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Luke 24 1-8 JESUS HAS RISEN 09 03Mar2022 Luke 24 5-6 Life and Death
📖 Luke 24:1-8
09 – 03Mar2022 – Life and Death - Luke 24:01-08 - JESUS HAS RISEN - Bible reading: Revelation 20:14-15
“Thank you, Lord Jesus, that because of resurrection, our lives are completely made new. You are the one who lives in and through us. We commit ourselves into Your loving hands. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.”
Luke 24:4-8 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. (5) Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? (6) He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, (7) saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' " (8) And they remembered His words.
The words of the angels, were glorious to the women, for now, they were beginning a new life, the life of resurrection.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had not experienced resurrection, though they had heard that Jesus had risen. They had not placed their life into His hands. It was later when the Lord had made Himself known to them, that they too entered the life of resurrection.
The Holy Spirit is the one, who makes our life anew and He is the Spirit of resurrection.
There is another dimension to Resurrection.
I Peter 1:3-5 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, (4) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (5) who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Resurrection is not only about a new life here on earth but resurrection gives us hope for eternity.
Even if we have to lose our physical life here on earth or even if we have to go through pain, sickness or sorrow, we can rejoice, for we have an eternal hope, since Jesus rose from the dead.
Peter, explains this living hope to us and he says it is an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you
This is the beauty of the hope that we have for eternity. Till the time we come into the inheritance that has been reserved for us, we are kept here by the power of God.
This is the truth that Jesus explained to Martha.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (26) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
This is a remarkable statement that the Lord is saying to Martha and to all of us.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. This is the bedrock on which we construct our lives. If any of us, who believe in Jesus, were to die physically, we will live for eternity, in the inheritance that Peter spoke about.
In our life here on earth, we are living not because we are physically alive, but we are living the true life, which is the life of the resurrection of Jesus. Our physical death is not death at all. We are living right now the true life, which has begun now and extends for eternity.
All of this becomes a reality when we believe in Jesus. The disciples did believe in Jesus, before His death, burial and resurrection but the belief that they needed was to surrender to His resurrection and say, “Lord Jesus, You live Your life through me”. This is belief.
So, even in the Gospels, though the Lord was with the disciples physically, He was wanting them to see their life in terms of His resurrection.
This was the reason that even after Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He delayed coming. The Lord wanted the family and His disciples to know that their faith in Him must not be a faith of Him being with them physically. The faith that they needed to place on Him ought to be, as the Lord of resurrection and eternity.
This understanding of Jesus as the Lord of the resurrection leads us to the next big reality.
Only those who put their faith and trust in Jesus as the resurrected Lord will spend eternity with Him. All the others will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.
These are already dead now since they have not believed in Jesus as the risen Lord and they will also spend eternity in the eternal fire. Jesus, therefore, has the keys to death and hades.
Revelation 1:18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
When we believe in Jesus, we come into resurrection now and we will also spend eternity with Him in the inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for us.
Revelation 20:14-15 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The Book of Life is all about Jesus. When we have Jesus, we have Life now and Life for eternity. A person who does not place his trust or faith in Jesus, is dead now, and is also dead for eternity, in the lake of fire.
Thought to ponder
Choose Life and invite others to choose Life too.