Easter is the most important holiday on the Christian calendar. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead after his crucifixion. This miraculous event is the cornerstone of Christian faith, as the resurrection confirms Christ’s divinity and proves that death has been defeated through his sacrifice. Easter marks the fulfillment of Jesus’ earthly mission and the beginning of Christianity’s spread across the world.
In the days leading up to Easter, it is meaningful to reflect on the events of Holy Week – the final days of Jesus’ life on earth. Reading the biblical accounts of the Last Supper, his arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and finally resurrection deepens our understanding and appreciation for God’s love, Christ’s sacrifice, and the new life we are offered through faith in him.
On Day 34 of an Easter reading plan, we come to John 18-19. Here John provides his eyewitness account of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, his Jewish and Roman trials, his flogging, mocking, and crucifixion at Golgotha. Despite the violent religious leaders and crowds demanding his death, Jesus faces his suffering with grace and obedience to fulfill his Father’s will (John 18:11). Even in his agony, Jesus shows compassion by healing the severed ear of the high priest’s servant (Luke 22:51). On the cross, Christ supremely exemplifies sacrificial love by assigning care for his mother to John (John 19:26-27). Even the hardened Roman centurion is moved, declaring, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39).
John spares no detail in relating the horrors of Jesus’ illegal trials before Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod. The devout Jewish leaders violate their own laws to rush to judgment against him (Matthew 26:57-68). Pilate plainly declares Jesus’ innocence, yet still condemns him to appease the crowds (John 18:38-40). In this religious hypocrisy and political pandering, we see sinful humanity at its worst. Yet God sovereignly uses these injustices to accomplish his ultimate purpose (Acts 2:23). Christ’s perfect submission leads to salvation.
John 19 provides a grueling account of Jesus’ flogging and slow, agonizing death by crucifixion. This severe form of public execution was reserved for the worst criminals. Seeing Jesus humiliated and stripped, derided with thorns and purple robe, spit upon and beaten beyond recognition, confronts us with the ugliness of sin and extremity of Christ’s sacrifice. Yet Jesus endured unimaginable pain and shame in order to make us clean before God. As Isaiah prophesied, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5).
At the cross, we see both God’s justice and mercy meet. Wrath against sin was fully poured out on Jesus, sparing guilty sinners from condemnation (Romans 3:25). This redemption was infinitely costly, involving the very death of the Son of God. Yet it was an act of pure grace. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). As John writes simply, “He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). By his blood shed on the cross, Jesus reconciled estranged people to a holy God. The veil was torn, giving all believers direct access into God’s presence (Matthew 27:51).
After his bodily death, Jesus’ legs were not broken, fulfilling Scripture that not one bone would be broken (John 19:36; Psalm 34:20). He was pierced with a spear, fulfilling another prophecy (John 19:37; Zechariah 12:10). Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, secret followers of Jesus afraid to show themselves during his trial, now courageously give him an honorable burial in Joseph’s own tomb, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah’s grave would be with the rich (John 19:38-42; Isaiah 53:9). Though his disciples had abandoned hope, God’s redemptive plan was coming to pass exactly according to Scripture.
The grief and despair Jesus’ followers felt at his death is unimaginable. They did not yet understand that God’s power and purposes were being worked out through the suffering Messiah. But the resurrection was coming. After dying as the sacrificial Passover lamb (John 1:29), Jesus would conquer death itself, breaking its power forever for those who put their trust in him. Easter dawn was about to break.
As we reflect during the Easter season on the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are confronted with the enormity of our sin and the incomprehensible love of God. Christ took the divine punishment we deserve. He shared our pain, griefs, and struggles as a man yet overcame them all as God (Hebrews 4:15-16). By trusting in what he accomplished for us, we can find forgiveness, meaning, and fullness of life in him alone.
This Easter, may the Spirit open our eyes to see afresh the beauty of the cross. As John Newton wrote in his famous hymn:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come;
‘Twas grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.
May God bless you richly this Easter season.
On the day Jesus was crucified, as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea boldly went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body (Mark 15:42–43). Pilate granted his request (Mark 15:44–45). Joseph immediately took Jesus’ body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth (Matthew 27:59). Nicodemus, the Jewish religious leader who had visited Jesus at night three years earlier (John 3:1–21), assisted Joseph in caring for Jesus’ body. Nicodemus brought about 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and the men bound the spices into the linen wrappings to help embalm Jesus’ body (John 19:39–42). This was done according to Jewish burial customs.
Because it was late on Friday, before the Sabbath began at sunset, Joseph and Nicodemus laid Jesus’ body in a tomb that Joseph had most likely intended for his own burial (Matthew 27:59–60). This tomb was located in a garden near the crucifixion site. It was hewn out of rock, with an entrance sealed by a large stone (Matthew 27:60). Then Joseph and Nicodemus, not having time to fully prepare Jesus’ body for burial, rolled the stone over the entrance of the tomb (Mark 15:46). Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where Jesus’ body was laid (Mark 15:47). This happened hurriedly, late Friday afternoon, the day before the Sabbath.
