Let us pray, and he said, unto them, be not affrighted.

Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified, He has risen.

He is not here.

Behold the place where they laid him, Mark sixteen six.

Thank you God, that through your promise in the garden we were given new life in Jesus.

Even though his body was bruised by the crucifixion, his act of resurrection crushed the head of the serpent Satan forever.

For in doing so, you took the power away from sin and death.

Jesus, when I am tempted to go back to the sins of my past, remind me, Holy Spirit, that they are not there.

Remind me that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, my sins were washed away by the blood of the Lamb.

Hallelujah.

Thank you Jesus that through your sacrifice I have new life and new power.

Thank you Lord, that the stone was rolled away and that the tomb is empty.

I choose to celebrate because an empty tomb means an occupied throne ready for me to approach, to tap into the greatest power, provision, and love I've ever known.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life to hear the Bible come to life.

Stay tuned for the Bible in a Year brought to you by Bible in a Year dot.

Com The Resurrection.

In our last story, we learned about the death of Jesus on a cross and the offering up of his life for the sins of humanity.

After his death, he was placed and buried in the tomb of a man named Joseph.

In this story, we will learn about the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ as inspired by the Gospels.

I'm so glad you've joined us on the Bible in a Year podcast today, But before we get to today's episode, I want you to know that I would absolutely love to send you my daily devotional that will give you fresh encouragement every single morning and day from the moment we wake up to the moment our head finally hits the pillow.

There are thousands of things demanding our attention.

But it's in the midst of all this crush and hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and truth in God's Word.

That's why I want to help you spend time each day's growing in God's life giving, life changing word by sending you my free daily email devotional PowerPoint Today.

So visit Jagraham dot org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.

That's Jagraham dot org Jack Graham dot org.

In yesterday's reading, we heard how Jesus went to the cross, suffered, and died there at Calvary for our sins.

His physical pain was unimaginable, but the pain of separation from the heavenly Father was even greater, as the one who was sinless now bears our sins.

The Father God himself turned his back upon his darling son as the sins of the world were placed on him.

The wrath of God came upon Jesus that day, and Christ was judged for our sins.

He bore the weight of the world, and yet in that sacrifice, the justice of God himself was satisfied, so that we now can have relationship with God.

That relationship with God is made possible for what we read about today, and that is that Jesus is alive because he came out of the gray.

The resurrection is our subject.

So let's listen.

Now.

Christ's death had caused the earth itself to cry out in mourning.

His disciples, hiding and alone, mimicked the earth in sorrow.

Though the morning sun had come, the world still felt dark.

A fear and trembling came over all that were once loyal to Jesus.

Would they do to them what they did to Jesus.

In fear of their lives and embarrassment of their cowardice, the disciples hid themselves away.

Those who had conspired to kill Jesus suddenly had felt an uneasiness bubble up in them.

The day after Jesus's crucifixion, they had come to Pilate and said to him, this man we have put to day death once said that he would be raised again on the third day.

We must have guards around the tomb, lest his disciples take his body and claim he was risen from the dead.

Pilot heard what the Pharisees said and agreed send guards to make sure the tomb is buried and sealed post guards in front of the tomb to make sure the disciples do not attempt to steal Jesus's body.

On the third day, in the cool of the morning, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James left to go visit the tomb where Jesus had laid.

They held spices and flowers to lay beside the entrance of the tomb.

Approaching the tomb, their footsteps were interrupted by the shaking of the earth beneath them.

A bright light flashed before them, and the guards beside the tomb fell to the ground motionless.

The two women opened their eyes to the sight of an angel sitting beside Jesus's tomb.

The stone that once sealed it was rolled away.

Looking at the women with a face shining righter than the sun, the angel said, why do you seek the living among the dead.

He is not here.

He has risen, as he said, he would now go quickly and tell his disciples.

As the two women fled to go tell the others, they were met on the road by a man.

Flustered and confused, they could barely pay any attention.

Greetings the man said.

He spoke to them with a familiar and gentle tone.

They looked up to him and discovered it was him, he who was hung, bloodied, and demolished, and the cross stood before them.

No words or expressions could quite capture their relation, so they simply clung to him as Jacob once did on the hill generations ago.

They too were trembling with joy, fear, and confusion.

Do not be afraid, nor should you cling to me too long, Jesus said, quick, go and tell my brothers to meet me in Galilee.

There they will see me.

The women did as they were told and immediately ran to the disciples.

The two brought word to Peter and John.

Though they doubted, they wasted no time fleeing towards the garden where Jesus was buried so they could see it for themselves.

John, the youngest of the disciples, ran the fastest, determined to see his king once again.

He ran inside, picked up the pieces of cloth that once wrapped his Messiah, and welled up with tears.

The cloths were lying there alone on the stone, but his king was gone.

