Our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ

by George Prasher, Manchester, England | Category: 'Behold The Man!' | Mar 1995

'Come, see the place where the Lord lay' (Mat. 28:6)

The angel of the Lord invited Mary Magdalene and her companions to see the place where the Lord lay. The place was eloquent with evidence of His resurrection - the great stone rolled away, the soldiers paralysed with fear, the empty tomb. In this unbelieving age we do well to return there frequently and see again the proofs of the resurrection of our Saviour. For 'if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins... But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep' (1 Cor. 15:17,20).

'He beholdeth the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, that was upon His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself (John 20:6,7).

Peter and John stood peering intently at those linen cloths. These seemed to clinch the matter for John. 'He saw, and believed'. The truth gripped him that there was no way of accounting for the cloths in that position except the miraculous resurrection of the One who had been wound in them.

'See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and hones, as ye behold Me having' (Luke

24:39).

To this day there are false teachers who assert that the Lord Jesus in resurrection was in spirit form, and that His body was not literally raised from the dead. As though anticipating such falsehoods, it would seem that the Holy Spirit deliberately led Luke to include this detail in his narrative. So as we see our Lord Jesus in resurrection we are assured that He is indeed the Man Jesus Christ.

'Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead' (2 Tim. 2:8).

Paul urged Timothy to remember the resurrected Lord when exhorting to sacrificial service in furtherance of the gospel - as a good soldier suffers hardship, and as an athlete contends in the games. Christian discipleship calls for stem endeavour. Difficulties and discouragements are sure to come. But to remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead brings fresh strength and courage. For His triumphant glory is the guarantee that all who serve Him faithfully today will share His glory tomorrow. 'If we endure, we shall also reign with Him' (2 Tim. 2:12).

'Looking unto Jesus ... at the right hand of the throne of God' (Heb. 12:2).

In a letter to the Hebrews we are taught to view the resurrected One in a special sense as the 'Apostle and High Priest of our confession'. As High

Priest He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and drawing near to the throne of God through Him we receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. Through Him also we offer our spiritual sacrifices to His God and Father as we draw near in worship.

I saw 'One like unto a Son of Man' (Rev. 1:12,13).

When John saw the Lord Jesus on this occasion he fell at His feet as one dead, overcome by the glory of the Lord's Person. John was reassured by the words, 'Fear not; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore'. This view of the resurrected Lord has a special interest. For He is seen as walking in the midst of seven golden lampstands, representing the seven churches of God in Asia. His deep personal interest in the condition of each assembly, His unerring commendation of good and exposure of evil, and His strong encouragement to hold fast till He come should all impress upon us our responsibility to Him as disciples.

George Prasher, Manchester, England | Mar 1995
'Behold The Man!'