THE Question

The other day someone asked me a question. THE question. The one that every part of our belief in God hinges on. I wanted to share my answer with you here today in our daily devotional time. I'd like you to ask yourself a few questions as you read it. First, do I really believe what I’m reading? Is this just information in my head or do I believe it with my whole heart? Second, is there someone in my life that needs to be told this?

It’s my prayer that today’s devotional doesn’t just end up as a quick glance in your Facebook feed. Share it. Copy it. Keep it handy to remind yourself of God’s love and as a reference to share with those who have yet to believe it themselves.

Here’s the question:

Did the resurrection REALLY happen?

Did Jesus’ heart stop for three days and then re-start? Really? How do we know?

It’s a question that has lingered with mankind since the stone rolled away from the doorway to Jesus’ tomb. Did He really die? Did Jesus’ followers hide the body? What proof do we have?

The best place to answer a question like this (or any question) is to start with God’s word.

Here’s what scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 15

“And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.  And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 
And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.  In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!  And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17-19 NLT

What the Apostle Paul is telling us in this scripture is that if Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t real, all of them were liars. Every disciple and preacher that spoke of Christ coming back from the dead were purveyors of fairytale and untruth. In addition, Paul goes on to say that if the resurrection were fake, their sermons were useless, their faith misplaced, and their sins still unforgiven. In other words… Paul believed Jesus came back from the dead three days later just like He said He would. He was convinced that the Man he was teaching others about was exactly who He claimed to be: Jesus Christ… Son of God… dead but only temporarily.

If you need further proof look no further than his disciples.

The great majority of them were killed violently for their continued faith. But why? Simply because they stood boldly and would tell all who would listen that their Master, their Teacher, their Savior, and their Lord had risen up out of the grave and walked again. They tirelessly preached about salvation, and the coming judgment, and Christ’s deity and holiness… never stopping when threatened with death or imprisonment. They went without food, spent years in deplorable conditions, and, at the end of their lives, were cut down in horrible fashion by people who dismissed their claims as sedition. Some were beheaded. Others crucified. Abandoned. Destroyed. It was as if the authorities were trying to rid the world of a disease by killing one Christ-follower at a time.

Would any of these men have endured such pain and hardship over a lie? A ruse? No.

People don’t give up their heartbeat for a hoax.

The disciples would have been the ones that snuck in past Roman guards and stolen Christ’s body. They would have known the hiding spot. They would have been in on the secret. The lie. But it wasn’t a lie and they knew it. They believed that Christ rose again so much that they were willing to go through torture, great pain, and even death to proclaim it.

The resurrection was no magic trick to start a religion. Jesus Christ of Nazareth…Son of God… walked planet Earth blameless… healed the sick, fed the hungry, taught the ignorant, and loved the unlovable. He was captured and tried for crimes He didn’t commit and whipped by people He’d created just a few decades before. They nailed Him to a cross and He bled and died. They put Him in a tomb, covered the entrance to it with a large stone, and posted soldiers by the entrance in case somebody wanted to hide the corpse.

But on that beautiful morning, Christ pushed aside the burial shroud and walked among the living once again. Scripture tells us in Acts that He didn’t hide after His return:

“During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” Acts. 1:3

Christ had risen. And the same feet that walked on the water were now back among the people. The Bible goes on to tell us that before He went back to Heaven, He was seen by more than 500 men (1 Cor. 15:6), His disciples, and dozens of women and children.

Countless confirming stories from eyewitnesses…

Men willingly giving up their lives that could have saved themselves by simply denying it happened…

An empty tomb…

So much evidence that demands our attention and confirms our faith.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is history’s fulcrum… the pivot point where mankind’s debt was paid once and for all. And because of it, each of us can now spend eternity in Heaven with a Savior Who loves us immeasurably. He is risen, indeed.

Resurrection?

Did the resurrection REALLY happen?

Did Jesus’ heart stop for three days and then re-start?  Really?  How do we know?

It’s a question that has lingered with mankind since the stone rolled away from the doorway to Jesus’ tomb. Did He really die?  Did Jesus’ followers hide the body?  What proof do we have?

The best place to answer a question like this (or any question) is to start with God’s word. 

Here’s what scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 15

“And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.  And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.
And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.  In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!  And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17-19 NLT

What the Apostle Paul is telling us in this scripture is that if Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t real, all of them were liars.  Every disciple and preacher that spoke of Christ coming back from the dead were purveyors of fairytale and untruth.  In addition, Paul goes on to say that if the resurrection were fake, their sermons were useless, their faith misplaced, and their sins still unforgiven.     In other words… Paul believed Jesus came back from the dead three days later just like He said He would.   He was convinced that the Man he was teaching others about was exactly who He claimed to be:  Jesus Christ… Son of God… dead but only temporarily. 

If you need further proof look no further than his disciples. 

The great majority of them were killed violently for their continued faith.  But why?  Simply because they stood boldly and would tell all who would listen that their Master, their Teacher, their Savior, and their Lord had risen up out of the grave and walked again.  They tirelessly preached about salvation, and the coming judgment, and Christ’s deity and holiness… never stopping when threatened with death or imprisonment.  They went without food, spent years in deplorable conditions, and, at the end of their lives, were cut down in horrible fashion by people who dismissed their claims as sedition.   Some were beheaded.  Others crucified.  Abandoned.  Destroyed.  It was as if the authorities were trying to rid the world of a disease by killing one Christ-follower at a time. 

Would any of these men have endured such pain and hardship over a lie?  A ruse?  No.  

People don’t give up their heartbeat for a hoax. 

The disciples would have been the ones that snuck in past Roman guards and stolen Christ’s body.  They would have known the hiding spot.   They would have been in on the secret.  The lie.  But it wasn’t a lie and they knew it.  They believed that Christ rose again so much that they were willing to go through torture, great pain, and even death to proclaim it. 

The resurrection was no magic trick to start a religion.  Jesus Christ of Nazareth…Son of God… walked planet Earth blameless… healed the sick, fed the hungry, taught the ignorant, and loved the unlovable.  He was captured and tried for crimes He didn’t commit and whipped by people He’d created just a few decades before.   They nailed Him to a cross and He bled and died.  They put Him in a tomb, covered the entrance to it with a large stone, and posted soldiers by the entrance in case somebody wanted to hide the corpse. 

But on that beautiful morning, Christ pushed aside the burial shroud and walked among the living once again.  Scripture tells us in Acts that He didn’t hide after His return:

“During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” Acts. 1:3

Christ had risen.  And the same feet that walked on the water were now back among the people.  The Bible goes on to tell us that before He went back to Heaven, He was seen by more than 500 men (1 Cor. 15:6), His disciples, and dozens of women and children. 

Countless confirming stories from eyewitnesses…

Men willingly giving up their lives that could have saved themselves by simply denying it happened…

An empty tomb…

So much evidence that demands our attention and confirms our faith.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is history’s fulcrum… the pivot point where mankind’s debt was paid once and for all.  And because of it, each of us can now spend eternity in Heaven with a Savior Who loves us immeasurably.   He is risen, indeed. 

He Felt It Too

God knows you.   After all, every single cell in your body was by His design.  You are intentionally made and have a purpose that is as unique as your fingerprint.  Isn’t it comforting to know that God not only made you...

He cares about you.  

Not in a “hope everything works out” kinda way.  God cares specifically...intimately... in a way that only He can.  

But how?  How does an infinite God know how a finite human feels pain?  How can an everywhere-at-one-time God relate to how much we hurt at times?

He became one of us.   He felt our pain.  

He was crucified and sacrificed Himself for all of us.

John 19:28-30  “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

But Jesus’ time with us was far from over... 

John 20:11-18  “Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”

All-powerful God...coming to Earth as a baby.... spending time with His creation... feeling the pains of the human condition... being nailed to a cross for the sins of the world... and walking triumphantly from a tomb three days later.  

All of that so He could look into our hurting eyes and say...

I know how you feel.  I felt it too.  

I know what it feels like to have your friends walk away.

I know what it feels like to lose someone you love.

I know what it feels like to cry.

I know what it feels like to feel alone.

I know what it feels like to be accused of something you didn’t do.

I know what it feels like to hurt.

  

Without sinning, He did it all.   Just so He could feel what we feel.

While we wonder if anybody in the whole world... all seven billion of them... understand or have ever felt like we do.

Jesus does.  

Christ isn’t sympathetic to what’s hurting you today.  He doesn’t tell you that He hopes you feel better and then goes back to running the universe.  It’s not a passing sentiment... or hollow words of comfort sent your way... or empty rhetoric that everybody gets.  

He’s been there.  He’s been hurt.  

He’s empathetic.  

He feels it WITH you.  He hurts WITH you.  He goes through it WITH you.  He doesn’t abandon you to your challenges and turns a semi-understanding ear in your direction.  He runs to you with scarred arms wide open... ready to embrace you as you suffer.      He not only understands your pain... is not only working ahead of you to relieve your pain... He wants you to know that He himself has suffered your pain.  

He knows it hurts.  He also knows that it may look dark now... but the sun is about to rise on the shadows in your life.  Stay strong and remember...

God restores.

God empathizes.

You are loved more than you’ll ever know.  

Is Easter Over?

“And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.”  Romans 1:4-5

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”  Romans 6:8-11

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...”  1 Peter 1:3

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."  Matthew 28:1-10


A lot of people think Easter is over.

Plastic eggs... chocolate bunnies... colorful baskets all become half-off discounted items at local stores.

The good feeling we had at church this weekend fades and we are faced with....

Post-Easter Monday morning.

You woke up to it today.
All of the songs you sang and felt yesterday have become distant memories...replaced with the droning sound of your office or classroom.

Clothes that once dripped with the waters of baptism are now dried, folded, and put back in their drawer.

I want to encourage you to think differently today.  Easter isn’t over.

Today’s verses all have one thing in common.  They all point directly to our risen Lord and what He did for us over 2000 years ago.  He came back.  He returned from the dead.  His resurrection is the single act in history that changed our eternity forever.  He is all that we need and all we could ever want.  He loves us more than we could understand and could never earn.  Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And he didn’t stay dead.  He came back for us.

Last weekend, we celebrated death’s single defeat in the return of Christ.  He didn’t come back for us to live weak and defeated lives... He came back so we could stand strong for Him and live boldly.

I want to challenge you this morning to not think of Easter as something that’s “over”...  but, instead, as the first day of the new reality.  Today starts that new hope... today affirms the truth that, in Christ, you can do all things!  Today matters and you matter in it.

Have faith, and keep moving forward.  I’ll be praying for you as you take these first steps in your new direction.