When celebrating Resurrection Sunday during the second half of the First Century, Christians would greet each other with “He is risen”! The usual reply would be, “He is risen indeed”! We continue that tradition today … in fact, 2 billion+ believers on our planet will exchange that greeting with each other throughout today … but
• “What does this really mean”? and
• “What difference will it make in our everyday lives of following Jesus”?
“He is risen” points to the fact that His tomb is, in fact, empty of His body.
Because He has conquered death and the grave, He lives! … He now sits at the right hand of the Father … and He intercedes on our behalf.
But His empty tomb is, therefore, full of corroborating evidences to this historical fact. Click on this link for a helpful article published by Koinonia House … Evidence for the Resurrection.
I love the lyrics to the classic hymn, “Hallelujah! What a Savior,” written by Philip P. Bliss in 1875.
Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
But what difference will this evidence-filled, empty tomb make in our everyday lives of following Jesus?
Fortunately, the Apostle Paul answers this question for us. In 1 Corinthians 15, he invests 57 verses to strongly lay out his case for the “So what?” of the empty tomb. I urge you to invest time today reading and contemplating his conclusions.
Verse 58 begins with the word “therefore” … and we all know what that means, right?! … stop and ask, “What’s it there for?” In this verse Paul simply lays out the “Now what?” of the Resurrection … his Spirit-directed recommendations for our lives today.
If you want to dig even deeper, then check out this article by Thomas Schreiner, a Pauline scholar from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary … but don’t read the article until you have first read 1 Corinthians 15!
“He is risen indeed”!
Grace & Truth!
~ tr
OC Bereans 
He has risen indeed!
By: Chuck on April 20, 2014
at 6:36 am