HE IS RISEN

YOUNG man who was seated on the right side of the sepulchre where Jesus was laid said to three women: “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here; behold the place where they laid him.” This young man was none other than an angel of the Lord. And he was stationed there by God to inform these perplexed, mournful, seeking souls of their dear departed Lord. Who can express the tender love that God the Father has for His children? His compassions fail not, they are new every morning! And truly He did prove this in the early morning hours of the first day of the week, at that time; and equally so even until this present time; and will continue to manifest himself as such until the end of time; when He will gather in all His children to give them an eternal home with Him. Dear children of God, how our hearts should be looking, by faith, for the dawning of that Glorious Day of the Lord. Well such looking by faith, must begin here in this life. Let us then see if we can trace any evidences thereof in our own souls from these words which the angel of God spake to those three seeking women,

The angel of God spake first. He beheld their sorrowful countenances and their questionings about getting the stone rolled away from the door of the sepulchre. Their love was indeed a true love but in their spiritual ignorance they were yet busying themselves too much about the dead body and the obstacles which they thought to be in the way. And so it always will be in the heart of a sinner who possesses the love of God. Through the sin of unbelief they go seeking after a dead Jesus but they never find what their imaginations fear. Their Father in heaven has prepared a better way for them and that way must and can only be traveled by faith. They were true seekers for they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth, as the angel of God spake encouragingly to them, saying: “Be not affrighted.” They were thus comforted in their seeking Jesus but they had need of further instructions. Observe how they sought Jesus expecting to find His dead body in the sepulchre. Have they reasons for their expectations? No, Jesus told them before that He would rise again on the third day. Therefore the angel said to them “which was crucified”; not “which is dead” but “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified.” Death has no dominion over Jesus but Jesus has dominion over death. And that is what He told these three seeking women before He entered into death; but alas, in their infirmity and weakness, ignorance, blind zeal, unbelievingly and doubtingly, they reach the sepulchre where they had laid Him. They must get to the end of their own expectations before they can realize the Words of life which Jesus had spoken to them. And so must every dear seeking soul be brought in all its folly, unbelief and doubt, (although in truth for they are true seekers) to see by faith, by the Holy Ghost quickening them, that their life is not in a dead Jesus but in Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. That is, in a living Jesus, or rather in their risen Lord: “He is risen, he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”

“Come”, said the angel, “see the place where they laid him. You expect to find his body here but not so. He is risen; and he is now going before you into Galilee; there you will see him, even as he said unto you.” How their faces lighted up and their down-cast hearts rejoiced at those words. See them, dear seeking souls, see them so full of joy and gladness forgetting all about their dead Jesus and fleeing hastily after their living Jesus, How they did tremble with joy although it was mingled with fear. And who would not tremble and be amazed at such news from a far country? He is risen. Jesus whom ye saw crucified and over whom ye did mourn and were sad: he is risen. A mighty victor over death and the grave. Oh, what dreadful, horrible enemies they are to a seeking soul. They cause many a bitter tear and doleful cry from the heart of God’s dear ones. And who of them then will not be amazed when the loving Spirit of God reveals to their soul’s eye of faith, Jesus, the Mighty Conqueror over all their enemies? Who of them will not quickly forget the past and flee unto Jesus their hope and only salvation?

He is risen! brings such a gladness into the soul, with renewed life and power, that the eye of faith is enabled to look into the empty sepulchre: “behold the place where they laid him.” What a look by faith! Seeking souls through the sin of unbelief look only for the dead body once laid in the grave. But faith says, “poor sinner, he is not here, nay, leave this grave and go on your way to the place of which he told you before, and there shall ye see Him.” Where? In Galilee! as Jesus said to them: “After I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.” Matt. 26:32. Galilee means “the circle” and as Jesus began the circle so he finished it, as the ever faithful God and Savior.

Salvation begins in Christ and it ends in Christ, dear seeking souls. No spiritual life in the grave of your spiritually dead heart. Christ can not live there. All the grave clothes of our dead works can never hold him, nor can all the opposite powers of the prince of darkness. Our sinful expectations can not bind Christ even though in our blind zeal we set about to do so. Your salvation is from God. The circle begins in Christ, centres in Christ, and ends in Christ. Thus as God has called you by His grace, and as He enables you to walk by faith in your crucified Jesus, so too you must advance by faith in your risen Jesus. It is by the power of His resurrection that you have been raised from your spiritual death unto a new life of faith; and whereas you now do live by faith only, so Christ arose to nourish your seeking soul therewith that you may go from strength to strength. A dead Jesus would never have satisfied the justice of God. But the risen Jesus does. He goes before you into humility, self-denial, love, suffering, death, into the grave, through which He passed into His exalted state of the Mighty Conqueror over all to reign Supreme, which may we be enabled to consider in our next issue in His ascension into heaven.

May the blessed Spirit lead you into the glorious resurrection of Jesus and apply his benefits to your seeking souls.

And for those who are yet strangers not having been quickened by the power of the Holy Ghost: may the ever gracious God have mercy upon you; send His Holy Spirit into your soul and cause your blind soul’s eyes to see and your deaf ears to hear His voice calling unto you, “This is the Way, walk ye in it.”

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