Wegens COVID-19 en verstoring van de internationale postdienst hebben
wij onze 'Gratis Boekendienst' tijdelijk opgeschort.
wij onze 'Gratis Boekendienst' tijdelijk opgeschort.
In het licht van deze situatie kunnen we u de boeken momenteel niet opsturen.
Bid dat deze pandemie spoedig zal eindigen en dat de postdienst wordt hervat.
Bid dat deze pandemie spoedig zal eindigen en dat de postdienst wordt hervat.
Subject 22 : The Gospel According to LUKE
[Chapter 24-1] The Resurrected Lord Has Given Us The Hope of Resurrection (Luke 24:13-53)
(Luke 24:13-53)
“Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, ‘What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?’ Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?’ And He said to them, ‘What things?’ So they said to Him, ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.’ Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, ‘Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’ And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’ So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.’ And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.”
What Did the Disciples of Jesus say?
How are you, everyone? Luke, the disciple of Jesus, who recorded today’s Scripture passage, was really meek in temperament. On the contrary, Mark who recorded the Gospel of Mark had a very strong faith and he was ingenuous. And Matthew who was a tax collector was logical in his argument, so he recorded the wonderful Word of God called the Gospel of Matthew after becoming a disciple of Jesus. Matthew consistently recorded all the events that occurred around Jesus from a perspective of Jesus’ Kingship. However, among the disciples of Jesus, the one who was closest to the Lord spiritually and had prudent character was probably the Apostle John. John who was closest to the Lord spiritually and had the upright faith in God recorded Jesus Christ as God; he recorded the work of Jesus Christ during 33 years of His life from the highest perspective.
As I have mentioned moments ago, Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke, was a disciple of Jesus and was meek in temperament. Therefore, he mentioned much about the weaknesses of the humans in the Gospel of Luke because he knew well about them. The Four Gospels all record the resurrection of Jesus, and the Gospel of Luke records the resurrection of Jesus focusing on the special account that Jesus’ two disciples experienced on their way down to Emmaus.
After Jesus died on the Cross, the corpse of Jesus was laid in the stone grave that was prepared for Joseph of Arimathea. He was not buried deep underneath the ground like in our country, but His body was just placed in a cave grave. In Israel, when a person died, they used to put the person inside a cave and closed off the entrance, and the wealthy people made a stone grave and put the corpse in the grave and sealed the entrance. That was the custom in Israel at the time. People in our country Korea are familiar with earth, the soil. Therefore, people in our country commonly bury the corpse underneath the ground and allow it to decompose and return to the earth. However, in Israel, they put corpse in the cave and the corpse decomposed and returned to nature. Such a burial custom preserved the corpse longer. Because they just lay the dead corpse on the surface of the ground, the bones remain when the flesh is decomposed. However, in the eastern burial custom, even the bones are decomposed completely as time passes by.
And the appearance of the grave is very different, too. In the western countries, they often use the grave made of cement or stones, but in the eastern countries, we often bury the corpse underneath the earth and lay grass over it. Confucian ideology of those countries has made such a tradition, and it has brought much loss to their land space. Even in our country, Korea, the area of the public graveyards is very big, and they are the major obstacles in national land planning.
Anyway, our Jesus was resurrected after being buried in the cave grave in three days after dying on the Cross after saying, “It is finished!” Two people who first saw the resurrection of the Lord were Mary Magdalene and the other woman also called Mary. At the time, these two women went to the stone grave with a few female believers. They went there to apply the spices to the corpse so the corpse will not decompose too easily and so the smell of the corpse will not be so strong. They went to the grave very early in the morning, at early dawn when the morning sun was beginning to rise, and they saw that the large stone that closed off the cave grave had fallen off from the entrance. When they looked inside, the corpse of Jesus had vanished and only the folded garment that had been rolled over the corpse remained there. While they were embarrassed as they found that Jesus’ corpse had vanished and wondered what they should do, two angels appeared to them and asked them, “Why are you looking for Jesus who is not here?” The angel said, “The Lord has resurrected as He said and He is in the place that He told you He would be.”
