VICTORY!

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!

Luke 24:1-6a

The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 53-55

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I had a wonderful pastor several years ago who would always remind us during this holy season that we could not have had the glorious resurrection of Jesus if we had not had to first experience His excruciatingly, horrific crucifixion on Calvary’s cross. Before Jesus could be raised up in power, He first had to suffer terribly, bearing the penalty we all deserved when He chose to bear our sins. It was the only way for sin to be defeated and after that, death.

Jesus had to win the victory.

Of course, no one present at the time could understand what was happening. After all, wasn’t Jesus the predicted Messiah, the One who was coming with power to obliterate the oppressive Roman rule over Israel and set the people free. Certainly, He had flashed the power that He possessed over and over and over again as He healed people from infirmity, drove out demons, calmed the seas with just a simple command, and even raised people from the dead. He was special and unlike anyone else they had ever met. And yet, there was Jesus, beaten and crucified like any other common criminal, dying while hanging on the cross.

I’m sure the people had to be wondering, “Why isn’t He doing something to save Himself? Didn’t He claim to be the King of the Jews?”

There’s no doubt that Jesus could have done anything while going through His life and its circumstances. But He never wavered in going about His Father’s business, never strayed from being obedient to what He was called to do and that was to take the sins of all mankind on Himself and be crucified until death after which He would be buried so He could rise again on the third day, just as He said He would.

It was the only way that victory could be won.

Today, we celebrate that Jesus is not dead but very alive. He is risen as the angels told the women who went to treat Jesus’ body at the tomb and so there was no need to look for the living where the dead resided. At that resurrection moment, death was defeated and lost its sting first on Jesus and then on anyone who place their belief, hope, and trust in Him as Savior.

Jesus, once perishable as a man was now imperishable. He had traded in mortality for immortality. He died a disgraceful death reserved for criminals although He was perfectly innocent but on that early morning three days later, He was raised up in glory. He bled and suffered like any of us would in the weakness of His humanity but He was resurrected in power, soon to ascend to sit at His Father’s right had in heaven with authority over all mankind.

Yes, the Jesus the morning of Resurrection Day was a markedly different Jesus. He was not the lifeless corpse taken down from the cross before the start of the Sabbath on Preparation Day. Rather, He was the living Savior who had exchanged death for everlasting life, paving the way for any and all Christ-believers to follow Him at their life’s end.

In other words, Christians are victorious people, not just on Easter but every day. Death has been swallowed up in victory and has lost its sting.  

Friends, today is the day where our victory originated. For Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

Glory alleluia!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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