The transformation from death to life is stupendous and miraculous. Only God can do it. Not merely as a hypothetical possibility, but in historical fact, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. This showed conclusively the utter futility and impotence of any opposition to God’s good ways, whether human, demonic, or merely natural. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ changed everything. As the Covenanting minister Michael Bruce (1635–1693) outlined in a sermon on Matthew 28, the transformative power of the resurrection is vast and unstoppable. In the following updated extract, Bruce vividly describes how spiritual death can be abolished in sinners’ hearts and spiritual life planted there instead, spiritual foes can be vanquished overnight, and spiritual growth can be seen even in barren and backsliding churches and communities.

The Lord makes big changes in a little time

One thing in this chapter which rejoices the heart is this — that a dead and buried Christ shall be a living, rising, and exalted Christ the next day, whoever might say the contrary. In the previous chapter is a dead and buried Christ, with many joining together to hold Him down in the grave, yet in this chapter He rises in spite of them all. All the men of the world, with all the devils in hell, shall not be able to hold our Maker in the grave one hour longer than His appointed time.

In the previous chapter, you see a sad and dark world. Now in the beginning of this chapter, there is a light world again, and a sound basis for gladness again. It’s but the space of three days, but what a change!

Such is the way that our blessed Lord orders business with His church and people. In a very little time, He can make a very great change.

There are three or four great changes produced in this small interval of time.

1. Before, never a one acknowledged Christ but one or two poor women. Now, more are beginning to acknowledge Him.

2. Before, a great stone was lying on the mouth of Christ’s grave. Now, there is no stone on it, but the stone is rolled away, and an angel is sitting on it. This will be a great change for the better in Britain and Ireland, when not one stone will be left to hold Christ in His grave.

3. Before, the soldiers are all standing watching Christ’s grave, laughing and domineering in their pride, and no doubt swearing many a choice oath, saying with much bravado that the God of the fanatics would never rise again. Now, all of a sudden, they are all fallen like dead men, and cannot handle their arms. All the instruments they were using to keep Christ in the grave are rendered useless.

4. Before, there is a great din about a dying Christ. Now, there’s a great din about His resurrection. Before, there’s nothing but darkness, the sun refuses to countenance this abominable act of the taking away of the life of the Son of God, the earth trembles, and the temple splits in two. Now, the rising Christ is astonishing to both friend and foe. The sun gives light again, and all things begin to look brighter.

The comfort of God’s power

I mention this for comfort to the friends of Christ. The saddest case of Christ’s friends will not last long. There will be a change for the better. What do you think, friends, of these three changes that a little time produced long ago?

In Exodus 10, Pharaoh commands Moses, ‘Get away, let me never see your face again, sir! If I see you again, your head won’t stick on your neck!’ Yet by midnight, Moses and Aaron are sent for in all haste, and all the people of Israel dismissed out of Egypt!

Then in Exodus 14, all the children of Israel are weeping in front of the Red Sea, pursued by enemies, with rocks on every hand. By the beginning of Exodus 15, they are all singing! Singing songs and rejoicing at the wonderful victory over their enemies, now floating on the water like dead carrion, the very same element where they had drowned so many of Israel’s little ones!

Also in Esther 7, see Haman feasted one day, and hanged the next.

Great are the changes that our Lord all of a sudden makes for the good of His church and people!

Christ makes big changes for His people

And a rising Christ makes a great change for His church and people. Christ rising in a Christian’s heart makes a great change. Christ’s rising in the wider community makes a great change.

There are four great changes a rising Christ makes in a Christian’s heart.

The first is in Romans 7:9. ‘I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.’ Whenever Christ comes to make a gracious change in a man or a woman’s soul, there sin lives, and they die. That is to say, all conceit of self-righteousness in the person falls while their sin revives — it’s not that the sin that was dead revives, but the poor person who thought sin was dead and he alive is made to change his thoughts.

The second is in Galatians 2:20. ‘I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I.’ I, that I, that used to predominate in the poor body, the life is put out of it by a rising Christ, and another ‘I’ is brought to life, and life put into it, and that is by faith in the Son of God.

The third is, Christ makes the person who gave off an aura of the things of an evil world before, now give off an atmosphere of the things of heaven. Is that not a great change? You used to have an earthly smell before Christ rose in your heart, but now a heavenly smell. Before, a smell of the dunghill, now the scent of the pleasant land that lies afar off, where cinnamon and aloes are in abundance, all plants of heaven, every one sending out their fragrance.

