TOPIC:"The Reality of the Resurrection"
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:St. Luke 24:1-12
"He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:6)
Let me begin this Easter message with this important statement: You will never enter into the real meaning and full significance of this high and holy day until there comes to each one of us an overpowering realization that Jesus Christ is actually, unmistakably, and eternally alive at this very moment.
Your celebration of Easter will be in vain unless you make that amazing discovery. That was the tremendous experience of those dedicated women as they came to the sepulchre that first Easter morning. It was there that the two angels said to them: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24: 5, 6). Now they discovered for themselves the glorious truth that Jesus Christ was indeed a death-conquering and life-changing Savior who was forever alive. I ask: Have you made such a discovery?
If it be asked, How can we enter into the realization that Jesus is alive? I shall submit the following evidence.
I.
First of all, we enter into the reality that Jesus is alive because the PRECIOUS WORD OF GOD DECLARES it. Notice again the words of our text: "He is not here, but is risen" (v. 6). I ask: Where do we learn about the person behind the pronoun in this verse? The New Testament gives us a complete record of the triumph of Jesus over death and the grave.
Before I show you what I mean, let me say this: If you believe the Bible is only of human origin, the words of mere men, and not the perfect, eternal, trusted, authoritative, and inspired Word of God, then you will never experience the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in your life. It is only as we come to the realization that the Bible is different from all other books in that it was divinely and directly inspired in a special way by God, that the truth of Christ's resurrection will have a revolutionary impact on our lives. The Bible is God's Word to man. When we accept that fact, the Bible will become alive in our lives with the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let me show you what I mean.
Remember the words of Jesus early in His ministry when He predicted that He would rise from the dead. It is from the Bible and the Bible alone that we read about the prediction of Jesus: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up...He spoke of the temple of His body" (John 2:19, 21). And it is here in the Scripture verses before us that we find certain women coming to the sepulchre that first Easter morning . . .