At this, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were astonished. They were so happy and joyful as well as fearful that they ran to the disciples of Jesus as if they had lost their mind. Then, they told them all the things they had seen. John and Peter who were impetuous ran to the grave immediately. And they saw that the corpse had really disappeared and there were only the linen cloths lying folded. Jesus resurrected on the third day after dying on the Cross. On the fourth day after Jesus’ death, a day after the resurrection of Jesus, the rumor that Jesus had resurrected spread rampantly and people began talking about this everywhere.
In such a situation, two disciples of Jesus were going down to the village of Emmaus with disappointment and fear. While Jerusalem was located on the hillside, the village of Emmaus was located outskirts of the city located about 10 kilometers down from Jerusalem. The two of them were going down that road with disappointment. They were reminiscing about all the things that happened and talking to each other. Then, Jesus appeared to the disciples who were going down sadly with memories of the past.
Of course, the disciples could not recognize Jesus for a while. Jesus appeared to them in the appearance of an ordinary sojourner traveling on the road. Jesus asked the disciples, “What happened in Jerusalem? What are two of you talking about?” Then, the two disciples stopped momentarily and told Him, “My gosh! You live in Jerusalem and you do not know what has happened during the last few days? The biggest happening has occurred. The chief priests and the government officials gave up Jesus to the Romans to be put to death and He received a capital sentence. Then, He was nailed to the Cross and shed blood and died. We took Jesus to a cave grave, but the corpse has disappeared. There are some among the other disciples of Jesus who say that they have met the resurrected Jesus personally, and I am confused. How could you not know of such a big incident that just happened during the last few days?”
Jesus Told the Two Disciples Who Were Going Down to Emmaus
The Lord explained to them the things that were written about Jesus Christ in the Book of Psalms and the Books of Moses and the Prophets in the Old Testament. As He was walking along with them, the evening came and the sun went down. Jesus wanted to continue on His way, but they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.” Hence, the Lord had meal with them. While having dinner with them, Jesus took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then the disciples saw that the sojourner was Jesus Himself. They finally recognized Jesus.
There was a question: “How were the two disciples not able to recognize Jesus even though they met Jesus right in front of them?” Jews used to cover their heads with cloth. Therefore, the two disciples did not recognize Jesus at first, but they realized He was Jesus when they sat together for dinner and took bread from Him. As soon as the disciples recognized Jesus, He left the place immediately like wind. That was a hair-raising experience. When the disciples of Jesus first met the resurrected Jesus on the way to Emmaus, they were confused with many things. However, their hearts burned with passion when the Lord interpreted the Word from the Book of Psalms and the Pentateuch in the Old Testament and explained it to them. And they finally recognized that He was Jesus especially when He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Although they were confused because Jesus disappeared like that, they were sure that they had met Jesus. After spending the night like that, they ran to Jerusalem to the other disciples and told them of the fact.
At the time when the disciples of Jesus who heard this fact gathered and were talking among themselves, Jesus appeared in the midst of them personally. Let’s look at today’s Scripture passage from verses 36 to 45. It says, “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”
The two disciples of Jesus who were going down to Emmaus met Jesus on the road and recognized that He was Jesus when He took the bread and gave it to them, but Jesus had already disappeared. Afterwards, they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” And they came down to Jerusalem and met the other disciples of Jesus and told them what had happened. And there were some among them who had met Jesus as the two disciples had. There were some who doubted the resurrection of Jesus and there were some who were sure of His resurrection, and, therefore, they debated the possibilities fervently.
Then, at that moment, Jesus appeared in the midst of them and said, “Peace to you.” A false teacher these days says, “The Holy Spirit comes in through the east gate. The Holy Spirit is coming down from the west door.” However, here, Jesus just actually appeared in the center. It means that Jesus really appeared in the midst of the place where the eleven disciples who were disturbed greatly at the news of the resurrection of Jesus were. That is, if there was a room this size and we were talking among ourselves, Jesus appeared in the midst of us. The disciples were astonished and fearful when they saw Jesus who appeared in the midst of them. At that time, Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” The disciples of Jesus were happy to see Him again, but they could not believe His resurrection and they just thought it incredible. Then, Jesus asked them, “Have you any food here?” The disciples took one piece of broiled fish and gave it to Jesus. Jesus took that and actually ate it.
