06/11/2024 – The Prince of Life
Acts 3: 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
In preaching about His resurrection, the apostle Peter revealed one of the great titles the Bible gives to our Lord Jesus: the Prince of Life. The word Peter uses in the Greek language can be translated as author and prince. What a magnificent way to describe our Lord Jesus – He not only has power to overcome death, He has the power to give life and to be the leader of those who live for Him.
This is where many seem to have a problem- they want to live, but they do not want Jesus as prince of their lives. The people of His time wanted to do away with our Lord Jesus precisely because He demonstrated that He is the Prince of Life! This awesome title that only belongs to our Lord Jesus reveals that He is the author of life and only He has the authority to decide how we live. He decides what we have and how we use it. He decides what we do. No sinner wants to submit to that!
But He is not the Prince of Life to keep us from enjoying life or to impose arbitrary laws against our will…He is establishing the principles of how life must be lived because this is the only way to truly enjoy life! Living any other way leads to death!
Often, we look at those we consider rich and famous, and we say: that is “the life”! The commercials that advertise the lottery promise us “the good life”.
Christ lived the good life – the perfect life. It is a life no sinner would choose – a life of service and obedience, a life of humility. And this is the reason that death could not hold our Lord Jesus. He was obedient and faithful unto death… Now – That is the good life!