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An Angel’s Affirmation
An Angel’s Affirmation
“He is not here. For He has risen. Just as He had said” (Matthew 28:6). The angel gives us a poignant 3 point “sermon”.
1. “He is not here”.
There is much in this simple statement. Here are four facts even most skeptics today will admit are indisputable (similar to the Minimum Facts Argument for the resurrection):
• Jesus was historically real.
• Jesus was crucified.
• Jesus’s body was buried in a tomb.
• Jesus’s tomb was empty.
Something happened to His body because the tomb was empty. Think about it, if the tomb wasn’t empty, then the religious and political authorities could have ended the movement, later called The Way, very simply. Debunk Jesus and His followers by going to the tomb!
But…”He is not here.”
2. “For He has risen”.
Resurrection is a biblical theme foreshadowed even in the formation of Adam. Examples followed through the ministries of Elijah and Elisha. Jesus Himself performed this powerful deed more than once. So rising from the dead is so biblical it should not have been unrealistic to any Torah believing Jew.
What makes Jesus’s resurrection distinct? This is the first time in Biblical history:
• That the one resurrected would never die again.
• That the miracle worker who performed a resurrection, is Himself resurrected.
• That this particular resurrection foreshadows our own because Jesus is the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15).
“He is not here. For He has risen.”
3. “Just as He had said”.
Consider how powerful this is:
• This is a prophetic statement. The angel’s claim fulfills many other prophetic statements of Jesus’s resurrection (1 Cor.15:4).
• This is an authenticating statement. As Romans 1:4 shows, Jesus was resurrected by the Spirit of Holiness. This means Jesus was innocent of the Sandredrin’s accusation of blasphemy, exonerated by God’s approving of His claims to be God incarnated.
• This is a confident statement. Jesus could endure it all because He knew the outcome (John 13:1).
“He is not here. For He has risen. Just as He said”.
Let us take the angel’s affirmative and spread the good news. The angel didn’t speak long, but he spoke volumes!
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