At the time before Jesus appeared in the midst of them, the disciples probably said things like, “There are some people who really saw the resurrected Jesus. Even these two disciples said that they had conversation with Jesus on the road while they were going down to Emmaus. They did not recognize Him at first, but He disappeared when they recognized Him later. What is going on here? It is so confusing? Have you seen Him, too? Other disciples say that they have seen Him, too. That’s really strange.” While they were murmuring with one another like that, Jesus just appeared in the center of the place like that without even opening the door and coming in. To His disciples who were so astonished, Jesus showed His hands and feet and said, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.”
When we look at the other book of the gospel, it records that Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, could not believe the word of the other disciples. It means that he did not believe the accounts of people seeing Jesus. However, Jesus who really appeared before them said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27). As the Lord said, Thomas really verified the resurrection of Jesus by putting his hands into in the flesh of Jesus where the marks of the nail still remained. That’s how Thomas became the man of faith. That is not recorded in the Gospel of Luke here, but it does record here that Jesus had food. He said, “Do you have food to eat now? My flesh, as well as the Spirit, also resurrected.” When the disciples gave a piece of broiled fish to Jesus, He ate it immediately. And He gave the Word to the disciples, blessed them, and went up to Heaven. ‘It says, “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” And it means that the Word actually was fulfilled.
As we read the Word of God today, you may think, “Jesus was resurrected. I am so thankful.” Of course, I also give thanks to the Lord. I am also hopeful that we will also be like that in the future. Here, the hope means desiring after it. Then, what should we desire to be? The event of Jesus’ resurrection from death is a greater blessing than the blessing of Jesus blotting out all our sins through the gospel of water and the Spirit and God making us His children. That’s why the resurrection is the greatest blessing. Here, Jesus was resurrected. And we also will be resurrected again. To come alive again is truly a great blessing to us.
As we live in this world, there are times when we leave a blemish that cannot be erased. Hence, what do people say? They say, “I really would want to live well without such blemish if I had another chance.” People say such things often. But such blemishes do not bind us the born-again. Jesus has blotted out all our sins and blemishes perfectly. We who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have received the remission of sins, become the children of God, and we will go and live in the Kingdom of God in the future. We definitely believe in this fact.
But, Jesus was resurrected from the valley of no return called ‘death’ that no one can return from just because he wants to. Let’s focus on such resurrection of Jesus and think about it. And let’s desire it with our hearts. Let’s desire to die together with Jesus, rise again together with Jesus, receive new life, and start a new life. That’s the core of the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus. As we greet Easter Sunday, we must focus on these things and think about them.
You and I Have Received the Remission of Sins by Believing in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit
It’s a good thing that we have received the remission of sins. We have become the children of God and we will go to the Kingdom of God in the future. However, we must do the work of God while we live in this world. God’s work is righteous and upright, but it is that difficult and challenging. However, we have hope. As our souls have received salvation, our flesh also desires to die once and be brought back to life again and spread the wings of our dreams and live a new life. Jesus was resurrected from the dead and started a new life. Jesus entered the eternal world and now lives gloriously as the King, enjoying riches and splendor.
Therefore, what did the Lord say while He was dying on the Cross? A robber to His side said to the Lord, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” As you well know, ‘Utopia’ is one of the synonyms of ‘paradise.’ The word ‘Utopia’ comes from Greek words ou (not, no) and topos (place). So, it means literarily ‘a place that is nowhere on earth,’ or ‘an imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal.’ Then, what is the meaning of the Lord’s Word that said, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” It is saying that, as the Lord finished 33 years of life in this world and lives a new life in the eternal world, you and I who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit also have new life to enjoy. If we desire to enjoy new life, we must believe and give thanks for the fact that Jesus was resurrected.
Did Jesus really resurrect from death? Jesus was resurrected from death so that our body that is corruptible will put on the incorruptible and live eternally with a new life (1 Corinthians 15:53). I have told you earlier that hope means desiring after something. Then, what do you and I desire? Human beings definitely die once after being born again in this world. If our body will be resurrected like the Lord after dying, what would we desire before the presence of God at that time? What would we desire if our imperfect body died once and then received a new life after being brought back to life again? We desire to really live a life like that of the Lord at that time. The Lord said that He would make us participate in His resurrection. Therefore, our bodies will be resurrected after dying once, and the thing we desire at that time before the presence of God is that we want to have a new body, unlike the imperfect body we have now, and go wherever we want to go like Jesus, rule over the angels, enjoy everything, and not become subject to evil. That’s what I desire.
