Scriptural Reference:

"Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”"
John 11:25-26

"Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”"
Matthew 28:2-7

"And when he appeared as a human being, he humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death — death on a stake as a criminal! Therefore, God raised him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name; that in honour of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth — and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai — to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:8-11

"And from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen."
Revelation 1:5-6

"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10"9

Reflection: I find it disturbing that many who profess to be Christians today will deny the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. For some strange reason they view the Bible while holding the Bible in one hand and scissors in the other. Ready to cut out anything they either can't understand or accept. Sadly many are using their human and completely faulty worldly wisdom to dictate what they believe is real and what is something beyond scientific comprehension. They are trying to supplant Gods' perfect wisdom: The very God who by His word alone created all things and knows all things. So why do they do this to one of the very foundational aspects of our salvation? Let's look at what it means to truly believe in a risen and resurrected saviour.

We all will die someday. Regardless of anything we may try and do to avoid death.

"For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die"
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a

There is a time to be born, a time to live and a time to die. And after that there is followed a time of judgement before Gods' throne. Yet there are ministers who wear the cloth and title of a shepherd of the Christian church. These people will meet with family members of a deceased individual. Yet they will have very little comfort to offer. When asked about death they will calmly say that death is final and that there's nothing to look forward to.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves" Matthew 7:15

I remember asking a minister of the Uniting Church if the grave of Jesus was empty or full. He stumbled to give an answer as he seemed to think it was some sort of trick question. Yet when I explained the question to him in the simplest of terms; that was to plainly say to him that they put a body in a grave and three days later they record the body was gone as Jesus the Christ had risen: He sarcastically replied that "off course it wasn't empty and that nobody comes back from the dead". Yet each year when the church celebrated Easter he would smugly stand before the congregation and proclaim "He is risen indeed". Without any sense of the hypocrisy he was stating.

The very resurrection of Jesus the Christ means far more to Christians then a nice feel good homily or one size fits all platitudes. We believe in it because in it we can see how our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ conquered death once and for all. As for Christians this triumph over death secures our future resurrection and eternal life with God the Father. It is stated in the Apostles Creed

"the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

As Christians, we celebrate the remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ once a year. We call this celebration that is observed over three days, as Easter. Though the history behind the name is something different to what may be understood. So essentially every year on Easter Day, we don't actually celebrate "Easter". The word "Easter" is a modern term derived from the name of an ancient Saxon pagan goddess Eostre, whose rituals were observed annually during the vernal equinox. Although the name may have endured its meaning is far more profound then a reference to a pagan god. What we commemorate on that day is the incredible, unexplainable victory of life over death. Jesus, who was crucified on Friday and was laid to rest in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, and He then rose again to life. Later the Lord appeared to the Apostles and many other followers.

Sadly there have been those who wanted to make some form of a physical or earthly way of validating the death of Jesus the Christ. As well as confirming the resurrection as well. A fascinating artefact had been used and viewed as the very shroud that was placed over the Lords' body while in the tomb.

A remarkable piece of fabric with an image of a man's' face and body. As if it was formed by intense heat or radiation. Just take a moment to remind yourself that the body was tightly wrapped in cloth strips. The shroud would have been placed over the wrapped body. So this, as it has been strongly suggested, is a fabrication and not an actual artefact from the tomb. Logically nobody at the time would have taken time to remove the wrappings and story them somewhere. They would have been more interested and focused on the risen Lord. This point reminds me of a tradition at the time. When the Master of the house is eating and gets up, if he folds a piece of cloth or napkin and places it on the table it means they will return. So don't disturb the food or table and expect him to return. While on the other hand, if they toss the cloth on the table it signifies that they are finished and the food and table can be cleared. In the case of Jesus' tomb the wraps were neatly folded and placed where the body would have been. This being done is a sign to the believers that He is going to return to them.

So what should we make of the resurrection? How should this affect our lives as Born Again Christians? I'm telling you that it means everything. We should hold the very return to life of our Saviour Jesus the Christ as our personal sign that we too will someday be resurrected. That someday we too will raise from death and be received by God and Jesus into our forever home in Heaven. An important part of our faith that we should never compromise nor allow some fake Christens' to try and distract or detract from.

Prayer:

Heavenly Lord,
Your birth began a new beginning,
Your life created a perfect example,
Your death proved the end of death.

Heavenly Lord,
In you we find our own new birth,
In you we seek to follow your footsteps,
In you we look to our own resurrection.

May we always stay faithful to you
We pray this in your name,
Jesus the Christ Son of God.

Amen