…“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” Luke 24:5-7
Many people are still looking for Jesus among the dead. I think of scholars who study the words of Jesus and the gospel manuscripts but do not believe in Christ’s resurrection. I think of the archaeologists who two thousand years later are still trying to find Jesus’ body and bones in the tomb but keep coming up empty. I think of people who finger the body of Christ on their crucifixes but do not know the reality of the living Christ. I think of those who attend church on Christmas and Easter (C.E.O’s). These people all have one thing in common. They are all looking for Jesus among the dead. And if you are looking for Jesus among the dead, you will not find him. He is not there.
Frank Morison was a man who went looking for Jesus among the dead. Morison was a British journalist who lived early in the twentieth century. He was not a Christian. Although he admired the figure of Jesus, Morison was a skeptic at heart who felt that these stories about Jesus were nothing more than myth or legend, especially the story of the resurrection.
So, Morison had a brilliant idea. Why not prove that the resurrection never happened? Why not use his research skills as a journalist to dig into history and prove that Jesus never rose from the dead? He would do his research and then write a book presenting the historical facts about Christ and the events surrounding his death. So Frank Morison went looking for Jesus among the dead.
Guess what? He never found him. What he did find is exactly what Luke said in verses 2-3: He found the stone rolled away, but he did not find the body of Jesus. Instead he found the risen Christ and put his faith in him as Lord and savior.
Frank Morison set out to write a book disproving the resurrection of Christ. Instead, he ended up writing what has become a Christian classic presenting the evidence for the resurrection of Christ (Who Moved the Stone?). Morison went looking for Jesus among the dead. But he did not find him there. You will not find him there either. If you want to find Jesus this morning, you must look among the living. And that brings us to the good news of Easter.
Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death and the grave. He rose from the dead on Easter morning. He is alive and well today. You will not find him among the dead, for he is among the living. And he offers new life to you. The Bible tells us that those who trust in Christ will share in his resurrection. The fear of death and judgment is taken away. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
That is the good news of Easter. Only one question remains.
How will you respond?
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