Like the narratives of Christ's birth, the accounts of His crucifixion and resurrection are so familiar that we can miss the full intensity of the unexpected event. Though Jesus warned His disciples, they were not at all prepared for the trauma of His death or the shock of His Resurrection. Because we know the outcome, it's hard for us to identify with what they must have felt.
Although we may wish we could have been present at Jesus' birth, who wishes to have seen His cruel, torturous death? Few want to read the details of what He suffered. We've sanitized Easter with aromatic lilies and colourful eggs.
But we must know exactly why the Father let His Son hang on the cross and why Jesus chose not to escape it. We need to grasp the glory of His resurrection. What blending of love and power can we see in these events? It's almost as if Jesus could hear the tearful praises of future believers singing:
My sin—O, the bliss of this glorious tho't—
My sin—not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!1
We hope these resources will help you better understand what really happened when Jesus died and rose from the dead, why there was no other alternative, and why it makes all the difference today!
¹Horatio Spafford, “It Is Well with My Soul.”
The 12 disciples shared many special moments with their Master like personally experiencing miracles and receiving private lessons on the kingdom of heaven. However, few of these instances were more intimate than the Last Supper found in Matthew 26:17–30.
Matthew 26:1–16 sets the stage for the final act of this gospel account. Each event preserved in this passage moves us one step closer to Jesus’ horrific crucifixion.
On the first Easter morning, when the stone was rolled away from Christ’s tomb, hope dawned and grace shone brighter than it ever had. For us, though, the monotony and troubles of daily life seem far removed from the miraculous impact of that glorious morning two thousand years ago.
The Passion of Christ refers to His arrest, trial, and suffering from the Garden of Gethsemane to the crucifixion. Some believe Jesus was a lunatic, some believe He is Lord. Who do you say He is?
Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem was revolutionary. He spoke of love and grace and His Kingdom of peace.
Join Chuck Swindoll in his Easter message, As Dawn Arrived…He Arose, and allow the light of Christ’s Resurrection to give you hope today. Remember that “weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
The Apostle Paul warned us to turn our attention to what really matters—the cross of Christ—even if the world thinks it foolish and weak. Because through the cross, God blesses.
Those who are meek and mild possess a character too wimpy for the times, so we think. We love lions, not lambs. But Jesus demonstrates that meekness isn't weakness—it is incredible strength.
What the world shuns as foolishness, the Lord embraces as wisdom—the wisdom of pain to turn mere followers of Christ into disciples of Christ. Jesus called it “the cup.” To Him the cup was the anguish, humiliation, and torturous death on the cross. To us it means “taking up our cross” and following Him daily.
Join Chuck Swindoll in this stirring look at Thomas, the enigmatic disciple who wore on his sleeves an uncertainty about Jesus’ Resurrection. But once in the presence of his risen Saviour, he boldly proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”
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Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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