Easter

Easter, wow where has the first three months of 09 gone. It is this time we Christians all around the world remind ourselves that two thousand years ago Jesus Christ our Hero and Friend defeated the enemy of death when He burst asunder its bands and walk healthily and powerfully from the grave. We can shout and herald the good news today “HE IS RISEN”. Even the angel on resurrection morning could say “He is not here, He is risen, come see the place where He lay”. I can only imagine the panic among the roman government and indeed among the church leaders, the big guys who Jesus had openly confronted about their hypocritical ways. But this panic and confusion could never have matched what must have went on in the caverns of hell when the report came in to satan himself, I feel I can hear the seething shriek even now.
I love Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 15 when in the first few verses he seems to prove the fact of resurrection. He says “He (Jesus) was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once…after that He was seen by James, then by all the Apostles. Then last of all he was seen by me also…” The calculation is simple, about five hundred and twenty plus people saw the risen Christ. Paul is saying this is no delusion folks; this is not some senile old person who people wonder could or couldn’t it be.
In verse 14 he says, “Now if Christ is not raised then our preaching is empty and our faith is empty also.”
What a package of Salvation we have. A Saviour that not only died in our place but who rose from the dead AND who went back to heaven in a body becoming the first fruits of those who have risen from the grave. Do you know what that means? Jesus was just paving a way for us, making it possible for all of us to one day conquer death itself and rise to meet our King.