A Word in Season: He is Risen (Luke 24:6)

It was very early in the morning on the first day of the week. It was the first Lord's Day. Several of the women who had followed the Lord Jesus during his ministry went to the tomb where his dead body had been laid.

The Empty Tomb and the Women’s Expectation

It's very clear from Luke chapter 24 and from the other gospel narratives that they expected to find his dead body there, and they expected it to be remaining there. They went there with preparations of spices to prepare the body for a long burial and eventual decomposition.

When they arrived, they found not only was the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, the body itself was empty. And like the other disciples who encountered the same sort of situation, they drew precisely the wrong conclusions.

They were confused, they were perplexed, they were deeply distressed. Some seemed to think that the body had been stolen away. Others of them just weren't sure what to think. What's striking is that none of them immediately concluded, well, this is precisely what the Lord Jesus told us to expect.

The Angelic Message: He Is Not Here, But Is Risen

So on this occasion, Luke 24 and verse 4 tells us that as they were greatly perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments, and these women were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth.

They seemed to have recognized in these men something of perhaps heavenly dignity. Certainly the shining garments would have troubled them greatly. They bowed down before them. There's a reverence here.

These are messengers from heaven. These men are angels. And the angels speak to them and said, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

The Resurrection as Proof of Christ’s Identity and Finished Work

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. There are still many today who seek the Lord Jesus among the dead. They assume that he is like every other guru, every other leader, every other so-called savior, every other great one in the earth, all of whom have lived and died and remain dead.

To be sure, some of them their memory is revered, but the leader himself or herself remains dead in the grave. That is not true of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one of whom it is not true. Yes, there are many who claim great things for themselves and many for whom great things are claimed.

But of no one else is it true that he conquered sin and death and hell. The resurrection is the great proof, the great demonstration of the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the great revelation of his being and it is the affirmation of his doing that God has accepted his sacrifice, that his work is completed and done.

We should not then seek the living among the dead. Christ was not in the tomb. He had risen from the grave. And because he had risen from the grave, we may now say that we do expect to find him. There's no tomb where we're going to go and discover the bones of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There's no grave somewhere in Palestine where the Lord Christ is still waiting to be disinterred. Rather, he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven after 40 days to sit at the right hand of God.

Worshiping the Risen Savior on the Lord’s Day

This is precisely what he told his disciples, that he must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, that he must be crucified and that he must the third day rise again. And here now is the demonstration and here is our hope and our comfort.

When we come on the first day of the week to worship God, we do not come to bow down before a dead man. We come to worship a risen saviour. We acknowledge the God who reigns on high. We acknowledge his beloved son, Jesus Christ.

We come in the same spirit by which Christ was raised from the dead to enter into and enjoy not only the fruits of his death, but the realities of his risen life. And that is our confidence. We should believe what God has said.

We should believe the word of Christ, remember his words and act upon them. We are living souls if we're Christians and we come to worship a living saviour.