Have You Heard? The Tomb is Empty, Jesus is Alive!

What Easter is really about, It’s not all bunnies & eggs. The pagans use that to cover up the Truth (Jesus).

He Is Risen

Matthew 28:1-20

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

⁹ And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The Soldiers Are Bribed

¹¹ Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. ¹² When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,¹³ saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were instructed, and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John 20

The Resurrection

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said.  As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.”

Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in His hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in His side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing Me.”

Purpose of the Book

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name.

Waiting on Jesus to Rise from the Grave

Matthew 27:50-66

⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

⁵¹ Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

⁵⁴ So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, ⁵⁶ among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb

⁵⁷ Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. ⁵⁹ When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. ⁶¹ And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

Pilate Sets a Guard

⁶² On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, ⁶³ saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

And so we wait on Jesus to resurrect from the grave. While we wait, what will you do while waiting? Will you serve Him? And how? Will you worship Him? Will you pray & fast? Will you share the Truth about Jesus with others? So others can wait on Him.

Since we are a gaming ministry, and there are MANY unsaved gamers, well you may know we are the people who need to share Jesus with them, if we won’t, who will? Do you love them? What is love? An ACTION word.

Share with gamers about Good Friday & “Easter” Resurrection Sunday and what this time is all about. May it be through a message, or in a lobby, on Twitch, YouTube, other social media sites.

While we are waiting… We will serve You, we will worship You while we wait on You, Lord. Please enjoy this music video by John Waller – While I’m Waiting

There always is a waiting period. After Jesus’ last breath we have been waiting for His return to rise from the grave. But other times to wait on God, after praying, maybe you been praying on the same thing for a whole year. Question is, are you waiting on God? At the same time on waiting patiently you are building character.

Lord’s Supper

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

[Examine Yourself]

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

– 1 Corinthians 11:23-34

I was raised in a church, when they broke bread, (the bread they broke had no yeast in it. Yeast represents sin. Jesus had no sin.)

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,  Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.  Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”  For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?   You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.   If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.   For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.  Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.   If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.  – John 13:1-17

 

3 Days and 3 Nights

The last few years, when Good Friday would come around, I would think about Good Friday and how it didn’t make too much sense. What do I mean? Well, looking at Christ, He would rise again 3 days later after He died, well, 1 day is 24 hours and 3 days is 72 hours. So how could Jesus die on Good Friday and 1 1/2 days later resurrect? A little short? Well, I came across this article and this makes perfect sense. You MUST watch this video, it explains and proves that if you still believe Good Friday is the day, then Jesus isn’t your Master. “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” – Matthew 12:40. If you celebrate Good Friday and Easter, you need to watch this. Please comment & share this with other Christians.

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  – Matthew 12:40

Sunrise and The Empty Tomb

John 20

The Resurrection

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said.  As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.”

Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in His hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in His side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing Me.”

Purpose of the Book

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name.

 

Without the Resurrection

When Preaching Christ without the resurrection… equals ending up with a dead religion. For God’s Word tells us that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our faith is in vain. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity is dead and done for.

The real reason why some people deny the resurrection because they do not want to accept the fact that Jesus is the one and only true God who appeared in human flesh. It is because they do not want to worship Him as such. It is because they refuse to acknowledge that they are sinners and desperately need His forgiveness. It is because they want to remain in their sins, but do not know how to deal with the guilt aspect.

So they say Jesus was just a man—that is the bottom line. But why? So that they can pull Him down to their level. So that they may feel equal with Him. So that they can ease their own guilt. So that they can feel good about doing that which is troubling their conscience. So that they may try to convince themselves that they are not in need of repentance.

The Bible says that if Christ was not raised from the dead then your faith is in vain. But praise God, that is not the kind of faith that God has given us! Our faith is alive and is based on a living Christ. Jesus did not stay dead in a tomb, but was resurrected!

And we can trust in God’s Word completely to tell us the truth about what happened that first Easter Sunday.

Prayer: God, thank You for Your Word which assures us that Jesus did not stay in that tomb, but that He was resurrected and we serve a living God! Amen.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:14).

He Is Risen!!!

John 20

The Resurrection

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb.They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in.She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

That Sunday eveningthe disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.  As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Purpose of the Book

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Waiting…

Today is the Waiting Day before the Divine and Holy Resurrection.

So may we wait on Him…

Fifteen Truths About Jesus

Christianity views all other religions, as well as denominations and cults on their assessment of and faithfullness to the persons of Jesus and His teaching

Jesus is God
1. Jesus forgives sins – “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Mark 2:10

2. Jesus preformed miracles – “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father.” John 10:32

3. Jesus is one with God the Father – “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.” – Augustine of Hippo

4. Jesus came from the Father – “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” John 16:28

5. Jesus is the Christ – “The high priest asked Him [Jesus], ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus.” Mark 14:61-62

6. Jesus is the Messiah – “The [Samaritan] woman said, ‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.’ Then JEsus declared, ‘I who speak to you am He.'” John 4:25-26

“Brethren, we ought so to think of Jesus Christ as of God.” – 2 Clement (the oldest extant Christian sermon after those recorded in the New Testament)

“Take hold of Jesus as a man and you will discover that He is God.” – Martin Luther

The gift of Jesus

7. Jesus came to give spiritual life – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

8. Jesus gives us the right to become God’s children – “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God.” John 1:12

9. Jesus bestows eternal life – “I give them eternal life.” John 10:28

“Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded, or He was divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma.” – George Duncan

10. Jesus keeps us in eternal life – “They shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28

11. Jesus is fully God
&
12. Jesus became fully man – “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

“Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He Himself is the Way.” – Karl Barth

The cross and resurrection of Jesus

13. Jesus’ death was a ransom for our sins – “The Son of Man … gave His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

14. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners – “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

15. Jesus rose from the dead – “But God raised Him from the dead.” Acts 2:24

“Jesus is either God, or He is not good.” – Anselm