Matthew 27:62-66
Psalm 16:10 …because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
The most amazing miracle that Jesus performed was His own resurrection. While His death paid for our sins, it was His resurrection that brings us life.
The time of His being in the grave was difficult for His followers. They weren’t sure if they would be next on the religious leader’s list of people to kill or just what would happen next. They had believed in Jesus, thought He was the Messiah and yet He hadn’t come off the cross and God hadn’t protected Him from dying. So it couldn’t be true that He was the Promised One, could it?
The morning after the Sabbath the women who loved and followed Jesus went to add spices to the body. The tomb had been sealed and guards stationed outside so that no one could steal the body and claim that He had risen from the dead. It seems that the religious leaders understood Jesus’ proclaiming to rise from the dead the 3rd day better than the disciples did. They were so afraid of what the disciples may do to steal His body and make it look like a resurrection that they went to see Pilate on the Sabbath. Now remember these same men had Pilate come out to them for Jesus’ trial so that they wouldn’t be unclean for the Passover and Sabbath but now that they are more afraid of what could be said if Jesus made it out of the tomb.
Sealing and guarding the tomb wasn’t enough to hold Jesus in. His death was only part of His mission to earth and things were now getting to the exciting part. He was finally going to be able to prove to His followers who He was. There would be joy and awe as He revealed Himself to them in a spiritual way that they had missed before. He would be the evidence of His being not just the man they knew Him to be but also the God they had heard about since birth.
Those first few sightings must have blown the followers away. He was alive! Though He had lost the limitations of the physical body that had been His trappings for the last 30 plus years, they knew it was Him. His character came shining through and they saw Him for who He truly was, God come as a man to pay for our sins and to conquer death! The grave was empty. He is risen!
Making It Personal
What does His rising from the dead mean to you? Does your life reflect your hope in the resurrection? How do you share that hope with others?
Making It Personal Kids
What do you think it was like for Jesus’ friends to see Him alive again? Do you believe that He rose from the dead? Who can you tell about what Jesus did?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son. The gift of the sacrifice on the cross and the gift of resurrection. Help us see the truth of Your divinity and the depth of Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.