The fourth is in Acts 16:24. There the gaoler takes Paul and Silas and puts them fast in the inner prison. But in verse 28, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises, and the prisoners heard them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and every prisoner’s shackles fell off them, and the doors were opened. The gaoler called for a light and sprang in, but he came out again with an astonishing change on his heart. Before there was nothing but beating and binding Paul, now there is nothing but binding up his wounds. Before, nothing but harsh abuse, now nothing but tender care.

Christ makes big changes for the community

A rising Christ makes a great change in a community, in three or four ways, each more encouraging than the last. One, He strikes a blow against scribes and Pharisees, false and backslidden teachers. Two, He gives a boost to a holy, lively and faithful gospel ministry. Three, He puts a new life and a new lustre on His ordinances, which had neither life nor lustre while He was in the grave.

You see after His resurrection, how one bit of preaching by Peter draws 3,000 to Christ, and many of the Lord’s people who seemed to be lagging far behind, get new stock in, and get newly kitted out. The men of the world say, ‘We’ll never get provisions for the difficulties ahead of us.’ Aye, but never let them trouble their heads with that. Nothing will be lacking to us if ever a rising Christ comes among us.

There is another big change that a rising Christ makes, and that is, heaven and earth will be as it were thrown into confusion. Angels come out of heaven, and earth shakes and breaks up before Him. What a muddle! What a din there is when once He begins to creep out of the grave! He rises and makes heaven and earth concur with Him in what He plans to do.

Do you want to know why our day is so sad, and we have such little success? The reason is simply the absence of a rising Christ. He is not to be seen amongst us.

Our need of Christ rising

I shall give you four or five words of warning. Take them with you, and use them as long as you live.

Until Christ rises in the hearts of His people in Britain and Ireland, he is not likely to rise in the wider community. Then, people and ministers, raise Him in your hearts! Exalt Him within, and then He will soon lift Himself up without.

As long as Christ does not rise, the devil’s kingdom will increase. Worldly ministers, people-pleasing ministers, and “idol shepherds” will increase and will persecute the saints and people of God. As long as Christ lies in the grave, so long will Satan’s kingdom increase. More will turn to popery than have as yet, more will turn to prelacy, more will defect from the covenanted work of reformation, more will turn profane, more will perjure themselves than have as yet. Well, if you want to have Satan’s kingdom declining and the devil’s kingdom decreasing, then pray much for a rising Christ, for that only, and nothing less, will do it.

Although it’s true that our Lord Jesus may rise in a very different way than many expect, and also without any human help (as here, He rose without any human assistance, not so much as one of His friends was with Him when He rose), yet remember that our Master expects every Christian to roll up their sleeves and help Him to rise.

How to help Him rise today

There are four stones lying on Christ’s grave in Scotland, which every Christian should work in their own sphere to remove — a stone of popery, a stone of prelacy, a stone of God-provoking and cruel laws, and a stone of the persecution of those who want to live godly in Christ Jesus. Alongside these, and saddest of all, is a stone of backsliding and defection in ministers and people.

But you may say, ‘What can I do, as a poor private Christian, towards rolling these stones off Christ’s grave?’ I don’t believe there are any of you who can’t do these three or four things.

Though you cannot do anything by word or deed, yet you may do something by prayer and supplication.

Through the grace of God, you can roll away your own stone that you have laid there, of formalism, unconcernedness, fickleness, and unfaithfulness, and falling from your first love, and much unrepented sin and iniquity. Do something to roll that away, for this is the stone that most holds Christ down, and not prelacy or the prelates (although the prelates’ black hour will not be the less for holding Him down).

Though you cannot lift off the stone, yet I hope you may put Him to it, according to His word to raise Himself. This is the prayer of the church. ‘Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, and ride prosperously, because of truth’ (Psalm 45).

Through grace, you may second Christ’s motion. At least join with Him and don’t counteract Him.

Now I challenge you all tonight to raise Christ out of His grave. Will you let Christ stay buried? For shame! Every one of you, do something towards raising Christ among you.

The more remarkably Christ has been buried, the more remarkably shall He rise. If you want to have a rising Christ in Scotland, and an astonishing day to enemies and to friends (for it will be astonishing to both — His people will be astonished about their fears and doubts as to their sin and duty), then, as I was saying, do what you can to roll away the stone on His grave. Do you want His government in action, His standard lifted up, His sceptre spreading on the top of the mountains? Then put away the stone.

FURTHER READING

AUTHOR MENU