He's Alive!

Today is Easter Sunday! It’s the day we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and He’s alive. Death couldn’t hold Him. Now for us, since we already know what happened, it’s great knowing that we are heaven bound because of Jesus’ sacrifice. But just for a moment, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of those who were actually there. They didn’t know what was going on. The One they had pledged their allegiance to had just been crucified, and all of their hopes and dreams in a week vanished. Let’s look at the account of what happened that morning when the women went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus.

Matthew 27:62–66 NLT

62 The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. 63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” 65 Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” 66 So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

Mark 16:1–4 TPT

1 On the first day of the week, as the Sabbath was ending, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jacob, and Salome made their way to the tomb. It was very early in the morning as the first streaks of light were beginning to be seen in the sky. They had purchased aromatic embalming spices so that they might anoint his body. 3 And they had been asking one another, “Who can roll away the heavy stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 But when they arrived, they discovered that the very large stone that had sealed the tomb was already rolled away!

1. The huge stone could not stop God!

No one can stop God from doing what He plans to do. They had “sealed” the tomb thinking the huge stone and the guards would be able to make sure no one would “steal” the body of Jesus. But mere men cannot stop the power of God. The women that found the tomb opened, were the same women that watched them put the body of Jesus in the tomb. So they knew about the huge stone and were wondering how they would get into the tomb. God is doing the same thing today. Your God-given dream might have been dead and buried. You might be wondering how will I even be able to see my dream again. But God...

Matthew 28:2–4 NLT

2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

2. The obstacle becomes His stool!

I like this. The angel who rolled the stone away, sits on it. The devil might think he’s got you, circumstances might seem overwhelming, it could even be some mistakes that you and I are responsible for that causes our dream to die and be buried. Whatever it is, it’s just a stool for God’s presence to rest on. When He “rolls” that obstacle away that is blocking your future, He uses it to rest on and prove His power over any circumstance. That is the resurrection! That is God’s power.

Luke 24:4–8 AMP

4 And while they were perplexed and wondering what to do about this, behold, two men in dazzling raiment suddenly stood beside them. 5 And as [the women] were frightened and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among [those who are] dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee 7 That the Son of Man must be given over into the hands of sinful men (men whose way or nature is to act in opposition to God) and be crucified and on the third day rise [from death]. 8 And they remembered His words.

3. God brings dead things to life!

Look at this question again. “Why do you look for the living among (those who are) dead?” God is the Author and Giver of life not death. So even if you have a dream from God that you might think is dead, think again. Here’s another thought, why is it that we seek advice about the meaning of life from people who know nothing at all about God. Now I’m not talking about learning business or a trade or something technical, but when it comes to the meaning of life and what the future, that is after we leave this earth, why do we read and listen to things from so called experts and not go to God. Why are we looking for the living among the dead? we must be reminded of the Word of God. The angel told the women to remember what Jesus told them. And they remembered. Do you remember what God said in His word? When we constantly remind ourselves about the promises in the Bible, we will stop looking for the answers among the dead!

Luke 24:33–44 The Message

33 They didn’t waste a minute. They were up and on their way back to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and their friends gathered together, 34 talking away: “It’s really happened! The Master has been raised up—Simon saw him!” 35 Then the two went over everything that happened on the road and how they recognized him when he broke the bread. 36 While they were saying all this, Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you.” 37 They thought they were seeing a ghost and were scared half to death. 38 He continued with them, “Don’t be upset, and don’t let all these doubting questions take over. 39 Look at my hands; look at my feet—it’s really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn’t have muscle and bone like this.” 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 They still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true. He asked, “Do you have any food here?” 42 They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. 43 He took it and ate it right before their eyes. 44 Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.”

4. We must never doubt the Resurrection!

The Eleven couldn’t believe it! Jesus rose from the dead just like He said He would. But instead of just accepting the fact that what Jesus had taught them for three years was true, the went through all the doubts we can go through. When Jesus appeared to them, they thought He was a ghost. Then they couldn’t comprehend that He was actually alive until they touched Him. looked Him over and finally saw Him eat the fish they had cooked. Fast forward to us in 2021. We have the Bible, we know what happened, we have the Holy Spirit living in us. There is absolutely no reason to doubt the power of the Resurrection! We are not part of a club. We are not a fraternity or sorority, we are the Body of Christ and our born again lives are proof that the Resurrection, what we celebrate at Easter, is real.