Jesus’ Powerful Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is considered the most important of the Christian celebrations,

because it is believed that He has risen from the dead on the third day as the scriptures have said:

• Matthew16:21- “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how he must go unto Jerusalem , and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day. “
• Matthew 20:18-19- “Behold, we go up into Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto   the chief priests and unto the scribes, and shall condemn him to death. And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”

The day Jesus was betrayed and then crucified. Crucifixion was a cruel form of death reserved for criminals and slaves. First, Jesus was beaten by Roman soldiers. Then he was made to carry His cross to the place of execution. Jesus must have been too weak from the beating to carry His cross all the way; the soldiers forced a man named Simon of Cyrene to carry it the rest of the way.

The cross was placed between two other men who were being crucified that day. The soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross and left Him to die. They put a sign on the cross to mock Jesus that said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

About noon, strange things begin to happen. Darkness came over the land for three hours. Then Jesus cried out seven times on the cross….

Jesus Christ laid down his life; his body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave. The tomb was guarded and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body. Christ remained in the tomb on Friday and Saturday.

On the following Sunday, some women visited the grave and found that the stone had been moved, and that the tomb was empty. Jesus himself was seen that day, and for days afterwards by many people. His followers realized that God had raised Jesus from the dead.

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11:25