He is Risen, as He said. Just as He said He would do, He did. And because He did what He said He would do, He will do what He said He will do. We have His Word on that and not only that, He died and rose again that it would be so. He alone is Faithful and True.
Think about what it would have been to be those to whom He said, “All hail.” (Matthew 28.9) That “all hail” comes from the word, “chairo” and could well have been translated: Rejoice! as that word, chairo, was translated “rejoice” in many other places in the New Testament. He could have met them by the way saying: Rejoice! And because He did meet them by the way, and He has met us by the way, we truly can say: Rejoice.
I was a senior in high school when I came to a saving knowledge of the LORD… but, O, how grateful I am that He had His loving hand of protection on me my whole life. I will never forget the day, it was as though I was going along unaware of the total depravity of my life, that, apart from Jesus, I had nothing — was nothing. O, I wasn’t a naughty girl and I wasn’t a wayward daughter and I would have proclaimed my own goodness (as in Proverbs 20.6: “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”) and if asked, I would have thought that on my own merits I was going to heaven—you know, because I was a good person and all. But then I came to see that it was not at all on my own merit that I would be judged and saved, it was specifically and only because of faith in Jesus and the finished work of the Cross. In and of ourselves, there is no salvation. And, in fact, in and of ourselves is no good thing. But the enemy would attempt to convince otherwise. Woooooooo… that’s something that’s hard for most people because most people consider themselves to be good people. You know, not robbing banks, not killing people, not stealing from stores or spitting on sidewalks. You know, we all wish to see ourselves in the best possible light, and it’s true, in fact, that most people are “pretty good” characters (some of the time).
But God doesn’t judge on all that, for actually there is truly no one who measures up to the holiness,goodness and pure righteousness of God. And it is against that righteousness that we are judged. That’s the whole what and why of Jesus. Jesus came to save sinners—us. Jesus stands in our place on the day of judgment. Jesus didn’t come to give us trinkets and health, wealth and prosperity as many seem to proclaim and promise. No. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, to redeem them to Himself and to secure their redemption that in life and in death we would not be eternally separated from God. That is it. For apart from Jesus all men perish. All men. All women. In all places. For all time.
But then there’s the Good News. He came that we might have life and that, life everlasting. The Bible says, Believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and you will be saved. I know when I was first saved, it was such a foreign thing to me to realize that thou I thought I was doing okay, I realized that I truly was a sinner in need of a Saviour and that day began a journey with the LORD, who sought me and bought me with His precious redeeming blood. It was not of works but solely by His grace that He saved me and keeps me to the end. I stood that day in the Little Brown Church in Pacifica and I stand today: on the precious promises of my LORD and Saviour. My Risen LORD and Saviour.
After that most oft quoted verse are these: John 3:17-21
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
He didn’t come to condemn—He came to save. Praise the LORD. Christ The LORD Is Risen Today!
How GREAT Thou art!! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee… Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee: How Great Thou art! Christ the LORD is Risen today… Alleluia!
REJOICE!
And again, I say: REJOICE!