In a new, three-and-a-half-minute Easter video greeting, Synod President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison shares the message of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15, “this wonderful chapter on what the Resurrection means for us.”
Quoting St. Paul, Harrison says, “If we preach that Christ was raised from the dead, but then we deny that our bodies will rise, we deny even Christ’s Resurrection.”
Explaining what St. Paul taught, Harrison says, “Christ, our head, is risen. But now that the head is seated on high and lives, there’s no longer any reason for concern. We who cling to Him must also follow after Him as His body and His members. For where the head goes and abides, there the body with all the members must necessarily follow and abide.”
Quoting Martin Luther, Harrison says, “The hard work is over. … Christ has done everything for our salvation. It’s done” and “is as if our resurrection has already taken place in Jesus.”
Says Harrison: “We know, as we are placed into the ground, we are placed in the hope of the Resurrection. We believe in the resurrection of the body. I don’t know how. This body, this very body, your very body, will rise again. That’s what the Bible teaches over and over and over again. How is that? I don’t know. But I know this: Jesus’ very body rose, and He promises a similar resurrection for all of us.
“Whatever you face in this Easter season — difficulty, sorrow, sickness, even joys — know that Christ is yours,” Harrison says. “And ours is eternal life. An eternal life in the body. God bless you and blessed Easter.”
To watch the Easter video, visit lcms.org/video/easter.
