He Arose

By Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.

The Scriptures do not tell us anything about the actual resurrection instance; they only tell us about the empty tomb, the rolled away stone, the burial linens neatly folded, and the angel(s) some saw in and outside the tomb.

Two dazzling angels caused the Roman guards, the only ones actually at the tomb, to be so stunned they became “like dead men.” But we are not told about the scene of the actual resurrection when it took place inside the tomb itself. No one was there to see it.

Some of those soldiers guarding the tomb went to tell the chief priests about what they had actually seen and how they had reacted, and that the tomb was empty. But they were bribed to tell a facetious lie that holds no water.

How could the unarmed disciples come during the night and steal the body of Jesus, when the tomb was well guarded by at least a dozen well armed Roman soldiers? And the stone over the entrance to the tomb was sealed with Pilate’s seal as he ordered. Yet many Jews believed their cockamamy lie.

The Shroud of Turin purports to be the burial linen of Jesus. Inauthentic or authentic, it shows the image of Jesus or another seemingly x-rayed onto the linen, as though there was a dazzling light emanating from the body of Jesus when He was resurrected, leaving the exact image imprinted on the burial cloth, known to us today as The Shroud of Turin.

We only really know that the resurrection took place, because we know this by the many eyewitness testimonies of Jesus alive, talking, eating, fellowshipping with His disciples and others, and eventually ascending into the sky, after commissioning them.

We know Jesus’ resurrection as well by our own experience of continual interaction with Jesus in our hearts and in our souls by the Holy Spirit. By faith, we know that Jesus is within us, when we believe that He is and that He is indeed our Savior and LORD.

Jesus was one of a few that was resurrected in history when we consider Lazarus, the young girl, and others. But Jesus was the only One who was resurrected with an eternal body, never to die again, and with eternal properties such as His ability to enter a place without using a door, and His ascension into heaven.

The resurrection of Jesus was unparalleled then, but He is the “first fruits” in that he removed the sting of death, so that we all might not taste death, but be resurrected as well. “Today you will be with Me in paradise,” He said to the thief on the cross. So shall we all be. And on the last day, our bodies will leave the grave too.

The resurrection of Jesus is a sure thing that revolutionized history and stands as the greatest event in all history, guaranteeing our resurrection too. In space and time, Jesus burst the bands of death, assuring us that we will do the same.

Hallelujah, He arose!

Encouragement