Romans 6:1-11
Vs. 4 “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Today we gather to remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. It is recorded that the early church greeted one another in this manner, one would say “He is risen!” and the response would be “He is risen indeed!” The resurrection of Jesus was His final and ultimate proof of His divinity to His followers. He had healed the sick, cast out demons, calmed storms, walked on water, turned water into wine, raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, preached with authority unheard of before Him and then died a sinners death. Every action, every word, every miracle had been for the purpose of making Himself known as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, the Lamb of God slain from the foundations, and the only way to the Father. The resurrection was Jesus’ final proof of His identity during His earthly ministry. The cross revealed Him as the Lamb of God slain, the resurrection revealed Him as the firstborn from the dead. The cross was Jesus’ willingness to pay the penalty of our sin; it was the Father’s willingness to offer His only Son so that we might become adopted sons and daughters. The cross was where Jesus paid for our sin; it is where our punishment was placed upon Him, where He became sin, where the wrath of God was fulfilled and where salvation moved from a prophetic promise to a provided possession. At the cross sin lost its grip on men. Paul wrote in Colossians2:15 that Jesus disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them at the cross. We seem to know that Jesus died to pay for our sins but why did He rise from the dead? In the resurrection He defeated death and the grave, He defeated sin for a final time but what does that mean for you and I right here and right now? I ask this question because we seem to have a grip on how the cross applies to this moment, that in this moment the cross has given me forgiveness, my sin is covered and my wounds are healed by the blood of Jesus. We know how to apply the cross to this life but what about the resurrection? What does the resurrection of Jesus mean today, right here, right now? The resurrection is not simply a gift that you and I will receive after death, it has a present purpose and we have been given, through the resurrection of Jesus and current gift, an opportunity and a blessing that is for right here and right now. Last week we talked about forgiveness not being about going to heaven when life is over; today, with even more fervor I believe we need to see and understand that the resurrection of Jesus is not merely or only a victory over death that we will reap when death visits us at the end of our lives but it is the eternal and current power of God for us to live and walk in newness of life, for you and I and all believers to experience and cherish being united with Christ and for us to know the beauty and the glory of not only being dead to sin but of knowing without a shadow of doubt that we are alive to God in Christ Jesus. The purpose of the resurrection is not life in heaven when we die it is the life of heaven while we live