My heart becomes refreshed as I face this Easter Sunday because I have received the salvation of my soul, received the remission of sins in my heart, and all things have been guaranteed by the Lord, and because the happiness of my future has been guaranteed before the presence of the Lord. Therefore, I want my flesh to receive a new life also and live a life like that of the Lord’s. I want to live again with a perfect body, not an imperfect body that we have now. Therefore, Easter Sunday has deep meaning for you and me.
Do You Believe That Jesus Was Resurrected from Death?
Then, why do you think Jesus was resurrected from death? The Lord was resurrected from death to give new life to you and me. Jesus who received the baptism died on the Cross to blot out all our sins and was resurrected from death. The Lord was resurrected to become the perfect Lord for you and me, to blot out all our sins, to bring our body back to life, and make it start living a new life. Jesus is the Lord of resurrection. He is the Lord of life. The Apostle Paul said, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14). It is saying that our faith would not mean anything if the Lord did not resurrect from death. If we just received salvation spiritually, received salvation in spirit only, received salvation in our thoughts only, but our body could not be brought back to life again and live a new life, and if we did not have such desire for resurrection of our bodies, then there wouldn’t be any hope for us Christians. However, as He did resurrect from death, the Lord resurrects you and me who have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and makes our flesh be brought back to life again and start a new life. He makes us live a truly blessed life. Such a life awaits you and me. If we did not have such hope, you and I would just be dreamers. If that is the case, then, all the things that we have believed would be figments of our imagination and just a foolish game of words.
The soul of Jesus who saved us from sins did not have sin. The Lord came as the Lamb without blemish and took and carried all our sins upon His flesh in our place. Then, He received the judgment for the sins by having His body crucified on the Cross, died on the Cross, and was resurrected from death. The physical body is absolutely necessary for us humans. Why? It’s because we can never live apart from the physical body. Living apart from the physical body is meaningless. However, the Lord even saved our physical body. As the Word that says, “O Death, where is your sting?” His resurrection made the death disappear from our physical body as well. The Lord made the death disappear. The Lord said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and “I am the resurrection.” This Word means that the Lord is the Lord of life who has resurrected the dead.
Therefore, as we greet Easter Sunday, our body must desire to be resurrected, and know and believe that it surely will be like that. We must believe with our hearts and hope that we will live a new life like that, thinking, “Our bodies will really be brought back to life again. We can start a new life after being resurrected.” We must desire it. We are not living a true life of Christians if we cannot look to such a resurrected both in body and spirit. Such faith is not a true faith. Living in this world is just a process to attain eternal life. You do not need to be concerned just because the life in this world was miserable. When our physical body is brought back to life again, then we will not live the miserable life of this world. We will live such a life that only God can enjoy in the eternally glorious world. We must desire such life in our hearts. The Lord gave us the resurrection. God promised that He would bring our physical body back to life again too. The Lord Himself fulfilled that promise first and said that He will also resurrect us too in His time. You and I are people who will be resurrected by the Lord and a new life of living again with a new body waits for us. Then, what would happen to you and me who have received the remission of sins by believing the gospel of the water and the Spirit do not desire such life? What would happen if we did not desire such life before the presence of the Lord? Of course, we will live such a glorious life even if we do not desire it. However, we must know that there definitely is such a wonderful life and desire it as we live our spiritual life. I am saying that we must believe with clear understanding that there is such a life.
As we greet Easter Sunday, what would happen if we did not know and we did not believe that our physical body also would be resurrected and live gloriously? We must look to it with hope because it has not been fulfilled yet, but what would be the consequence if we did not look to it with hope? We will kneel down before death when the difficulties come and death threatens us. However, we will never kneel before death if we believe that the Lord has given us resurrection. We would instead respond boldly before death because we believe that we will live again. That’s why our faith in the resurrection is so important. Easter Sunday is a precious day for us to confirm our hearts that desire and believe in the resurrection of our body by believing in the resurrection of the Lord. It doesn’t simply mean that “Let’s start a new work. Let’s gain renewed strength.”
