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The Resurrection

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On Resurrection Day, Christians celebrate the rebirth of the Lord, Jesus Christ, because we believe that he was raised from the dead three days after being crucified. A basic tenet of Christian faith is the fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection, which shows us the fulfillment of all the promises God had made to people over the centuries. When we celebrate Resurrection Day, we accept the invitation to live as though God is among us, making everything new. Scripture tells us that early in the morning of the third day, the women (Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and other women) went to the tomb with their spices, fully expecting to find Jesus’ remains, but the first sign that something happened was they saw the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. When they entered the tomb, the second sign that something happened was they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Of course they were frightened and thought someone had stolen Jesus’ body. The third sign was the angels telling the women “He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:6). Based on this, we see the women (and many others) did not heed the words of Jesus when he told them exactly what would take place. When Jesus was in Galilee, he told them, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again” (Luke 24:7). On Resurrection Day, the world saw Jesus’ credibility. During his ministry, Jesus constantly told those who followed him that he is going to die and then be raised from the dead. The fact that he stepped out of the tomb gives authority to the words he spoke. His resurrection means we are not hoping for a dead man to forgive our sins and lead us to glory; we are, instead, following a risen King, one who has shown his authority to fulfill the promises God made to us.

On Resurrection Day, the scripture was fulfilled, redemption and justification became the new law, and humanity gained a path of restoration back to God. Jesus’ resurrection destroyed the power of separation that the grave once had. As followers of Christ, the resurrection is the basis of our new life. He promised eternal life to those who believe in him. He offers us life here, now, and forever. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Pet. 1:3).