He Arose!

Rev. George R. Dillahunty
St. John A.M.E. Zion Church
4975 Highway 55 West
Cove City, North Carolina 28523

April 03, 2007

Text: Acts 10:39-43 (King James Version)

"And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: (vs. 40) Him God raised up the third day, and shewed Him openly: (vs. 41) Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead. (vs. 42) And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. (vs. 43) To Him give all the Prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins."

Topic: He Arose!

On this day, Easter Sunday, we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, from the dead. It is a subject of the utmost importance to the church; and, not just this church; but, to the Church of Jesus Christ in all of its various expressions! Sometimes, I think that we’ve gotten so used to saying it, that the actual reality of what we are talking about - the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, from the dead, somehow gets lost in the process! We are talking here about Jesus, the Christ, the only-begotten Son of Almighty God, who after being nailed to the Cross atop Golgotha’s Hill; and, who after experiencing complete and total death; literally came back to life again!

The body that literally rose from the dead was none other than the body of Almighty God in human flesh, who died three (3) days previously, for the sin of the entire world - "The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world!" Now, my brothers and sisters, if we cannot get excited about that, somebody better check our pulses to see if we are still among the living and not "dead men or dead women walking!"

The Christian author, pastor and radio Bible teacher, Rev. Dr. Warren Wendell Wiersbe (Born: 1929), once said, "Easter is the Truth that turns a church from a museum into a ministry." The most fundamental Truth of the entire Holy Bible - the written Word of Almighty God - is that Jesus, the Christ, rose from the dead! Without the resurrection, the rest of the Holy Bible becomes pretty much meaningless! In point of fact, when we read about the "Early Church" in the New Testament Book of Acts, we discover that the resurrected Christ was the topic that she was to proclaim throughout the world!

Listen, as we read our Holy Scripture text, for today, one more time, from the New Living Translation (NLT): "And we Apostles are witnesses of all He did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by crucifying Him. (vs. 40) But God raised Him to life three days later. Then God allowed Him to appear; (vs. 41) not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be His witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. (vs. 42) And He ordained us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the Judge of all - the living and the dead. (vs. 43) He is the One all the Prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name."

The Disciple/Apostle Peter was talking to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, Captain of the Italian Regiment,