Listen! I am telling you a mystery:  We will not all fall asleep, but we will be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible is clothed with incorruption, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:  Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?     1 Corinthians 15:51-55 HCSB

In John 2:19 Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days.” There were Jews listening who questioned how He would raise up a temple in three days that had taken 46 years to build. What they didn’t understand was that Jesus was referring to His own body. John 2:22 tells us that when Jesus was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.

All four gospels record Jesus’ resurrection by beginning with the women including Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb on the first day of the week which would have been Sunday. My favorite of these is in the book of Matthew which gives the most vivid description of these events. In Matthew 28:2-7, it says “Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his robe was white as snow. The guards were so shaken from fear of him that they became like dead men.
But the angel told the women, ‘Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here! For He has been resurrected, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. In fact, He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there’. Listen, I have told you.”

Jesus spent time with His disciples on earth after his resurrection. In Matthew 28:19 He gave His disciples the great commission telling them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all He had commanded them and to remember that He was with them to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19). Mark 16:19 says that after Jesus finished speaking to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

Jesus had defeated death. He was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day He rose from the dead just as he had predicted. It’s important to remember as we celebrate Easter that it’s not all about the Easter Bunny, Easter eggs, and candy. It’s about our Lord and Savior. It’s about someone who loved us enough to die for us. It’s about Jesus conquering death so that we could too.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul echoes Hosea 13:14 which says, “I will ransom them from the power of Sheol, I will redeem them from death, Death, where are your barbs? Sheol where is your sting? Compassion is hidden in My eyes.” Paul speaks of Christ’s second coming. As Christians we are to strive to be incorruptible here on earth, we are to strive to be righteous and perfect. We cannot obtain this because of our nature to sin. We will never be sinless as Jesus was until He comes back for us and brings us to heaven with Him.

I am so ready for that day. Are you? Do you look forward to spending eternity with Jesus in heaven? Do you look forward to a place where there are no more tears, death, grief, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4)? My friend all this world has to offer is betrayal, heartache and sadness. The devil tempts us with his lies and falsely represents sin to make it look like a good thing. It will leave us feeling empty.

Because of what Jesus did for us on that cross and His resurrection from the dead, death has been swallowed up in victory. You can be victorious, or you can be swallowed up by the devil. The choice is yours. I beg of you to choose quickly as none of us know the day or the hour when Jesus will come back for us.

Have a wonderful Easter!