"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." Matthew 28:6
On Easter Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and Martha went to the tomb of Jesus and discovered the stone rolled away, guards frightened, and an angel sitting on the stone. The angel told the women to not be afraid for Jesus was not there - "he has risen from the dead, just as he said!".
Because “He has risen,” we can rise too. Because “He has risen,” hope triumphs in a desperate world.
Meg Bucher from iBelieve shares “Christ’s resurrection gives us hope for today, and for our future. Jesus will return again. He will right all wrongs and mend all hurts. Death will cease to exist, and we will go home to heaven with Him. “We can enjoy the stability of resurrectionhope,” writes Mitch Chase for TGC, “because the promises of the world to come will never waver or fail.” When our daily circumstances are too hard to bear, we can submit them to God through Christ, knowing He hears and sees us, and that the pain and struggle of this world is temporary.”
Let's explore what Scripture has to say about the events surrounding the risen Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Predicted That He Would Rise
There are times in Scripture when Jesus predicted His own resurrection. His followers did not comprehend what He was saying to them, but after He returned, they understood.
Matthew 12:40 says, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Matthew 16:21 says, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Mark 8:31 says, “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”
John 10:17-18 says, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."
The Chief Priests and the Pharisees’ Response
The religious leaders who helped kill Jesus always kept a close eye on Him during His ministry. They listened to His words and remembered that He said He would rise in three days. Guards were placed in front of the tomb blocked by an enormous stone in an effort to prevent any possibility of taking Jesus’ body.
Matthew 27:62-66 says, “The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can." So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.”
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