As Christians, we can rejoice that we serve a living Savior. When the women and the disciples arrived at the tomb on the first day of the week, they found an empty tomb! The angels said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead. He is not here, but is risen…” (Luke 24:5-6)
On this Easter Sunday, let us briefly reflect on both the evidence for the Resurrection and the implications of this great event for us as Christians.
Evidence
1. The empty tomb (Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20)
2. The Apostles and over 500 witnesses saw the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
3. Worship moved from the Sabbath to the first day of the week because the Resurrection took place on Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2)
4. The explosive growth and mission of the early church. The Apostles went on missionary journeys to spread the Gospel. Most of the disciples died martyrs’ deaths. Why would they do all this unless they had in fact seen the risen Christ? (2 Peter 1:16)
5. The Word of God and fulfilled prophecy (Matthew 12:40, Luke 18:31-33, 24:6-7)
Implications
1. Jesus Christ is who He said He was. He claimed to be God. He predicted that He would be crucified at the hands of sinful men and be raised again. His Resurrection proves that Jesus truly is the Son of God. (John 20:29)
2. Believers have the hope of being resurrected and given glorified bodies when Christ returns. (1 Corinthians 15)
3. Christ has power over sin, death, and the grave. (1 Corinthians 15)
Wesley’s Writings 