What is the resurrection?

It is on Easter Sunday that the fasting and sadness of Lent turns to joyful celebration as Christians celebrate the Resurrection and declare that death is defeated and Jesus is alive.

Before he was arrested, Jesus had told the disciples that he would be crucified and on the third day he would rise from the dead (Matthew 20:18). Sunday was the third day from Good Friday.

When Jesus was taken down from the cross he was placed in a tomb that belonged to a man called Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb was a cave with a large rock placed over its entrance. A Roman soldier was placed there to guard it. It was Jewish custom for a dead body to be washed before it was buried but because it was the Sabbath, the special day when no one was allowed to work, the body was left unwashed.

No one went to the guarded tomb on the Saturday. But on the Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and some of Jesus' disciples went to his tomb in order to prepare his body properly for burial. To their surprise, they found that the tomb was empty. They thought that someone must have stolen Jesus' body.

Then, Jesus showed himself and spoke to them. He was alive!

THE IMPORTANCE OF EASTER

Through Jesus' death on the cross, anyone can experience salvation; forgiveness for their sins; experience life before death; enjoy the promise of life after death.

This is why Easter is so important to Christians.

Watch this video to find out more.

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You can read about the Resurrection for yourself in Mark 16, Luke 24 and in John 20.