The immortality of the soul makes death either peaceful or terrifying, according to whether we are walking with God. All human life is ultimately a losing battle with death, the unavoidable appointment. Here is Christ’s way of breaking its power and bringing souls to eternal life.
‘But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept.’
We shall be thinking about the mystery of death and yes, it is a solemn subject, but it is so vital for us to understand about death and about the possibility of eternal life. Now this verse is about the resurrection of Christ. ‘Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept.’ Well, the death of Christ and his resurrection is prophesied in the Old Testament. And Christ himself, during his walk on earth, during his ministry, spoke of it to the disciples repeatedly, although they didn’t entirely understand what he meant and what he was speaking of. They would understand it in due time.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ – he suffered and died on Calvary’s cross, was arrested in apparent weakness, was put to death there. He suffered for some six hours before expiring and then after three days he rose again from the dead. Now the resurrection of Christ confirmed to his disciples and to others that he was the son of God, that he was divine. If they were crushed by his arrest in apparent weakness and his death, the resurrection helped them to realize that he was the man they thought he was: God incarnate. God descended to earth. The second person of the Trinity. They would understand in due course that he’d come to make an atonement for lost mankind.
Well, he demonstrated also by the resurrection the total success of his mission, what he had done. He’d come, yes, to demonstrate that he was God, to do mighty miracles, even to raise the dead, to do these glorious things and to teach plainly, but he’d come chiefly to suffer and to die on a cross in order that he may be the representative man. Man is lost. The human race has fallen from the favour of God.
You May Be Also Interested in…
Article: Six Reasons Why Christ Rose From The Dead
Sermon: The Destruction of Death, The Conquest of Death