Resurrection: He is Risen, Indeed!

By Laura J. Bagby

Easter Sunday. To many it means the Easter bunny, a day of food and celebration. For some it is an obligatory church-attending holiday, after which life goes on as usual.

How sad that we have so quickly forgotten the true meaning of Easter. Our God reigns! Jesus Christ died, yes. But even more importantly, He rose again and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, as we say in the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus Christ literally defied death. But He did more than just a Houdini move. We "ooo" and "ahhh" over the narrow escapes by magicians like David Copperfield and others, but eventually even those daredevils will face death. Their power is limited.

But Jesus Christ was greater -- He defied death FOREVER. Jesus Christ lives and reigns for eternity, whether you or I believe that fact or not.

And He has reclaimed life for all those who believe in Him. This is the second miracle of Easter. Through God's work on the cross, we have access to eternal life as well:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ' The righteous will live by faith' (Romans 1:16-17).

If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:9-10).

Whosoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven (Matt. 10:32-33).

Please consider today the wonder of God's power and His love for you. He knows you. He knows what you have done. He knows what you are going to do. But He is waiting for your response, my friend. God doesn't need your praise or your service to Him; He desires it. It is not what we do for God that gets us into heaven and gives us a right relationship with God. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ. Look at these Scriptures:

Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified (Galatians 2:16).

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Biblical Accounts of the Resurrection And Ascension

Read Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-53; John 20, 21 for the details about these amazing events in the life of Christ.

The Garden Tomb

Jesus was buried in the Garden Tomb as seen in this photo. It was a new tomb provided by the converted Jew of Arimathea called Joseph (no relation to Joseph the father of Jesus). See Matthew 27:57, 59 and Luke 1:43, 23:50.

Along the entrance to the tomb is a narrow track on which a thin round stone resembling a silver dollar was placed. This stone could be rolled open and closed along this track.

Inside the tomb was a flat slab where Jesus Christ was buried.

Many tombs in the day of Christ had two chambers. The first chamber had a ledge around it as a seat. The second chamber was a niche cut into the wall for the body. If extra room was needed for additional bodies, the bones of the first body were buried in a hole in the floor of the tomb and the new body was placed in the niche.

The Bible distinctly mentions that Christ's tomb was new. In other words, no bodies had to be removed and no bones had to be buried to make way for the Savior.