“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 NKJV).
The resurrection of Jesus from death is the wellspring of hope that sustains our faith. Paul argued that if there is no expectation for resurrection from death, then believers in Christ will be considered of all men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:19). But thank God that is not so. There is resurrection from death as clearly demonstrated by the testimony of Christ. Prior to His own resurrection, Christ demonstrated that resurrection is possible by raising Lazarus from the dead after four days in the grave. Lazarus, the only brother of Martha and Mary had died and had been buried before Christ got to their home. Every hope that Lazarus would ever experience life again on earth had been lost. This sense of hopelessness was eloquently communicated by Martha when she declared mournfully, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39). It was indeed a hopeless situation from the human point of view. However, the truth remains that with God nothing shall be impossible. Our Lord called Lazarus to come out of the grave and it was so proving that resurrection is possible with God. This truth is the fulcrum of our faith. This one truth keeps believers going even in the face of difficulties and threats of death. God has death under control and will ultimately defeat it at the resurrection day.
The resurrection of Christ made our new birth and all its accompanying blessings possible.
The hope of resurrection has been the incentive for believers to remain steadfast under persecution. Christian martyrs right from Stephen had faced death with unwavering confidence in God because they knew from Scripture that death is not the end of life for those who are in Christ. According to Eusebius, the early church martyrs “despised terrors, going readily and with joy to death their hope in the Resurrection.” For the martyrs knew with Paul “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38). Thomas Aquinas taught that true joy proceeds from the love of God, and if death itself cannot separate the Christian from the love of God, then death can be met with joy. Believers in Christ face death boldly and joyfully because they know that resurrection is guaranteed in Christ. They know from the Scripture that if they died with Christ, they would also live with Him. As Christ triumphed over death, so will those who believe in Him triumph over it too. This hope, the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection, has been the source of strength and courage to Christians who had been or being persecuted and martyred over the centuries.
We owe everything about the Christian faith to the resurrection of Christ. His resurrection made it possible for sinners to be born again by grace through faith. Peter testified in our text: “It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation” (1 Peter 1:3 NLT). The resurrection of Christ made our new birth and all its accompanying blessings possible. The same is true with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in believers alongside all His gifts, fruits, and other blessings. All the riches of grace are all benefits that accrue to the believer because Jesus rose from the death. Resurrection of Christ confirms Him as the Son of God and serves as God’s proof that Satan has been defeated, disarmed and quarantined. He no longer has any right to impose his dominion over all who believe in Jesus. We are now free to live for Christ alone and do His biddings. Never again can Satan hold us as slaves and order our lives as he chooses. God had unleashed the power of resurrection to perpetually put him under check and empower us to live triumphantly on the platform of grace. Christ is risen for which we rejoice and glorify God in Jesus name. Happy Resurrection Day. Happy Easter.
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