HE IS RISEN!! Correlating the four gospel accounts gives us the bigger picture for the events on that Sunday so long ago. . .

Take a look with me as we consider what happened~

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. Matthew 28

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. Luke 24

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter. 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.'" Matthew 28, Mark 16

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 'Remember how He told you, while He was in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day arise." And they remembered His words, and returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. Luke 24

"Good Morning"

Yes, it is a good morning indeed--a good Sunday morning, to be exact, and blissfully--as the women arrive at the tomb at first morning's light, they bring along burial spices to finish caring for Jesus' body. Amazingly, though, the gigantic stone has been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, and even more amazingly, Jesus is not there. They are shocked. They are worried and frightened. They turn in haste to go and tell the disciples that the Lord had done what He had said He was going to do--He rose from the dead. Miraculously, He defeated the grave and triumphed over sin in doing so.

Before we go on, I would like to interview you about the Resurrection - writing down your answers might prove enlightening~

Do you believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead? Why, why not?__________________________________________________

Why is it so vital to the Christian faith?___________________________________________________________________________

What do you say to skeptics who don't believe it?_____________________________________________________________________

Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." 1 Corinthians 15.17 - What did Paul mean by that, and why is it true?

_______________________________________________________________________________

"In a profound sense, Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity at all." Gerald O'Collins, theologian

You see, Christianity is a faith that is defensible. Tomorrow, I will endeavor to systematically build the case for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth; we'll look at the evidence, as well as some analysis by the premier apologists of our day. In addition, I will show you why the resurrection is critical to your faith in God, and why, if you really believe it, each day should be affected by your knowledge of a risen Lord. But for today~ I would ask you to consider for yourself the miracle of the resurrection, and why it alone makes our Savior worthy of our love and trust.

Grace and Peace,

Christine