According to the Apostle John’s account after His resurrection Jesus was capable of walking through locked doors. This means that Jesus’ resurrected body was able to pass through matter. While it is possible and probable that, as the Son of God, Jesus will have much greater power in heaven than any other resurrected person, it is also entirely possible that those whom He raises will share in some of His abilities at the very least.

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘‘Peace be with you!”…26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘‘Peace be with you!” John 20:19;26

This passage teaches me that in our resurrected bodies you and I may very well have the ability to also pass through matter, as well.

Also, according to the Apostle John’s account after His resurrection Jesus had flesh that could be touched and handled, and He got hungry and ate food.

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.  38 He said to them, ‘‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, ‘‘Do you have anything here to eat?”  42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,  43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. Luke 24:37-43

The fact that Jesus has a physical body which can be touched, and is visible, is important because we like Thomas may need to have our doubts settled so that we will not doubt the reality of His resurrection. In addition to proving that He is not a ghost, the fact that Jesus could eat food should not surprise us, because He taught us that in heaven there will be a great wedding feast (Revelation 19:9).

Probably the greatest evidence about life after death for Christians which John records is that there remained continuity between Jesus’ life before His death and Jesus’ life after His death. This is one area where I believe our experience of life after death will differ from Jesus’ at least to some degree. As fallen sinners it would be impossible for our lives on earth to have perfect continuity with our lives in heaven.

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:19–23 (ESV)

The reason I make this point is to clarify what some mistakenly believe, Too many think that heaven will be exactly like life on earth, only better. Heaven is not a place where each of us will continue our earthly passions as we please, but is rather the place where God dwells. In heaven we will enjoy God personally and eternally. If you do not currently enjoy and strive to live in God’s presence, then heaven would be hell for you.

Many today believe that in heaven fishermen will fish, the hunter will hunt, the ballplayer will play ball, the golfer will golf, and the baker will bake and each in perfection throughout eternity. Such views of heaven forget an extremely important point. Heaven is God’s house, and those who go to heaven are God’s children, whose desire and experience in heaven is to please their heavenly Father.

In Heaven there is no war, therefore there will be no need for warriors. While I do believe that in heaven we will have tasks and pleasures it is impossible for you or I in our fallen condition, living in a fallen world, to fully and completely comprehend all that heaven will be. Jesus reminds His disciples of the gulf between human knowledge and desire, and His will, when He appeared to them following His resurrection.

25 He said to them, ‘‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”  27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27

The greatest difference between our experience of life now and our experience of life after death will be that when we receive our resurrected and glorified bodies this veil and misunderstanding will be no more. One of my professors used to tell me that “in heaven all of us will have our theology corrected.” Sin will be banished and then we will be able to fully comprehend the true length and breadth of what Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection mean to us throughout all of eternity.

Only in heaven will Paul’s prayer, for those who comprised the Ephesian church as well as you and I, be fully and properly answered for every Christian.

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14–21 (ESV)

People do not die for beliefs which they know to be false! That the disciples and early Christians died willingly is evidence that;

1. They knew Jesus was who He said He was
2. That Jesus in fact truly has been raised from the dead.

The Apostle Paul made his argument for the reality and importance of Jesus’ resurrection to the Church at Corinth. Paul wrote:

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (ESV)

Notice that Paul teaches that if the resurrection of Christ were ever to be disproved then Christianity would also be disproved. If Jesus’ power is not sufficient to conquer death then neither can He overcome the power of sin. Fortunately for those of us who believe, we know that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead, because we have the witness of the Holy Spirit testifying to the reality of His resurrection within our souls.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:20-21 (ESV)

Jesus’ resurrection is not only the lynch pen concerning the reality of the claims of the Gospel writers, but it is also a fact of history, witnessed by over 500 individuals.

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 (ESV)

The facts of Jesus’ resurrection are presented in the Gospels in a  rather matter of fact fashion.

¹ Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went 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 and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel 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 has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” ¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Matthew 28:1–15 (ESV)

The fact that Jesus was resurrected is only helpful to us if we believe that He also is God’s Son, and died in our place for our individual sins. Easter is genuinely a celebration only for those who believe and know with absolute certainty that Jesus is who He claimed to be, was capable of accomplishing the work His Father assigned Him, and is currently interceding at the right hand of the Father on our behalf.

