The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

by Kosi U.

Ephesians 2: 4-5 “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Hello everybody! Today I will be sharing the Good News which is: The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During Easter, most of us have fun with our families, eating large feasts, and celebrating. But, we sometimes forget the true meaning, significance, and eternal impact Easter holds.

The first day that starts the celebratory weekend is Good Friday. Before we get to that, I would like to give you a back story to what led up to this momentous event.

Jesus’ main purpose and goal for coming to this earth was to not only preach the Word of God and perform miracles, it was to die on the cross for our sins so that each and every one of us can be saved and we can reform and rebuild our relationship with God that was once gone because of our sins.

We are all sinners and come short of the glory of God.

Originally, God didn’t create us to be disobedient sinners, He created us to have close fellowship with Him and dwell with Him always.

Sadly, sin entered the hearts of man and broke that bond.

In the olden days, before Christ’s crucifixion, people would kill animals such as a lamb or cow after they have sinned and used their blood as an offering to repent and appease God.

No longer do we have to do those types of offerings, now that Jesus paid the price for our sins by shedding His blood on the Cross of Calvary.

Jesus was a very loving man, and still is. He didn’t come to this earth to boast and condemn others. Instead, He was ready to forgive and was humble.

We see this in the Triumphant Entry. That was when Jesus entered Jerusalem. This event was very important because it marked the beginning of the sacrifice Jesus made for us all.

During the Triumphant Entry, “They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Just as John 12:13 says.

Now that you hear how people were praising Jesus and worshiping Him as a King, you would think He would be riding on a mighty horse.

Actually, Jesus didn’t ride a horse at all. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey.

The reason why Jesus did not ride on a horse like an earthly king is because Jesus had not come to fight earthly battles, nor did He not come in hatred or anger. Jesus came in peace and love, ready to lay down His life so that we may all be saved from eternal death, the wages of sin.

Sadly, not everyone thought so well of this. The religious leaders at that time were very jealous of Jesus. They thought He was a threat to their religious system and that He couldn’t be the Messiah as He was proclaiming to be.

Some of these religious leaders were outspoken in their dismay for Jesus, while some kept those thoughts in their heart.

Either way, Jesus knew about their evil thinking, but did not let that stop Him.

Another major event leading up to the death and resurrection of Christ we should not forget is the Last Supper.

The Last Supper, was the final meal Jesus shared with all 12 of His disciples before His curcifiction.

It is where Jesus broke the bread, as representation of His body that would be soon beaten and bruised for us. Jesus had also poured red wine and said, in Mark 14: 23-24, “Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.²⁴ “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” He said to them.”

Not only did Jesus do this, but He also told all 12 of the disciples that one of them, sitting at that very table, would betray Him.

All of the disciples were saddened and in total disbelief. None of them were able to believe that they could betray Jesus.

If you know what happened, then you would know that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus by turning in Jesus to the religious rulers’ hands in exchange for money.

(Judas never even got to use that money, because, he realized what he had done too late, so, out of anger at himself, Judas committed suicide.)

Jesus also knew that Judas was the betrayer, but chose not to disclose his identity in front of everyone. This goes to shows that Jesus is very forgiving and gave Judas many chances to realize what he is doing is wrong and to repent.

But, Judas betraying Jesus was all a part of God’s plan, so it had to be done.

Now that the time of Jesus’ arrest was nearly at hand, Jesus decided to travel to a place named the Garden of Gethsemane, along with His disciples (minus Judas), to pray.

In these moments, we see Jesus experiencing grief and sorrowing, hoping that the future didn’t have to carry out. Still, in Mark 14:36, Jesus prays, “³⁶ “Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Jesus’ prayer here is an example of what ours’ should look like.

Most of the time, when praying, we completely ignore God and come before Him with a list of demands dictating how we want things to go.

First of all, prayer should be a two way conversation. We talk to God in a humble and respectful manner, and God talks to us too.

Second of all, we should be praying for God’s will to be done in our lives.

God is omnipresent omniscient, and omnipotent, He knows the past, future, and present. Our lives are in God’s hands and He loves us very much and knows what is best for us. Our job is to have faith and trust in Him and pray that His will be carried out in our lives. Things may look tough and uncertain at first, but we should believe that everything will work out in our favor.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

Jesus knew in great detail, about all the events that have and will happened, including His death. Can you imagine all the pressure and the crushing weight of the world He most have been under? I am sure you can’t imagine, but what we can learn is that Jesus continued to express a willingness to allow God to continue with His plans. Something we should all exhibit in our daily lives.

