HE’S Alive! HIS Resurrection Celebration is Upon Us!

My personal questions: Isn’t it breathtaking that God rose Jesus from the grave in the springtime in Jerusalem; a time when the earth is also awakening from the dead of winter? Let me also ask you: Do you have the love and joy of Jesus welling up inside you like a spring of living water? Do you feel as if you’re going to burst with joy as you proclaim “Jesus Risen”? Do you wake up every morning saying “Thank YOU GOD for another day to share what Jesus did for me on the cross? Do You tell everyone you meet that Jesus is the ONLY way and that without Him, they’re dead in their sins? John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live.

John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” What an awesome promise! JESUS will raise us up! He knows His sheep and we recognize HIS voice! As His followers, we can hear His voice because we have studied the scriptures and we know Him and our Father in Heaven. The Holy Spirit that He sent to us lives within us and speaks to us concerning every tiny detail of our lives…we just need to learn to listen…

In the Gospels, Jesus foretells of His death and resurrection.

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 17:22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,“

Mark 8:31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Each time Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection to His disciples, they didn’t seem to grasp what He was telling them, He even had to rebuke Peter, telling Satan to get behind Him. 2000 years later, we still face the incredulous disbelief of those who don’t understand God’s plan. The plan that was made before our creation – that Jesus would come to earth to die. That for a brief moment Jesus would be so covered by the sins of this world that the Father would leave Him because God can’t stand sin and He had to turn away from His own beloved Son. When we realize that God HATES Sin…how do we persist in it?

Eye Witnesses of Jesus Resurrected

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:5 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas (Aramaic for “Peter”), then to the Twelve. ⁶ Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me.

Promise of Eternal Life with Him

1 Corinthians 15:20 ²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-15 Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. ¹⁵ For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep.

Ultimately Jesus gave us the “gift of eternal life” when He died on the cross taking our sins upon himself. I have such a difficult time understanding how anyone could turn down such a wonderful gift! Does anyone want to die and stay dead forever? I’ve heard so many say…is this ALL there is? OH MY GOODNESS! My heart breaks for them! Especially because God made it so easy for us…believe, repent obey.

Has anyone else died for YOU? Do YOU know anyone whom you believe would die for YOU? Is there anyone that YOU would lay your life down for?

Jesus’ Apostles and other followers laid down their lives rather than deny Jesus (Yeshua Hamaschiah) the Messiah. Why would they do such a thing? Why would they be willing to die for Him? Why did they keep the faith until death? Because they’d witnessed His miracles, they’d witnessed His Love, They’d witnessed His death and His Resurrection!

They didn’t just believe, they knew that they were going to receive eternal life!

Jesus said in John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand.“