One On One: 100 Days With Jesus--PASSIONSample

 Good News: The One who came back for us   

Jesus is alive! 

When Peter heard the news—or just the hint of it, he couldn’t get to the tomb fast enough. . . What if it’s true? Three days of sorrow, and inertia, and rehearsing his failure—he was ready for good news. That’s the difference between Peter and Judas. Both needed forgiveness, Peter humbled himself to go get it. 

When the Centurion heard the news, something in him wasn’t surprised. Yes, he witnessed Jesus’ death. He heard Him cry “Eloi, Eloi,” then something else. He saw His head drop, His eyes unseeing, His body grey. But the way the rabbi died convinced him he was no ordinary man. Even the rocks shook at the injustice. The sun hid. If Jesus was alive, he must go find Him.

When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus heard the news, they traded their shock and surprise with a smile at first, and then maybe full on laughter. Of all people, they knew what death looked like last Friday afternoon. In days since, their maverick move to care for Jesus upended their identity, power, and comfort with the council, but they regretted nothing. Now this amazing news proved it all worth it. 

When Pilate heard the news, he cursed the political hotbed of this backwater region. He knew this situation would bite him somehow. So much for truth . . .

When Satan’s demons heard the news, ungodly groans echoed like shock waves through the satanic realm. This was God’s checkmate in their war for souls. Jesus defeated their cruel master. Their doom is now just a matter of time.

If you could hear the news again for the first time, what would you think? Surreal? Epic? Wonderful? Everything about your life in God hangs on this one truth: Jesus suffered and died for your sins, then God raised Him to new life. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:17 says our faith means nothing and we’re still prisoners of our sins. 

But because Jesus rose from the dead, you can say: 

* Sin no longer has a hold on me. I am forgiven. Set free. Paid up. Clean before God. 

* My faith has a resting place. It doesn’t float around to anything sounding spiritual—it’s anchored in Jesus and what He’s done for me.

* When I die (like He died), I will be raised to life again (like He was). Because He rose again, so will I when I’m with Him in heaven. That’s when I will get to see all those who have died in faith throughout history. They are alive and together we will “enter into the joy of our Master.”

Something amazing happened at daybreak on the morning Jesus rose from the dead. The author of life won the victory over sin and death and death lost its power. 

The miracle still happens every time someone believes and accepts Jesus’ gift of eternal life.

Tomorrow: One on one with Jesus back from the grave