Soon, the religious leaders and Roman soldiers came to the place where Jesus and the disciples were.

They found Jesus, arrested Him, and took Him away.

After being tried, Jesus was found guilty of saying He was the Messiah and that is when they started to persecute Jesus. (Even though He did nothing wrong.)

The place Jesus would be crucified was on a mountain called the “skull” when translated in English. On the way, the soldiers would flog, beat, and spit on Jesus mercilessly. They even taunted Him and put a crown of thrones on His head.

Upon all of that, Jesus was forced to carry His own cross. Jesus was barely able to stand up (that is how badly beaten He was), so someone else had to help carry His cross.

Once they finally got on the mountain, the soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross still jeering and beating Him even though blood and water was bursting out of His body.

People in the crowd were saying, “‘So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!”

They didn’t understand the reason why Jesus had to be crucified.

At noon, darkness began to cover the land.

Jesus cried out, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” Meaning, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Right before breathing His last breath, Jesus cried, “It is finished!” And died.

At that very moment, a very strong earthquake swept the land, and the curtain separating God from the people in the temple tore in two.

One of the soldiers, there at the place where Jesus died, said, ” ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”

Jesus was then taken down from the cross, wrapped from head to toe in linen with burial spices and placed in a tomb with a large stone rolled in front of it.

You many be wondering, “Why would you tell me all of this if Jesus was just going to die in the end?”

But, a miracle, something that will forever change the entire world happened on the third day.

Jesus rose from the dead!

For the next forty days, before His ascension to Heaven, Jesus stayed with His disciples and His fellow supporters, continued to show love, mercy, forgiveness, and always preached the Word of God.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of Christianity and it gives us faith, hope, healing, deliverance, restoration, and salvation.

Even though Jesus was beaten, spitted upon, and nailed on the cross, it is still referred to a Good Friday.

That doesn’t sound so good, but the reason why we call it Good Friday is because, even though Jesus died on that day, it was the start of a miracle.

While Jesus was in the tomb, He was fighting with the devil to get the authority back from the devil, so that Jesus can reclaim that power and deliver back unto all who believe and dwell in Him.

Jesus won that battle and on the third day rose from the dead, while both providing salvation for all and conquering death.

Isn’t that amazing!

We thank God for sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us on the cross, so that we may have a chance to be made right with God and build a relationship with God, and live eternally with Him.

Just imagine the great amount of love that Jesus has for us to be able to do that.

This is why it is important that we strive to run away from all sort of sin.

If we continue in sinful ways, it is like we are nailing Jesus back to the cross even after He laid down our lives for us, which I am sure we don’t want to do anything that will make Him sad.

Once again, Jesus if full of forgiveness and love. Meaning that even if you have lived a life full of sin, it is not too late to repent. Jesus will always accept you and bring you into His family.

Please, if you have not already done so, give your life to Christ so you can be set free from the bondage of sin, build a relationship with God, and reign eternally with Him.

Let us say a prayer:

In Jesus Name, in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

Thank you Lord for loving us so much that you sent down Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we may be made new and have a chance of eternal life with You.

Thank you Lord because even when times are lonely and tough, you are always with us and show us the way to go.

If there is anything we may have done that is sinful and nails you back to the cross again, we ask that you forgive us and cleanse us with your Precious Blood, in Jesus Mighty Name.

Shine your light on us so that we may fulfil our destinies and make a positive impact in this world so that all glory can be given back unto You.

Keep Your Word planted firmly in us so that we may not fall of the path, but continue in the way You have set for us.

Give us the strength and power to follow your will, not ours, and to be obedient to Your Word.

Lord, anyone who is praying along with this prayer and is ready to give their lives to You, we pray that You accept them into Your family, turn them away from their sinful ways, make them into new creatures, and give them the strength to follow you diligently so that when all is said and done, we will all make it into Your Eternal Kingdom.

When the devil comes and tries to attack us and remind us of our sinful past lives, Lord, we ask that we shall not fall for the devil’s lies, but, instead, look unto you for help and allow us to remember your voice that says we are safe with you and you have a set purpose in our lives that will never fail.

We ask that you will be our defense and shield in all parts of our lives, clearing our way of all obstacles and derails.

Once again, we just want to thank you for what You have done on the cross. Setting us free from death and empowering us again as your children.

To You be all the glory and honor forevermore in Jesus Might Name we have prayed.

Amen.