After observing Jesus’ hurried burial, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph went to buy burial spices to anoint Jesus’ body after the Sabbath, on Sunday morning (Mark 16:1). They intended to finish the hasty work Joseph and Nicodemus had performed on Friday evening. Mark relates, “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him” (Mark 16:1). The women rested on the Sabbath Saturday, according to the commandment, then eagerly waited for the next sunrise so they could devote themselves to proper mourning over their Lord’s death.
Early Sunday morning, even before the sun rose, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and perhaps other women as well (Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:10) set out for the tomb with their prepared burial spices and ointments. They wondered how they would remove the heavy stone sealing the tomb’s entrance so they could anoint Jesus’ body. But as the women approached, they saw that the immense stone already had been rolled away (Mark 16:4)! The women entered the tomb—only to find Jesus’ body missing!
The events of that resurrection morning unfold in the Gospels with breathless excitement and confusion. Mary Magdalene ran back to the city and reported news of Jesus’ missing body to Peter and John: “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (John 20:2). Peter and John hurried to investigate, observing the linen grave clothes—folded but empty—inside the tomb. The disciples did not yet understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead (John 20:9).
Meanwhile, other women of Galilee remained at the tomb, encountering two angels inside. The angels proclaimed the glorious news: “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” (Matthew 28:6). Jesus Christ had conquered death! He was alive! As the women stood in awe, Jesus himself suddenly appeared and met with them. The women worshiped Jesus as they clung to his feet. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus told them gently. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matthew 28:10). The women obeyed Jesus’ command with exceeding great joy (Matthew 28:8). This was the greatest news the world has ever received—the Son of God died for sinners, then rose in triumph over death! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central fact of Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
As the women shared their eyewitness reports of meeting the risen Lord Jesus, the disciples initially did not believe them (Mark 16:11; Luke 24:11). Jesus’ resurrection was so astonishing, so unprecedented, it went beyond their wildest hopes. Only once the disciples encountered the risen Jesus personally were they convinced, filled with belief and newfound faith. The disciples soon would understand how the entire Bible—the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms—pointed to this central event of history (Luke 24:44).
Jesus remained on earth for 40 days after his resurrection, providing “many proofs” that he was alive (Acts 1:3). He supernaturally appeared to individuals, small groups, and even to over 500 believers at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). Jesus comforted his followers, reassured them of his identity and mission, opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and promised the coming of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:45–49; John 20:19–23). Though fully human, Jesus’ resurrected body was now transfigured, allowing him to appear and disappear miraculously, with unusual properties. Yet Jesus’ resurrection body remained tangible—he ate food and invited his disciples to touch his hands and side to confirm they were seeing their crucified Savior risen indeed (Luke 24:36–43; John 20:27).
Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus and his disciples went out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would soon empower them to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Then Jesus blessed them and ascended into heaven, disappearing into a cloud, leaving them gazing upward (Luke 24:50–52). The resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ will one day return visibly on the clouds in great power and glory, bringing his redemptive work to consummation (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a real historical event with many convincing proofs. Hundreds of eyewitnesses encountered the risen Lord Jesus firsthand. Their courageous testimony launched the growth of the early church in the face of intense persecution. The biblical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is substantial and diverse:
– The empty tomb itself, with Jesus’ burial wrappings left folded inside.
– Multiple encounters with the risen Jesus at different times and places: by Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), other women at the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10), Peter (Luke 24:34), two disciples on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:13-35), ten apostles and others (Luke 24:36-49), eleven apostles (John 20:26-31), seven at the Sea of Galilee (John 21), all eleven apostles (Matthew 28:16-20), over five hundred (1 Corinthians 15:6), James (1 Corinthians 15:7), and finally Paul (Acts 9:3-6; 1 Corinthians 15:8).
– After seeing the resurrected Jesus himself, skeptics like Thomas and James were convinced to die for their faith in Christ.
– The disciples’ despair turned to courage; all but one died as martyrs fully convinced Jesus was the risen Messiah.
– The rapid growth of the early church in Jerusalem, just miles from Jesus’ crucifixion and burial site, claimed eyewitnesses to the resurrection (Acts 2-6).
These evidences present a powerful case that Jesus rose from the dead, just as he predicted. Roman soldiers could never have let a condemned and carefully guarded prisoner escape (Matthew 27:62-66). The disciples were utterly demoralized and scattered after Jesus’ death—and would not have fabricated resurrection claims that brought persecution. And no one would suffer torture and death for a known lie. As Chuck Colson writes, “People will die for their religious beliefs if they sincerely believe they are true, but people will not die for their religious beliefs if they know their beliefs to be false . . . They saw with their own eyes and touched with their own hands.”
The resurrection is foundational to the Christian faith. As Paul states, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). If Christ was not raised, we are still dead in our sins without hope (1 Corinthians 15:17). But Jesus has conquered sin and risen victoriously, inaugurating the promised new creation! Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits and guarantee of final resurrection for all who trust in him (1 Corinthians 15:20). By grace through faith, we can experience new spiritual life now and look forward to our own future bodily resurrection (Romans 8:11). That changes everything! It gives us courage to walk by faith, not sight, knowing the best is yet to come. Jesus is supreme over all—He holds “the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). We need not fear sickness, suffering, or death itself. The Savior has come.