For three days the lifeless body of Jesus lay in the grave. With Him lay the expectations of all who had followed Him. This wonderful man whom His followers hoped would be the Messiah—the anticipated righteous king sent from God to rule their nation—was brutally seized, tried, tortured and left to die on a cross.
But on the third day, as Jesus had foretold, He arose to live, talk, and show Himself again to hundreds of people (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). His resurrection was the ultimate proof of who He is and what He promised. “Because I live,” He told his disciples, “you shall live also” (John 14:19).
Sharing that resurrection life with those who believe Jesus died for them conveys God’s stamp of approval on what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The Bible says when Jesus Christ died and rose again, it “delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Christ has risen to prove that God’s wrath was put on Jesus, our debt of sin has been fully paid, and the door of Heaven has swung open!
The good news of Easter morning will speak throughout eternity. Our sin separates us from God, our Creator. But because of His love for us, God acted by providing the resolution for that dilemma—Jesus Christ’s willing death to pay our sin-debt to God. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
Today you can know the power of the resurrection in your own life by truly believing what the Bible says about knowing God:
Recognize that without Christ you are separated from God, now and forever.
“Thou art not a God who hath pleasure in wickedness” (Psalm 5:4). “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Realize that God loves you, and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Receive the risen Savior into your life by faith.
“As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).
You can experience a changed life made possible all because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God wants you to experience for yourself what Easter is all about!