THINK TOGETHER.
Can dead people come back to life?
READ TOGETHER.
Matthew 28:1-10. 1Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
This is the greatest day in history! Jesus who was dead is now alive. God has raised him from the dead. This isn’t just an amazing miracle; this is our salvation. Jesus has conquered sin and death. If Jesus had stayed dead in the tomb, then we would never be able to be saved from our own sin. Jesus would just be another dead prophet, like Moses or Elijah. But Jesus isn’t dead. He is very much alive. After rising from the dead on this first Easter morning, Jesus would never die again. Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he died again later. Lazarus’ body is still in a tomb somewhere over there in Israel.
But not Jesus’ body. His body is not in a tomb. It is not in a grave. It is not wrapped in those linen cloths and packed with spices (see Day 92). Do you know where Jesus’ body is? It’s in Heaven. But we’ll talk more about that in a few days.
For today, let’s focus on what it means that Jesus is alive:
First, it means that even though Jesus was crucified for being an evil sinner, he was NOT a sinner at all, was he? No, Jesus never sinned. And that’s why God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. He did not deserve to be dead like you and me.
Second, Jesus rising from the dead means that when we are connected to Jesus, we will rise from the dead too. Jesus paid for our sin on the cross, and he defeated the punishment for sin, death, when he rose from the dead. With Jesus, our sins are paid for and we have eternal life with God. Everybody say Amen!
Finally, Jesus rising from the dead means that he is not only alive, but alive in us. When we trust in Jesus to save us, he not only takes away the sin in us, but he also moves into our heart to live forever. The resurrected Jesus is now filling our hearts up with his powerful love. A love that lets us trust and obey God in each and every situation of life.
Because of Jesus we will be resurrected one day.
With Jesus we have been resurrected with him and can love like him.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Sing some resurrection songs together: Because He Lives by Matt Maher, or Raised to Life by Elevation. Or, Google Easter songs for kids.
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, I praise you for raising Jesus from the dead so that MY sin is defeated once and for all. Amen.
TLICfamily 