevermore. This risen Christ appears to John in majestic glory – for he is Lord. He speaks of himself as the one who lives forever – He is Lord. He also states that he holds the keys, or total authority , over death and the realm of death – He is Lord. Who will I trust with my death and what happens to me after I die? My confidence will be in the one who entered history, who died, but who was then victorious over death.
Christ is risen – Hallelujah!
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