Resurrection

God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for He is alive and has become the
Lord of life. Loving God, as you opened the tomb and raised Jesus to new life, so open our
hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as your Word is proclaimed, we may
hear with joy what you say to us today. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. Amen

He is risen! And let the congregation say, He is risen indeed! What a joyous time in the life of
the Christian churchthe celebration of the empty tomb. Since the creation of the world, there
has never been another event as important as the raising of Christ from the dead. If Christ had
not risen from the dead, there would be no Christian religion, no Christians even. There would
be no salivation for man. God himself came to earth and overcame the last enemy death, and
showed men and women the way to heaven. Some atheists try to say that Christ never rose, that
is only a myth invented by Jesus disciples. But they are wrong, Jesus resurrection is a historical
fact, first of all, the tomb was empty. No one denies this. If Jesus did not rise from the dead,
where did his body go? Roman soldiers were guarding the tomb. The second reason we know
that Jesus rose from the dead is that after his resurrection He appeared to many people. He
appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, and many of these were
still alive at the time Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians about twenty five years later. The
third reason we know that Christ rose from the dead is because of the amazing change that took
place in the lives of those eleven frightened, faithless disciples. One moment they were fleeing
and hiding. But when they had seen the risen Jesus their Guru, they filled with His Holy spirit
and the church started to grow through them. More than that we know that we believe in Christ
Jesus he is not dead one but a risen Lord and our saviour. He lives within our heart. With this
faith and believe lets us meditate the word today.

What does it mean to see the tomb where Jesus was laid on Friday, empty on Sunday? Death is
the greatest enemy of Human in this earth, from the day of birth this fear is following him.
When we study the gospel of Mathew, we can see it as a life history. It is a gospel arranged
orderly than any other three gospel. It starts with the chronology of Jesus, Birth, Baptism,
Temptation, Ministry, Miracle, healing, arrest of Jesus, suffering, death on the cross and the
burial. Chapter 27 ends with the burial. Usually the common life history ends with death and
burial but there is one more chapter in the gospel of Mathew, this is also the part of life history.
The history of Jesus does not ends with the death and burial, it is the only history that not
ending with burial. We have the victory over death, which is the very meaning of it. The power
of death over human life has overtaken by the resurrection of Jesus. The common thinking
changes that the life is only the period between birth and death. But life is more than that; it is a
thing which continues after death. Life does not end in the tomb but continues to the eternity.
When Paul sees death before him, he is not shaken, he says in II Timothy 4:7-8 read...Chapter
28th is the chapter for hope and it is for eternity.

Jesus Christ was sent by God with a task, the task is not finishing with the death of Jesus on the
cross but through the resurrection. Resurrection is the foundation of Christian church and faith.
So I would like to share the message of resurrection under three points. My first point is:-

1. Easter is the festival of hope

The celebration of Easter is the celebration of the hope of immortality. Because Jesus Christ
was raised from the dead, we who trust Him and have the same hope for ourselves. Easter
changes our sorrows to joy, our sickness to health, weakness to strength, fear to courage,
hopelessness to hope. The HOPE of forgiveness. The HOPE of peace. The HOPE of assurance.
The HOPE of Heaven and that HOPE is centered in the person -Jesus Christ. In John 11:25,
Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even
though they die. Jesus raised three people from the dead during his earthly ministries: Lazarus,
the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow at Nain. These three were rosed to die again but
Jesus was not. These three they get back their earthly body but Jesus resurrected. The empty
tomb and the empty cross give us the hope that Jesus resurrected for you and me. Jesus is the
hope of hopeless. If there was ever a day that gives us hope, it is resurrection Sunday! In fact
...that's why the church gathers week by week on Sunday. Through the resurrection the Sabbath
becomes the Lords Day. It became the day of worship to celebrate and commemorate the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!.

When we see John chapter 21:1 ff, Now, the disciples they are wandering by the Sea of Galilee.
They lost their Guru, their master and they lost their hope. They were told that this was going to
happen, but they did not understand. Walking by the Sea of Galilee, the disciples were tempted
to go back to where they were, to who they were, to what they were doing. Peter said, "I am
going fishing." The other disciples joined him. Things were back to normal. For years they had
fished, making their living, providing for their families. Now they were doing what they were
good at. They fished for the whole night. They caught nothing, not one little fish.

Here the resurrected Jesus coming to their midst with a question, Children, do you have any
fish? They answered him, No. In other words Jesus asking them, and how is your work
without me. If Jesus not with us we cant do anything. Jesus calls to his disciples, "Throw your
net on the right side of the boat." The right side of hope, the right side love and kindness, then
they get the net braking experience. Their life becomes a festival with Jesus. When they back to
the sea shore Jesus waiting them with breakfast. When you feel nobody is there for you
understand that resurrected Jesus is waiting for you as a mother. The story of crucified Christ
ends with the last supper, but the resurrected Christ face you with breakfast every morning.
Resurrected Jesus is our hope, when you respond to his calling your life will become a festival
like these disciples. Jesus asking Do you have something fresh Jesus also do not want the one
in freezer cold storage. The vibrating fish in the net, if you have this kind of lovely moments
serve to other like Christ. Have a hope in resurrected Christ and pass this hope to other.

