THE RESSURECTION: Peace to you! - PART 1

Peace from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. It's a great privilege to be here with you once again. Today we are beginning a series that I've entitled, THE RESURRECTION. This doctrine is a pivotal one that every Christian must have a grasp of. We can waver in a lot of doctrines but when it comes to this doctrine, we must not. It's the core message of the Gospel and without the reality of it, the Gospel seizes to be the Good News but rather becomes a mere story. It's therefore in the light of its great priority that I want us to consider it at this period of our Christian lives.

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() The principal verse of this series is taken from the gospel according to Saint Luke chapter 24 verses 36 to 49. Here we see Jesus appearing to the disciples when they were together. The verse starts like this >36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!" 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. (Luke 24:36-37, ESV)

Jesus greeted them saying "peace to you". And it's upon these words that I want us to make an exposition to discover the breadth and depth of this greeting from Christ. It's a very important thing to know how this greeting will mean to the disciples. Think about this for a moment. These apostles had denied the Messiah who was prophesied by Old Testament prophets. Who was also spoken of by the Psalmist? They had denied the very Son of God, the One who was to come and take away their sins. They had denied God himself. Do you think they had peace? These people had denied the Prophet of whom God testified that anyone who doesn't listen to Him will be cut off from the eternal life. Not only did they not listen to this Prophet, they denied Him.

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19, ESV)

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Shouldn't they be frightened? These apostles must be trembling before Christ came to them. They had denied the Son of man as said in the book of Daniel. They had denied the One to whom "was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him" and also the One whose "dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:14, ESV). This is the Man they had denied. The One who has all the powers of heaven and hell in subjection to. Do you think they'll be at peace?

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These disciples had also denied the one talked about in Psalm 2 which says

10 Now, therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he is angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.(Psalm 2:10-12, ESV)

This is the God who gives warning to all rulers and principalities and commands all of them including Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh to "Kiss the Son, lest he is angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled". This is the God they had denied. They One who has the power to cause the whole universe to disappear in a twinkle of an eye. I strongly believe if there was any intercessor they would've sought after him. But the One they had denied was the only intercessor. Who will intercede if a man sins against God? The answer to their problem was found in the One they had denied. As pastor Paul Washer puts it describing how they felt after denying him. He said that their feelings can be likened to the state of the legion when they encountered Jesus. So these disciples might have been asking
Lord have you come to torment us?.

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I want you to know that these people had done a very terrible thing. The only thing that cannot be forgiven if not by God's mercy and grace-
Denying the Son of God. But here we see the One who is full of grace and mercy bidding them peace upon His appearance. Think about this. Jesus doesn't even wait for them to explain themselves. No time for them to say sorry. No moment allowed for these rebels to ask for forgiveness. But He comes with peace. And they had peace. Not as the world gives. But the one that emanates from a pardoned soul. Peace through the resurrection is what I'm talking about. The resurrection grants peace to the souls of his sinners. Those who have committed the greatest sin are given peace through the resurrection of the One who died for their sins. That's is good news friend. It's the best news you will ever hear from a Holy God whom you have denied since you came into this world until the time you believed.

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After He resurrected, He brought peace to all those who deserved judgment for their sins. How good that news is! I want you to know that these disciples were waiting for their damnation. They were waiting for the just God to spew them out of His mouth into eternal darkness for them to perish. How they might have felt upon hearing this greeting from him, peace to you.

Thanks for going through the scriptures with me as we consider a core doctrine in the Christian life. Don't forget to join me here next time so that we continue to discuss resurrection into details. Stay blessed and 'peace to you'

This is Nana Yeboah
@gadol from @ghana and @sc-g

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