I sincerely desire it. I desire sincerely that a new life will be given to me once again, that the new life will continue on eternally, and that I will live splendidly when the new life begins. I believe it because the Lord exists gloriously and eternally even now after resurrecting from death. I believe it because He was resurrected from death and ascended to Heaven to give such a life to you and me, and because He said that He will definitely come again. I want you to understand it like that. I want you to believe it like that. We must all desire it.
Now, all Christians must have that hope in their hearts. First, it means that we must desire to be resurrected from death. We must look to that. We must live in the midst of that hope. The Scriptures say, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” God so loved us that He blotted out all our sins, saved us, and was resurrected from death for us. God gave us new life and resurrected us. God resurrected our souls and also will resurrect our physical body. Therefore, we must desire it. We must live with such desire from now on. The greatest of these is love, but what comes at the end? It’s the hope. What kind of life should we desire? That is the question. What kind of life do you and I desire? With what purpose do we live and what kind of life do we desire? Then, what is the thing we must look to? It means that we must desire to be resurrected from death like the Lord and enjoy the life of riches and splendor with the Lord eternally. It means that we must desire to live a perfect life that has no defect although the life in this world is imperfect. We must definitely desire, believe, and wait for this. That is the true spiritual life of Christians. Do you believe?
We must have hope. We must live with such desire. The Apostle Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). We probably would not be able to live in this world if we did not have hope. If people just received the remission of sins through the gospel that we witness to them and their bodies just died after a miserable life, and if their bodies did not resurrect to enjoy eternal happiness, then we would probably give up witnessing this gospel. Having the sins of the people being blotted out and not going to hell is very meaningful thing, and it would be grateful just to go to Heaven, but if there weren’t anything more to look forward to, if there were nothing more than that, then, our gospel and faith would just maintain status quo at that level.
However, what is the reality? New life waits for all the people who have received the remission of sins. We die, but a new life begins after resurrecting from death.
We were shabby, weak, and foolish until now. However, the new life that will come to us in the future is totally positive, definite, and perfect as opposed to the negative life of this world. The new life that we will have in the future will be eternally splendid and blessed and perfect without decaying. We will live with perfect power. It’s the life that we can fulfill whatever is in our hearts if that is not something bad. That is the life of resurrection. We will be like the Lord when we are resurrected. The Lord has given us such resurrection.
We do not need to have fear before the moment of death or become disgraceful even in the face of death in the future because we definitely have a splendid life guaranteed for us after death. We will not end our first life disgracefully because we will start a new life after being resurrected from the dead. I believe this. Do you also believe this? The resurrection is an amazingly beautiful thing because it is the start of a new life.
We are now working hard to save the souls of other people. Our bodies are becoming weaker due to that work. However, we have a long way to go. We have new life waiting for us. The new life waits for us who have been born again only. That is the resurrection. If we only go to Heaven after receiving the remission of sins and living like this, if we will not have new life after death, if our bodies will not be brought back to life again, the Lord would not have had to resurrect from death again. However, the Lord definitely came alive again. He has resurrected. The Lord was resurrected from death to bring us back to life again from death, to show that He is the Lord of resurrection and the Lord of life, and to show that abundant grace.
Before being born again, that is, before believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, I did not believe in such resurrection. However, I truly believe it now. I believe that there is new life for you and me. Do you also believe it? Even though I do not know how we have lived until now after being born in this world and we do not know how we would live in the future as well, one thing is clear that a new life definitely waits for you and me. We can start a new life again through the Lord. I have such faith and I believe that you also have the same faith.
The resurrection of the Lord is the proof that tells us that we can begin a new life even after death. At that time, this physical body will be brought back to life again and be transformed into a holy body. Do you understand this? I mean that we won’t be left with soul only. Therefore, resurrection is such a wonderful thing to me. I am so thankful to the Lord who gave us such a precious gift.
We can live with this hope from now on. As we do the work of witnessing the gospel, the work that profits other people, the work the Lord has entrusted to us, the fact that we will start a new life again will be just as encouraging as the fact that we are serving the Lord like this and doing the Lord’s work.
I am saying that we can be happy with this hope. Keep today’s Word deep in you heart, meditate on it, and believe it sincerely. I want you to meet our Lord after living a life of desiring for the resurrection by believing in the resurrection of the Lord and our resurrection. Do you believe? Yes, I also believe it. Halleluiah! Jesus has risen!
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission