What Does the Resurrection of Jesus Mean Today?

“A GIFT OF GOD TO MANKIND”

by Sharon Rondeau

(Mar. 31, 2013) — On Holy Friday, Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, while his mother Mary watched and onlookers taunted Him.

His disciple, Judas Iscariot, had betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver.  Jesus had predicted his own death at the hands of “sinful men.”  Just one week before, on Palm Sunday, Jesus was hailed by many as “the Messiah” as he entered Jerusalem.

Golgotha is believed to be located in modern Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Bible teaches that Jesus died to redeem man for his sin.  A sacrificial lamb from the Jewish tradition of Passover, Jesus had committed no sin.

After His death on the cross on Holy Friday, the earth shook and darkness fell “over all the land” for three hours.  The veil of the temple “was torn in two from top to bottom.”

Joseph of Arimethea, a disciple of Jesus, asked for Jesus’s body, wrapped it in a white robe and placed it in a stone tomb.  Mary Magdalene and a companion kept vigil outside the tomb on Friday night. On Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, the tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers.

According to Matthew 28: 1-9, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, went to the tomb early on Sunday morning and found the stone door rolled away and Jesus’s clothing lying on the stone floor.  The two women then saw an angel, who told them:

Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ 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.

Apostles Peter and John followed the two women to the empty tomb.  Word soon spread that Jesus was alive, having overcome death on the cross.

Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead in his original but glorified body.  Not all of Jesus’s disciples immediately believed it was He, resurrected from death, until they saw proof.

Christianity preaches that belief in Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of their faith.  I Corinthians 1:18 states that “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who ^[a]are perishing, but to us who ^[b]are being saved it is the power of God.”

The gospel of Jesus offers unconditional love and forgiveness to anyone who believes in Him.  Jesus is known as the great healer.  The Gospel of Matthew states:

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ²⁴ So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. ²⁵ And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Following the birth of Christianity, Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, became a solemn day in which Christians awaited the celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Matthew tells us to “hear the word” and practice it, despite “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.”  He tells us that Jesus said, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

The apostle James instructs that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone,” thereby instructing Christians to live out their faith by example.

Believers of the Gospels welcome Christ into their hearts.

Today, Christians worldwide are persecuted and tortured for their faith in Egypt and greater North Africa; the Middle East, particularly in Iran; and in the United States, which was founded on a Judeo-Christian tradition.  Whether or not it remains a Christian nation is an open question as secular progressivism has advanced infanticide, euthanasia, redefinition of marriage, and the purging of the Ten Commandments, prayer and religious displays from the public square.  Institutions of faith have been harassed, persecuted and penalized for their long-standing beliefs.

Jesus decried the corruption of the money-changers at the Jewish temple, and pastors today are being urged to speak out about the “corrupt acquisition of wealth and soliciting or accepting advantage” and “selfishness,” which lead to disenfranchisement and poverty.

The question has been asked as to whether God or government should be “obeyed.”

The disciples suffered and died in similar ways to Jesus. The early Christian church was widely persecuted but prevailed as the Word of Jesus Christ was shared with others.

On Good Friday, Pope Francis preached that “Christians must respond to evil with good.”  The Bible teaches Christians to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel,” the “gift to mankind” that was unearned but given by God.

The Bible says that those who have died believing in Him will have everlasting life.

He is risen!!  Hallelujah!