PART 3
The resurrection says that Jesus doesn't lie.From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
Matthew 16:21 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2016:21&version=NLT
Jesus knew ahead of time that He was going to suffer a terrible death and rise again to life.
After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
Matthew 17:22-23 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2017:22-23&version=NLT
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
Matthew 20:17-19 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2020:17-19&version=NLT
Before the resurrection...
Jesus wasn't just killed.
He wasn't just condemned to death.
They seized him. He had the power to stop them. To wit:
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
John 18:4-6 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=John%2018:4-6&version=NIV
Jesus had the power to stop them. But instead, He laid His life down for them. He let them take Him and do all those terrible things to Him. He was spat on, mocked, jeered at, falsely accused, whipped, flogged, had a mock crown (of thorns) put on His head, with the crown beat into His head so it would pierce His head. He was whipped so badly He was lacerated; you could see some of His organs because some of His skin had been torn off. As brutal as "the passion of the Christ" was, it was still tame compared to what Jesus actually endured.
After all that, then Jesus had to carry His cross a distance, from Jerusalem to Golgotha. He was so badly beaten, abused, and worn that they had to get another man, Simon of Cyrene, to basically carry the cross for Him.
And still Jesus prayed for His enemies. He loved His enemies, just like He told us to. "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing."
After He passed away, he was buried in a sealed tomb, with a super huge stone rolled over the entrance to the cave where His tomb lay, with two roman soldiers posted in front to guard the stone.
This was so His body could not be stolen by anyone mortal.
On Sunday, the third day, the following happened:
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
Matthew 28:1-7 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew%2028:1-7&version=NLT
None of what Jesus suffered held Him down: not the flogging, nor the crown of thorns, nor the nails in His hands or feet, nor the insults, nor the betrayal, nor the abandonment, nor anything else He endured.
We have a choice: believe that God made a way. He sent Jesus to die and then raised Him up.
Jesus doesn't lie.
You'll know you're born again because of your love for one another. Jesus says for us to love each other. He wants us to pray for one another. And to believe that God will meet our needs.