Day 317 – Jesus’ Resurrection

Hallelujah! He is risen! Today’s third passage is just as important to focus on as the first, so read it carefully.

• John and Luke both described, from different angles, the extraordinary events that we’ll be looking at over the next three days, the cornerstone of the Christian faith: the resurrection of our Saviour and Lord – Jesus Christ.
• The accounts start in the quietness of early morning. Who went to the tomb, and what was she planning to do?
• Imagine you were Mary. What would you have thought about as you walked to the tomb, and later as you saw that it was empty? Do the Scriptures suggest she understood quickly what was going on?
• Who were the two men dressed in dazzling clothes?
• What do you think the disciples might have been doing whilst Mary was making her way to the tomb? What did most of them think when Mary ran to tell them the news?
• Who ran back to the tomb? When they “saw and believed” (John 20:8), what did they do? Who stayed behind?
• Who did Jesus first appear to?
• You’ll need to read the Hebrews passage carefully to understand it, but take your time over it because it’s wonderful theology. What’s the author talking about when he refers to the “will”? At what moment does a will take effect?
• The answer, of course, is at a death. The author goes on to talk about the death that was required in the Old Testament when sacrifices were made then to atone for sins. How is Jesus, and His sacrifice, shown to be like (and far greater than) the old high priests and their blood sacrifices? Consider the way it was done in the Old Testament (verses 19-21) and the way Jesus is greater (24-26).
• What is the wonderful promise of Hebrews 9:27-28?

As you grow in your understanding of your faith, you’ll see deeper and deeper connections with the events of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and how it beautifully superseded the old covenants of blood sacrifice. Hebrews 9:23 goes even further, talking of Christ’s sacrifice cleansing Heaven itself! If considering these events at that depth excites you, great!

But if this is all getting a little confusing – don’t worry. There will be time for a deeper understanding in due course. For now, be thankful for what is clear: the resurrection is Christ’s proof of His claims to be God and the completion of His work to reunite us with the Father.

The Christian faith, its promises and its claims, all rest on the truth of the resurrection. If the resurrection did not happen, then everything falls. In the resurrection, we see power to defeat death and power to reunited lost people to God. If there wasn’t a resurrection, that is all gone. If the resurrection didn’t happen, you can be sure that the message of the gospel would not have spread like it did in the years after Jesus (we’ll read all about that very soon). 2,000 years later we can still have confidence in the historical truth of the resurrection and, therefore, the powerful work that happened through it.