But God Raised Him from the Dead

Paul says that the word of this salvation has been sent.

Christianity is not first a set of moral instructions. It is not first a call to try harder. It is not first a religious system for respectable people.

It is good news.

That matters.

The gospel announces something God has done. Jesus Christ has come. He has died for sins. He has risen from the dead. Forgiveness is proclaimed through Him. Everyone who believes is justified from all things from which the law of Moses could not justify.

This is news before it is advice.

Advice tells us what we must do.

News tells us what has been done.

Of course the gospel calls for repentance, faith and obedience. But those responses rest on the finished work of Christ. We do not save ourselves by responding well enough. We receive the salvation God has accomplished in His Son.

This gives hope to sinners.

If the gospel were only advice, weak people would despair. If it were only instruction, guilty people would hide. If it were only moral challenge, weary people would collapse under the weight.

But it is good news.

God has acted in Christ.

Salvation has been sent.

Paul says that those living in Jerusalem and their rulers did not know Jesus. They did not understand the voices of the prophets that were read every Sabbath. Yet by condemning Him, they fulfilled those very prophecies.

That is sobering.

People can hear Scripture and still miss Christ. They can be religiously familiar with holy words yet blind to the Saviour those words reveal. The leaders knew the public reading of Scripture but did not recognise the One to whom Scripture pointed.

This warns us against mere familiarity.

It is possible to be near the language of faith yet far from humble trust. It is possible to know verses yet resist the Lord. It is possible to speak religiously and still reject the King.

But there is also a deep comfort here.

Human rejection did not overthrow God's plan.

The rulers condemned Jesus. They acted wrongly. Their blindness was real. Their guilt was real. Yet even their rejection fulfilled what God had spoken beforehand.

This does not excuse sin.

It magnifies God's sovereignty.

The cross was not an accident. Jesus was not caught in events beyond God's control. The darkest hour in history unfolded under the wise and saving purpose of God.

Human rulers rejected Him.

But God was fulfilling His Word.

Paul says that when they had fulfilled all things written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

Jesus truly died.

This must never be softened.

The Son of God did not merely appear to suffer. He did not merely faint. He did not pass through death lightly. He died. His body was taken down. He was laid in a tomb.

This is central to the gospel.

If Jesus did not truly die, then He did not truly bear the penalty of sin. If He did not truly die, then there is no real resurrection. If there is no real resurrection, Christian hope collapses.

But Scripture is clear.

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

His death was not meaningless tragedy. It was sacrifice. He bore sin. He stood in the place of sinners. He gave Himself as the Lamb of God. The cross shows both the horror of sin and the depth of divine love.

The tomb tells us the death was real.

Christian hope does not avoid the grave by pretending it is not there.

It looks directly at death and says, "But God."

Now comes the great turn.

"But God raised him from the dead."

The subject of the sentence matters.

God raised Him.

The resurrection is the Father's declaration concerning the Son. Men condemned Jesus. God vindicated Him. Men placed Him in a tomb. God raised Him. Men treated Him as cursed and defeated. God revealed Him as Lord and Saviour.

This is the centre of Christian hope.

The resurrection means death did not defeat Jesus.

The resurrection means the cross was not failure.

The resurrection means the sacrifice of Christ was accepted.

The resurrection means Jesus is alive now.

The resurrection means forgiveness is not a wish but a proclaimed reality.

The resurrection means history is moving toward the day when the risen Christ will judge, restore and reign.

This is why Christianity cannot be reduced to helpful values.

At the heart of the faith is an empty tomb.

The believer does not merely follow the memory of a great teacher. The believer belongs to a living Lord.

Jesus is not an inspiration from the past.

He is risen.

Paul says Jesus was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They became His witnesses to the people.

This matters because the resurrection was not presented as a private feeling or poetic symbol.

There were witnesses.

The apostles did not say, "We still sense His influence." They said, "God raised Him and He was seen." Their message was rooted in real events. They proclaimed what God had done in history.

Faith is not fantasy.

Christian hope is not pretending life is brighter than it is.

The resurrection was witnessed, preached and carried into the world by people who had seen the risen Lord.

That gives strength to weary believers.

Our hope is not hanging from a mood. It is anchored in the living Christ. Feelings may rise and fall. Circumstances may darken. The body may weaken. The world may mock. But Jesus has been raised.

The witnesses spoke.

The gospel spread.

The church was born.

The risen Lord still reigns.

Paul moves from resurrection to forgiveness.

"Through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins."

This is stunning.

The resurrection does not merely prove that Jesus is alive. It opens the announcement of forgiveness in His name. The crucified and risen Christ is the one through whom sinners may be forgiven.

This is the mercy every person needs.

We may need comfort, guidance, healing, wisdom, friendship and strength. But beneath all those needs is the deepest need: forgiveness before God.

Sin is not solved by time. It is not solved by distraction. It is not solved by self-improvement. It is not solved by comparing ourselves to worse people. Sin must be forgiven.

Through Jesus, forgiveness is proclaimed.

Not through religious achievement.

Not through family background.

Not through good intentions.

Through Jesus.

This keeps the gospel wonderfully clear.

If you are guilty, come to Christ.

If you are ashamed, come to Christ.

If you are tired of trying to justify yourself, come to Christ.

If you know your sin is real and your excuses are thin, come to Christ.

Forgiveness is proclaimed through Him.

The risen Jesus is not reluctant to save sinners. He died and rose so that sinners might be forgiven, justified and brought to God.

Paul says that by Jesus everyone who believes is justified from all things from which the law of Moses could not justify them.

That is a glorious promise.

Everyone who believes.

Not everyone who has a perfect record.

Not everyone who has always understood clearly.

Not everyone who has never failed badly.

Not everyone who can explain every doctrine with confidence.

Everyone who believes.

To be justified is to be declared right with God. It is more than feeling forgiven. It is more than being given another chance. It is God's legal declaration that the believer is righteous in Christ.

The law exposed sin but it could not justify sinners. It showed what was holy but it could not make the guilty clean. It revealed the need but it could not provide the final cure.

Jesus has done what the law could not do.

Through His death and resurrection, sinners are justified by faith in Him.

This is strong comfort for the conscience.

The believer does not stand before God holding a pile of personal achievements. The believer stands in Christ. His righteousness is our hope. His blood is our cleansing. His resurrection is our confidence.

Death spoke at the cross.

But God raised Him from the dead.

Sin accused.

But God justifies through Christ.

The grave closed.

But God opened it.