Daily Devotions
“He has risen!” Mark 16:6
“Three Little Words” was the title of a popular song years back. The Christian faith has its three little words which convey the greatest news ever told. They say: “He has risen!”
Had the Easter message been “Christ is dead,” life would be a succession of most distressing facts, as Saint Paul enumerates them in 1 Corinthians 15: preaching is in vain, faith is futile, we are still mired down in our sins, the dead will not rise, we will have no reunion with them (1 Corinthians 15:14-20).
But:”He has risen!” That entirely reverses the terms, and life has made a turn of 180 degrees. From the gloom of the grave Christ, the Light of the world, has emerged alive. He has kept every promise — the promise that on the third day He would raise the temple of His body, the promise that He would see His followers again, the promise that they, too, would live and on the Last Day rise from the dead.
Christ’s resurrection casts us Christians in entirely new roles. From mourning we proceed to rejoicing. Doubt and despair turn into faith. Truly, as Saint Peter declares: “In His great mercy He [God the Father] has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
Since Christ has risen, many are the consequences for us as Christ’s church. The angel bids us: “Go quickly and tell … [that] He has risen from the dead” (Matthew 28:7), and the living Lord Himself issues this mission mandate: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The Head of the church is alive, and from His throne at God’s right hand He rules and guides the affairs of His kingdom of grace, eventually turning it into the kingdom of glory.
The three little words “He has risen!” describe an even that has changed life completely for us as members of Christ’s kingdom.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your return to life as a seal on the completeness of Your redeeming work. Amen.
(Devotions from “With Jesus Every Day” copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)