Lesson
7
Christ
Lives
V. Christ Lives
God's plan called for
the Messiah to come forth out of the grave; death could not hold Him! God would
not suffer Him to see corruption. Jesus had predicted the precise amount of
time He would be in the tomb.
"Then
certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would
see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to
it, but the sign of the prophet lonas: For as ]onas was three days and three
nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:38-40).
A. A Watch Put over
His Grave
On the second day
after Jesus' burial, the chief priests and Pharisees came together to Pilate
and said, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet
alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre
be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal
him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error
shall be worse than the first." Pilate responded, "Ye have a watch:
go your way, make it as sure as ye can" (Matthew 27:63-65). The Jews left
Pilate, went to the sepulchre, sealed it, and set a watch, or guard, over it.
B. Jesus Came Forth
Their efforts to keep
Christ in the tomb were to no avail. The Angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb, and sat upon it. His
appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. The keepers of
the tomb shook, and became like dead men. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of
Cleophas, the mother of James, and Salome, along with others, made their way to
the tomb. They wanted to anoint the body of Jesus with the spices they had
prepared. As they came, they wondered, "Who will roll the stone away for
us?" But when they arrived, they saw that the stone was rolled away from
the door. Christ was risen! The tomb was empty!
C. Many Saw Him
Later, in recording
the facts of the resurrection, Paul states:
"He
was buried, and that he rose again, the third day according to the scriptures;
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of
above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of lames; then of
all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of
due time" (I Corinthians 15:4-8).
Jesus
appeared several times to His disciples during the forty days after His
resurrection. He ate with them and gave them His last, important commands (John
20:19-31; Luke 24:13-53; Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:9-20; Acts 1:3).