HE IS RISEN

This simple but powerful statement resides at the heart of the earliest Christianproclamation of the gospel and forms the foundation upon which Christian faith and hope arebased. As the Apostle Paul stated:

“And if the Messiah has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17

Anyone familiar with The Book of Acts knows that on many occasions where the earliest Christians had an opportunity to share the good news publicly, the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah stood at the center of their message. Let’s take a look at a few of these instances.““Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God – Yehovah to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God - Yehovah did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s – Yehovah’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, withthe help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God - Yehovah raised him fromthe dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep itshold on him.

David said about him: “‘I saw Yehovah always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God - Yehovah had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing whatwas to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God - Yehovah has raised this Jesus to life, and we areall witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God - Yehovah, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out [on the day of Pentecost] what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said: ‘Yehovah said to my Lord [the Messiah]: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God – Yehovah has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both lord and Messiah.” Acts 2:22-36.

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer; at three in theafternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus the Messiah of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God - Yehovah. When all the people saw him walking and praising God - Yehovah, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 

While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does thissurprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God - Yehovah raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know wasmade strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” Acts 3:1-16

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met inJerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus the Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God - Yehovah raised from the dead, that this man standsbefore you healed. Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:1-12Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

But during the night an angel of the Lord - Yehovah opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin; the full assembly ofthe elders of Israel; and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, “We found the jail securely locked,with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss,wondering what this might lead to. Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put injail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the peoplewould stone them.

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin tobe questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God - Yehovah rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead; whom you killed by hanging him on a cross [stake]. God - Yehovah exalted him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.” Acts 5:17-3

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God - Yehovah does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right. You know the message God - Yehovah sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus the Messiah, who is lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached; how God - Yehovah anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God - Yehovah was with him. “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross [stake], but God - Yehovah raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God - Yehovah had already chosen; by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from among the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgivenessof sins through his name.” Acts 10:34-43

“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message ofsalvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yetin condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down fromthe cross [stake] and laid him in a tomb. But God - Yehovah raised him from among he dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.” “We tell you the good news: What God - Yehovah promised our ancestors He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” Acts 13:26-33

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects ofworship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship; and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live intemples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man [Adam] He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out theirappointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone; an image made by human design and skill. In the past God - Yehovah overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man [Jesus] He has appointed. He has givenproof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”” Acts 17:22-31 The weight of the evidence is overwhelming! May we celebrate this day in praise to God for the “...working of his mighty strength, which He exerted in the Messiah when He raised him from among thedead...” Ephesians 3:19-20