The Real Purpose of EasterNäide

Day 5: Witnesses of His New Life

The purpose of Easter is not just to remember how horrifically Jesus suffered, and it’s not just about His death. The most important part is that after everything, the power of God exploded inside that tomb, reconnected Jesus’ spirit with His dead body, flooded His corpse with immortal life, and He arose!

The first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection were the women who followed Him. They came expecting to see a stone in front of the tomb, but it was removed. Sitting on top of the massive stone was a dazzling angel, and inside the tomb, they could find no body.

Can you imagine how flustered these women must have been as they tried to tell the apostles what they had seen and heard? Luke 24:11 says, “their words seemed to them as idle tales.” The words “idle tales” are from a Greek word that means nonsense, babble, or delirium. In other words, the women’s presentation of the Gospel wasn’t clear or refined, but it stirred enough interest in Peter and John to cause them to go investigate for themselves.

When he arrived, John peered into the tomb and caught a glimpse of “...the linen clothes lying,” and that was all that he needed to believe. Unlike John, Peter promptly barged right into the tomb. He looked over every nook and cranny, paying special attention to the linen clothes, neatly folded to either side of where Jesus would have sat, and he walked away confused.

After John and Peter left, Mary Magdalene looked into the tomb again and saw two angels, and between them, she could see the empty place where she had personally viewed Jesus’ body days earlier.

Mary beheld the now empty slab and wept because she didn’t know where to look for her Lord. She withdrew from the tomb just in time to see a Man standing nearby. Weeping, she asked Him to tell her where Jesus was if He knew.

Due to Jesus’ resurrected, changed appearance, she was unable to recognize Him, but then Jesus tenderly said, “Mary.” Upon hearing that voice and recognizing the old familiar way in which He called her name, she knew exactly who He was.

In the days following His resurrection, it is clear Jesus was among His disciples, fully alive in a new body. They ate with Him, talked to Him, fellowshipped with Him, and He even helped them catch fish!

As with His death, the Bible tells us that Jesus' friends and disciples weren’t the only witnesses to His resurrection. The Roman guards who fled the resurrection site knew that Jesus was raised from the dead! To prevent the people of Israel from knowing the truth, the chief priests and elders had to bribe the guards to keep their mouths shut and assert that the disciples had stolen the body.

This was no easy lie. To steal the body, the disciples would either have had to overpower the soldiers or sneak past them while they were sleeping, and either of these would deem the soldiers worthy of punishment in Pilate’s sight. Even with the religious leaders’ protection, this report would be a terrible dishonor to the guards’ reputation, so why would they tell such a story unless there was an enemy trying to cover up the incredible truth?

Jesus was undoubtedly alive. This was a man whose enemies fought to keep Him dead and hidden, but they didn’t have that power. Easter is not about just a comforting story for Christians. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were historical, supernatural events, and that is what Easter is about.

Questions to Discuss:

1. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ, who was dead, is now alive forevermore. Since God can overcome death, don’t you think His power can overcome any obstacles you’re facing in life right now?

2. Peter and John were both fervent in their love for Jesus, yet always radically different in their responses to Him. How do you respond to Jesus in worship, in prayer, and in your daily life?

3. What is the greatest obstacle or difficulty in your life right now? Are you actively releasing through your faith the power of the Holy Spirit to do His supernatural work inside you?