Easter is not about eggs, baskets, bonnets, or new clothes.  Each of these things are fine in their place, but none of these have any place in a genuine celebration of the resurrection of Christ. A more proper and authentic celebration of Easter would involve thanking God for His grace, praising God for His provision of a sacrifice capable of removing the penalty of sin from us, to worship Him and desire to live in His presence, while doing everything we can to tell others about the Good News that is found through following Jesus Christ.

Will you celebrate Easter? If so, how? Will you choose to commemorate this act that gives hope to Christians that there is forgiveness of sin and eternal life for all those who believe, or will you gather like Easter is just another excuse to celebrate without giving God His due? Remember Jesus’ teaching:

¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:15–21 (ESV)

Please make it your only ambition to be “rich toward God.” Happy Easter!!!

²⁵ And it was the third hour when they crucified him. Mark 15:25 (ESV)

Jesus’ crucifixion occurred only after he had been mocked, beaten and flogged by the Jewish authorities and then the Roman soldiers.

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:27–31 (ESV)

These beatings and floggings had so weakened Jesus that He was to weak to carry His own cross. Imagine if you had been visiting Jerusalem that day and had been compelled to carry His cross for Him.

³² As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Matthew 27:32–35 (ESV)

Did you notice that the Son of God died with only the clothes he had on as the sum total of His earthly possessions. John gives us a more detailed inventory of Jesus’ final possessions.

²³ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, John 19:23 (ESV)

I believe that it is fair to say that when Jesus died His earthly possessions were little more than the clothes on His back. It is much more than ironic that the placard which the Romans nailed to the cross above Jesus’ head actually stated the truth about Jesus’ identity.

³⁶ Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. Matthew 27:36–38 (ESV)

The grace of God for which Jesus gave His life is most prominently displayed in Luke’s account of the two thieves between whom Jesus was crucified.

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”Luke 23:39–43 (ESV)

It is indeed a historical and theological fact that Jesus Christ came to the earth for the expressed purpose of dying on the cross. He did this for one reason, to provide a sacrifice for sin. It is terribly depressing and incredibly sad that the people for whom Jesus died treated Him with such hatred, disrespect and acrimony.

³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴² “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Matthew 27:36–44 (ESV)

At noon darkness veiled Jerusalem. This was indeed a strange occurrence. Scientists and others have hypothesized how this darkness might have occurred.  Some have speculated that is was an unusually bad storm or a solar eclipse. How it happened is less important than why it happened. Jesus is taking upon Himself the punishment for the sin of all the people who have ever and will ever live. In the this process Jesus suffers the wrath God has for sin. Jesus has to suffer much more than physical pain while being crucified He also must bear the penalty for sin. It is in this despair and pain that Jesus cries out to God His Father.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Matthew 27:36–44 (ESV)

At 3:00 pm Jesus’ struggle ends. He yields His Spirit. Once more John gives us a bit more information. According to John, Jesus’ final words were “It is finished.”

³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 (ESV)

This phrase was common in the world of the New Testament, but it was not a common phrase for ones final words. It comes from the world of business and would best be translated today by our phrase “paid in full.” In other words Jesus is saying when he gives up His Spirit that the sin debt is paid, it is done, it is over. That the sin debt is paid is powerfully illustrated by an occurrence in the temple and the reaction of nature, and the previously dead to Jesus’ death.

⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

These incidents were so revealing that the godless centurion who had witnessed Jesus’ death came to a strange and startling conclusion, “this was God’s Son!”

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:51–54 (ESV)

How will you spend today? Do you really believe that Jesus was God’s Son or have become too sophisticated for such intolerant and ancient thinking. Has Good Friday become just another day for you?

I believe that Jesus Christ actually lived a sinless life and that He preached, healed and cast out demons just like the biblical authors described. I also believe that He was crucified between two thieves and that when He died He bore the penalty for my sin and that through faith in Him I can be saved. This faith is not cheap, however. It cost me my life, just as it did Jesus.

When one is saved we will want to follow Jesus wherever He leads. My lifestyle, my ambitions, my desires, my bank account, my schedule, my relationships and every other aspect of my life are no longer my own, they are His! I am to follow Him. This is how we are to celebrate, every Easter, Good Friday, holiday, Lord’s day, and weekday.  This is how those who walked with Jesus then lived, and how those who truly follow Jesus now live. Because Jesus died for us shouldn’t we be willing to live for Him?