As the two Marys had said, the tomb was empty, and joy and anticipation erupted in both of them.

The darkness over the face of the earth was lifted, and light was restored to the hearts of those who followed Jesus.

The next chapter of the disciples lives would be marked with more wonder and exploits than their imaginations could ever predict king had risen, and the only thing remaining in the tomb were the sins of mankind he had put to death on the cross.

God once promised in the Garden of Eden that the serpent would bruise the heel of a promised son, yet he would crush his head.

Jesus's scars from crucifixion remained.

He was, in fact bruised by evil.

Yet the head of the serpent, the enemy, and all his exploits were crushed under the heel of the promised messiah.

On that cross, the sins of humanity and all that plagued the hearts of men were crushed, and the Son of God proved that even death has no power over him, nor would it have power over all those that followed him after Amen.

In today's scripture, the dark shadow of grief and fear hang over the entire world, and none are feeling it more powerfully than the disciples and those who followed Jesus to the end.

For them, it seemed that all hope is lost.

Though Jesus had told them he would die and be raised again, it seemed an impossibility.

At this point two days had already passed, and still Jesus was behind a heavy stone in a tomb.

Those who had orchestrated this unjust execution and crucifixion had heard about Jesus' claims that after three days he would rise again, so they arranged for Jesus' tomb to be guarded by Roman soldiers so that none of his followers could break in and steal the body and claim a resurrection.

I could only imagine the sorrow and terror of those who had followed Jesus.

If their master had been killed, surely they would be in grave danger.

But more than that, their dearest friend and teacher and messiah, the one that they had trusted in love like no one else, was gone.

They were soon to experience in a very real way what Psalm thirty taught them that though sorrow may last through the night, joy comes in the morning.

For on the morning of the third day, everything was going to change forever.

On that morning, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James made their way to the tomb, bringing spices to anoint the body of Jesus, because they did not expect that he would actually rise from the dead as he promised he would.

Of course, they had no idea how they would move the heavy stone that blocked the access to the body.

But they went anyway, desperate, desiring to show honor to their beloved friend.

What a surprise they were in for.

When they got to the place where Jesus was laid to rest, the large stone had already been rolled away.

When they entered the tomb, they did not find the lord's body.

No, they encountered two men dressed in sparkling white robes, angel beings.

They were understandably afraid, but the angel spoke to them reassuringly, and we hear their words in Luke twenty four six to seven.

He is not here, but he has risen.

Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee, that the son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and on the third day rise.

Then they remembered what Jesus had promised them, and they ran to tell the others the good news.

The greatest good news the world has ever heard, came out of an empty tomb in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.

Jesus had risen, just as he said he would.

Everything Jesus said, everything Jesus did everything about Jesus hinges on this miracle of the resurrection.

If he never rose from the dead, if the tomb is not empty that day, then Jesus was just a compelling speaker, a magnetic personality, a religious teacher that led people astray.

But if Jesus did in fact conquer death and rise from the grave, then he truly is the savior of the world, the Son of God, perfect God, in perfect man, alive forevermore.

His death accomplished what he said it would, the forgiveness of our sins.

And with his resurrection he removed the sting of death, eternal separation from God, and made a way for those who follow him to live forever in the presence of God.

Jesus had said in John fourteen six, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.

And no one comes to the Father but by me.

Jesus made away, and it went through an empty tomb.

He rose from the grave, and now we can trust him with our lives.

And how do we know that he rose from the dead Because of the many witnesses that saw him, starting with these two women who rushed to tell others that they had encountered the risen Christ They embraced him, joy like they had never known, filling their hearts, and they couldn't wait to tell the disciples the amazing news.

When Peter and John heard, they were doubtful, so they ran to the tomb and found it empty except for the burial clause Giesus had been wrapped in which were folded neatly at the tomb.

This was not a grave robbery.

This was a resurrection.

There are many evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We can believe in the resurrection, but the greatest evidence of all is the change lives of the disciples, whose world was turned upside down at the cross, but right side up at the resurrection.

The one who had commanded the lame to walk, the sick to be healed, and the dead to rise, had walked right out of his tomb.

He is alive.

Christ is alive.

He did not need someone else to command him to rise, for he has power over sin, death, hell, and the grave, and through him, because of his cross and resurrection, we can have the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.

This is why the gospel is such good news that the whole world needs to hear.

Would you pray with me.

If you've never received Jesus the Living Lord as your savior and your God, you can trust him right now by simply breathing this prayer.

Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned and broken your commandments, but I believe you died to save me, and so I do trust you as my Lord and savior.

I will follow you all the days of my life and the power of your spirit, and when you come for me, I'll be ready because I've put my faith and trust in you.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, and before we go, I want you to know that I would love to send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every single day.

So visit Jack Graham dot org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.

That's Jack Graham dot org.