Jesus Has Risen! He Has Risen Indeed Alleluia!
On Easter, we celebrate what is arguably the most important event in all human history: Jesus’ resurrection. The story of the Bible is the story of Jesus. Jesus came to both reveal the true nature of who God is, but also to die on the cross, defeat death, and repair our relationship with God. This means Easter is not only pivotal to the story, it is the story. Everything in the Old Testament points us to Jesus, everything about Jesus’ life points us to the cross, and the cross points us to the resurrection, the very thing we celebrate on Easter.
Here are several important truths about the events of that very first Easter.
There were many witnesses.
There were more than 500 witnesses who testified to the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, Paul writes, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep.”
The rolled away stone was significant.
The stone was around 2 tons and would have taken many strong men to move it. If the tomb had not been empty, claims of the resurrection could not have been maintained even for a short period of time, knowing that people in Jerusalem could have gone to the tomb to look for themselves.
The resurrection was prophesied.
Isaiah said that Jesus would be cut off from the living and then brought back to prolonged life (Isaiah 53:8-10). Psalm 16:10, Psalm 22, and Daniel 12:2–3 also reveal that the Messiah would be raised from the dead.
Women played a pivotal role in the Easter story.
There were three Marys who stood by Jesus’ side during the Easter story. We see Mary of Bethany (anoints Jesus’ feet before his betrayal) Then, there is Mary, Mother of Jesus. (She was there to witness his death and resurrection). Finally, we have Mary Magdalene (She is the first to deliver the news to Jesus’ followers).
The bodily resurrection was significant.
Many people think that the resurrection of Jesus was only a spiritual resurrection, but it wasn’t just spiritual. It was also a bodily resurrection. Paul emphasized the importance of this in 1 Corinthians 15. The bodily resurrection is the most important event in history, providing indisputable evidence that Jesus is who He claimed to be – the Son of God.
The Easter story is just the beginning.
The power that was used by God to raise up Jesus is the same power that is used in our lives. This power is on display in the new life that Jesus offers to us as we follow him.