Since He is Risen
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57
In the season of Lent we hear the reading of the passion history, how our Lord was arrested, put on trial and condemned, subjected to shameful abuse, and finally taken to Calvary and put to death by crucifixion. We see Him shrouded in that three hour darkness and hear Him cry out to the Father, “Why have You forsaken Me?” We see Him buried in Joseph’s tomb. Then on Easter morning we hear of how the women went to the tomb and found it empty. Instead of the lifeless body of Jesus they saw angels who told them, “He is risen.” We hear of how Jesus Himself appeared to His disciples for forty days before ascending into heaven.
We hear these things not merely as students of history reading about historical figures like kings, queens, military leaders, inventors, and others who did notable things. Jesus, the central character in this history is not just a figure from the distant past. No, He is what Paul calls Him here: “our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul here uses the full name and title of the Savior. He isn’t only the man named Jesus; He is the Lord from heaven. He is the Christ, the anointed one, the promised Savior who came in the fullness of time and carried out the divine plan for our salvation from sin and death. And He is ours; how precious is that little word that Paul uses here. The Lord Jesus Christ who died and rose again is ours, for by the grace of the Holy Spirit we believe in Him, confess Him, and praise Him as our Lord and Savior. He is the one through Whom God has given us the victory.
I am content! My Jesus is my Lord, My Prince of Life and Peace;
His heart is yearning for my future bliss And for my soul’s release.
The home where He, my Master, liveth He also to His servant giveth.
The Lutheran Hymnal 196:3