72 Hours That Changed History
1 Corinthians 15:3-11 (NKJV)
3For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
I supposed life hasn’t changed all that much. With all the cover-ups we hear, investigate, and read about today, the same kinds of things happened to Jesus. You have His disciples – those who knew Him, they knew His character, who He really was and what He came to do. Then you have those who chose another side. They wanted nothing to do with the truth, especially this one who said He was the truth. (John 14:6) But Paul teaches us about these 72 hours that changed history. Men still unfortunately fear Him, deny Him, hope He goes away. But every one of us will face Him one-on-one some day. (1 Cor. 5:10) Paul declares Christ died for our sins. Jesus was born with a Cross in His view, so we might be born again and experience eternal life. On the third day He rose again. Jesus was truly alive – physically. For that time, His body had laid lifeless in the tomb, separated from His spirit. But then in a demonstration of supernatural power, Jesus had been resurrected with a new body. Jesus had foretold His own death during His ministry. John 10:17-18 (NIV) 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Jesus’ death was not been an ordinary one. But Jesus had kept the 10 commands perfectly. He was sinless, so He did not need to die. According to the law of sin and death, Jesus in His human form could have lived forever. So why did He die? Satan hadn’t killed Jesus against His will; neither had the Romans. Jesus chose to die, willingly. But why? Because a perfect sacrifice had to be made so you and I might be justified before God. The events of the empty tomb that early morning was the confirmation that God Almighty is all-powerful and that resurrection power gets passed on to us as we walk with Him. Over the next 40 days, Jesus appeared to many of those who knew Him best. Jesus came back to life to prove that death had no power over Him. It wasn’t the nails that held Him to the Cross; it was His love for you and me. The resurrection was a powerful display that God’s JUST nature was satisfied with Jesus’ death on our behalf. Jesus had broken sins grip, defeated Satan’s power and removed death’s terrible finality.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)
2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil–
15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
By His death and resurrection, we are set-free, redeemed and free to live like Jesus. PTL! His victory is ours as we respond to His redemptive work and follow Christ by faith.