Tag Archives: The Crucifixion

Life After Death

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“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:5b-6a ESV1

Life after death is usually in reference to where one will spend eternity. But in the context of Easter, it takes on a little different meaning. Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection–His return to life after His death–to a restored human body that walked again on Earth for a short time and then ascended into Heaven in bodily form.2

As we approach the Easter season, we are reminded of Jesus’ death. The horror of crucifixion becomes more vivid in our imaginations. And the enormity of our sin and the greatness of God’s gift is refreshed in our memories. Taking time to remember Jesus, His sacrifice, and His conquering of sin for our sake is a significant part of this season. Likewise, rejoicing over the fact that death could not keep Jesus’ body in the grave and that Satan has lost his power over humanity is of utmost importance. But we will miss the full extent of this celebration if we never consider our own personal Easter stories. But I must ask: Do you have an Easter story?

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Fully Emancipated

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Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53 ESV1

Read John 6:29-67

As recorded in the latter half of John 6, Jesus, in some manner, repeatedly referred to Himself as the Bread of Life. He claimed to be “‘the Living Bread that came down from Heaven [and explained that] if anyone [ate] of this Bread, he [would] live forever … [He clarified] the Bread that [He gave] for the life of the World [was His] Flesh’” (John 6:51). Jesus insisted, “‘Whoever feeds on My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day’” (John 6:54). Why did Jesus push the issue of consuming both His Body and His Blood though it offended the religious and secular, the seeker and the devoted alike?

If Jesus’ Blood was shed for our sins, why did Jesus say we must partake of both His Blood and His Flesh? And why did “Jesus on the night when He was betrayed [take] bread, and when He had given thanks, … [break] it, and [say], ‘This is My Body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’ [And] in the same way, also … [take] the cup, after supper, [and say], ‘This cup is the new covenant in My Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)? Why the emphasis on remembering both His sacrificed Body and His spilled Blood? Are they not for the same thing?

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Ultimate Healing

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“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but 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.” Luke 24:5b-7 ESV1

Read Matthew 27:1-28:10, Mark 15:20b-16:7; Luke 23:1-24:12 & John 19:1-20:18

“Ultimate” is defined as “1. last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series … 2. maximum; decisive; conclusive … [and] 3. highest; not subsidiary.”2 The next healing we will consider is the ultimate healing Jesus ever consummated. It is chronologically the last healing He completed during His earthly ministry, but it is also the supreme healing. It is the panacea, the catholicon, the cure-all. Let’s dig in and discover why this healing is so matchless and so far above any of the other amazing healings Jesus ever brought about.

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