In Anticipation of the Glory That Is to ComeSample

THE POWER OF RESURRECTION

MAIN IDEAS

• All phenomena associated with Jesus’ death demonstrated once more that He is – as He affirmed and proved so far – the Son of God.

• In order for the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection to be even more telling, guarding around the tomb was strengthened and the tomb was sealed. Nevertheless, the power of resurrection was manifested and was the one that raised Jesus from the dead.

All the phenomena that took place at the death of JESUS – the three-hour darkness, the earthquake, the tearing of the Temple curtain – proved that the crucified One was really who He said He was: the Son of GOD. We do not have many details regarding the opening of the tombs and the resurrection of the dead, but the fact that these things were written in the Word leads us to believe them. We are not supposed to prove anything, nor are we supposed to speculate. The things we can know and understand belong to us, while the hidden and difficult-to-perceive ones belong to GOD. This state of things does not in any way affect our salvation. Even the Roman centurion who coordinated the crucifixion admitted that the crucified One was the Son of GOD. The religious leaders who had gotten JESUS killed remembered that He had predicted He would be resurrected on the third day and made sure this would not happen. They sealed the tomb and placed soldiers to guard it. Nevertheless, the power of the resurrection raised JESUS from the dead. The disciples witnessed the manifestation of this power in the person of JESUS and they experimented with it in their lives as well. Ever since then, successions of generations of disciples have experimented with the power of the resurrection in their own lives – the power to live a new and changed life. In the end, this power of the resurrection will raise our own mortal bodies and will clothe them in immortality, when the Lord comes. To be a Christian, to be a follower of Christ, is not about belonging to a religion, about adopting certain dogmas or practicing certain rituals, but about the manifestation of the power of JESUS’ resurrection in your life, as a person who has chosen to be His follower.