He is not here, but has risen

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with a heart ready to exalt the living Christ, I present this expository message designed to edify the family of faith on this glorious Resurrection Sunday.

Scripture Text: Luke 24:1-8

“1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared, and some other women with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb; 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; 5 and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them: Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 saying: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and riseagain on the third day. 8 Then they remembered his words.”

Introduction.

Imagine for a moment the atmosphere in Jerusalem that early Sunday morning. There were no joyful choirs or ringing bells. There was a deathly silence, a weight of defeat on the disciples' shoulders, and a perfume of death in the hands of the women walking toward the tomb. In my pastoral experience, I have accompanied many families to the cemetery; that road is often the hardest in life, because it seems like the road to the end.

Those women were carrying spices to embalm a corpse, not to celebrate a miracle. Their faith was clouded by grief. However, what they found was not a lifeless body, but a question that changed the history of the universe: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”. Today, that same message breaks into our own “tombs,” our hopelessness, fears, and failures, to remind us that we serve a God who did not remain in history, but walks beside us today.

Biblical Foundation

1. The Resurrection as Divine Validation: The resurrection is not just a miracle; it is God the Father's signature validating Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Without it, our faith would be purposeless (1 Corinthians 15:14).
2. The Fulfillment of the Scriptures: Everything happened according to what God had announced for centuries, demonstrating that He has absolute control over time and eternity.
3. The Defeat of the Last Enemy: The empty tomb proclaims that death has lost its sting. Christ holds the keys of death and Hades.
4. Our Justification: Christ was delivered up for our transgressions, but raised for our justification. His life guarantees our legal standing before God.
5. The Firstfruits of Our Hope: Because He lives, we also will live. His resurrection is the “down payment” of the transformation that all believers will experience.

Historical Context

Luke writes to Theophilus with impressive historical rigor. The context is one of absolute crisis. The expected Messiah had been executed as a criminal. Jewish law and Roman power had allied to “put an end” to Jesus' movement. The sealed stone not only closed a tomb; it sought to close Israel's hope.

Textual Analysis and Central Truths

I. The Error of the Wrong Search (vv. 1-5) The women were looking for Jesus in the logical place: the cemetery. But human logic fails before divine power. The text says they were “perplexed.” Perplexity arises when we try to understand God's plans by natural standards.

• Truth 1: We often look for living solutions in dead places (religiosity, temporary pleasures, self-effort). Christ does not belong to the realm of the dead.

II. The Proclamation of Heavenly Reality (v. 6) “He is not here, but has risen”. These are the seven most powerful words in Christianity. The angels' message was not a suggestion; it was a legal and spiritual fact. The absence of the body is the presence of our salvation.

• Truth 2: The resurrection is an undeniable historical fact that separates Christianity from any other philosophy or religion. Other leaders died and their remains are there; our King lives.

III. The Power of Remembering the Word (vv. 6b-8) The angel says to them: “Remember what he told you”. The women's problem was not a lack of love for Jesus, but a lack of memory of His Word. Jesus had already announced His victory to them, but grief causes spiritual amnesia. When they remembered, their perspective changed.

• Truth 3: Faith is not based on feelings, but on the faithfulness of Christ's words. The victory was already won from the moment He promised it.

Application.

Today, this word calls us to stop living as if Christ were dead. If He has risen, then:

• There is no sin that His blood has not paid for and His life has not overcome.
• There is no “dead” situation in your life (your marriage, your children, your health) that cannot be touched by the power of the resurrection.
• We must live with an ethic of victory, not of defeat.

Conclusion.

We have seen that the empty tomb is the guarantee of our faith. We learned that we should not look for life in places of death and that the key to sustaining ourselves in trials is to remember the promises Jesus has already given us. He is the living Christ!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for this Resurrection Sunday. Thank You because the stone was removed, not so that Jesus could come out, but so that we could see that He was no longer there. We ask that the power of the resurrection blow today over every family, bringing life where there is dryness and hope where there is mourning. May we no longer live as orphans, but as children of the living God. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Brother, sister, do not let this be just a day of outward celebration. I invite you today to surrender to the Lord that “tomb” you keep in your heart. Trust in His Word above your circumstances. He has risen, and in Him, you rise too!