Easter, the feast of the resurrection, gives us the joyful message that we are a resurrection
people. This means that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits
and dangerous addictions. It gives us the good news that no tomb can hold us down anymore -
not the tomb of despair, discouragement, doubt nor death. Instead, we are expected to live a
joyful and peaceful life with heavenly hope, constantly experiencing the real presence of the
resurrected Lord in all the events of our lives. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice
and be glad (Psalm 118:24). Secondly:-

2. Easter is the festival of experiencing the power of resurrection

What does Easter mean to you? Is it another one of those Christian festivals or rituals you go
through every year? This Easter, may we not just gather for another Easter day service, eat rice
and chicken with family and friends, and after all everything remains the same in our lives? The
resurrection power is the power that keeps things and people alive. It is the power
that makes whatever is dead or dying to come back to life. It is the power that makes dry bones
live. It is the amazing power of God that gives hope to hopeless situations and makes the
impossible possible. This was the power that came upon Lazarus the day Jesus stood at the
tomb and a man who had been dead for four days, came back to life. Whatever is dead in your
life, whether its your marriage, business, career, or a part of your body, shall come back to life
this season. An important area of our lives where we all need to see Christs resurrection power
at work is in our relationships. We need to experience the resurrection power of God not just in
a supernatural, earth-shaking way like Lazarus did, but also in our relationships. We need the
power of God to truly love one another and forgive as we have been forgiven. We need to
remember Easter in our Good Fridays: Easter reminds us that every Good Friday in our lives
will have an Easter Sunday, and that Jesus will let us share the power of his resurrection.

If you want to experience this power of resurrection you need to believe in the resurrected
Christ. The roman seal and tomb was not enough to prevent the power of risen Lord. The
disciples were with fear but when they received the power of resurrection they became the
witness for Christ. We too need to receive this power. My last point is:-

3. Easter is the festival of introducing Jesus to other

Introducing the resurrected Jesus to other is our great responsibility. The angel told to women at
the tomb to go and tell this good news of resurrection of Jesus to his disciples, brothers who
were scattered out of fear, fled from communion or fellowship. Matthew 28:7 "And go quickly,
and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. When the women listen and obeyed to the
message of Angel when they were in the mission of proclaiming the good news, Jesus appeared
to them and they worshiped Jesus. He talked with them. If we believe that this is true, then let
us start proclaiming the message of resurrection with courage for the Christ who appeared to the
women will always be with us and give strength. The message that the angel has given to the
women do not be afraid, is given to us today to be his witness. If Mary could do that we too
are responsible to tell about the resurrected Christ to others. The first century Church
experienced great joy on the occasion of the resurrection of Christ. So whenever they gathered
for service they greeted each other with the words The Lord has risen. It was their faith
affirmation of house hold churches. Todays church also has this same mission.ie, to introduce
Christ to other. Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning. Jesus was the saviour to the
whole world. Christ overcomes death. He is the son of living God, and he lives today in the
heart of every believer. He said I will be with you always to the very end of the ages, therefore
let us obey his command, Mathew 28:19 go and make disciples of all nations. The word to be
told is Christ, the way to walked is Christ, the light to be lighted is Christ, and the love to be
loved is Christ.

We are to be bearers of the good news of resurrection power. Resurrection is good news, but at
the same time, its sometimes painful because it involves death. Before the power of the
resurrection can take hold in our own lives, were called to die to sin, to die to self. We may
even have to die to our own dreams, so that God can do what He wants to do with our lives.
Early that Easter morning, Mary did not find what she was looking for, the dead body of Jesus.
But she found something better than she could have imagined: the risen Jesus. Sometimes, the
things we think we want most are not granted to us. What we get instead is an experience of
Gods new ways of working in the world. Thats the power of the resurrection. When those
moments come, we must spread the news--just as Mary did: We have seen the Lord!

The message of Easter can be summed up in four words. These four words are imperatives.
These four words are the commands of Jesus to be his witness. COME SEE GO
TELL. I just want to ask you, Have you come to Jesus? Have you seen the empty tomb? Have
you gone to the lost? Have you told what great things the Lord has done? This was the mission
of Mary, and this is the mission for all of us.

Let me conclude my thoughts, As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, let us be

thankful to God for sending his son, Jesus Christ to redeem and set us free. Let us lead a life
that is transformed, lets look to God with hope, experience the power of resurrection in our
life and take task and our mission of introducing Jesus to other. I Pray God to help all of
you to be the witness of this resurrected Christ. Amen.