Lesson No. 48 

Lesson No. 48 Jesus Christ Risen

The resurrection of Jesus Christ should not have been an alarming surprise to those who had believed in His message. Just as He had announced His mockery and death before they were fulfilled, He had also declared His immediate resurrection from the dead. Let us consider what the following Scripture passages tell us:

Matthew chapter 20: verses 17 to 19: “And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again”.51

Matthew chapter 12: verses 38 to 40: “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”.51

On another occasion, our Lord Jesus Christ said:

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John chapter 10: verses 17 and 18).51

These predictions of the Lord Jesus Christ were fulfilled with complete accuracy, as demonstrated by the following biblical passages:

Matthew chapter 27: verses 62 to 66: “Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch”.51

Matthew chapter 28: verses 1 to 10: “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. 9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me”.51

After this, Christ appeared to His disciples in different forms and occasions. Let us see what Matthew tells us in his narration of the events: Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matthew chapter 28: verses 16 to 18).51

Before continuing with citations from different fragments of the account, I want to clarify that, as in the case of Jesus Christ's resurrection, as well as in that of His martyrdom and death, some writers narrate events or details that others do not mention. Therefore, in this instance, I will also take part of the description from more than one book among the four Gospels, to enrich our study, although some stories may be repeated. Luke offers the information collected in his research of the events, where he states: And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43And he took it, and did eat before them. 44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48And ye are witnesses of these things. (Luke chapter 24: verses 35 to 48).51

Let us reflect on the following passages, according to the account of the apostle John:

John chapter 20: verses 19 to 21 and 24 to 29: “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”.51

In this dimension of his account, the apostle John tells us the events experienced where he says: After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. 2There were together Simon Peter, and

Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. 4But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. 5Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 6And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. 8And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. 9As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 14This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. 15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 18Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. (John chapter 21: verses 1 to 19).51

Evidently, the fact of Jesus Christ's resurrection marked the culmination of the act of mankind's redemption by the Son of God. This event made Him a victor over death, giving Him full authority to resurrect anyone who believes in Him, as a confirmation of being redeemed from the sentence of eternal death, to live forever with Christ. Therefore, the Lord Himself expressed:

John chapter 11: verse 26: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”. 51

(Other versions say: "He will not die forever," while most theologians maintain that Jesus Christ, in this statement, refers to spiritual death, as opposed to biological death).

Other details of vital importance about the resurrection will be considered in lesson number 52 of this treatise.

Additional Details

According to Matthew chapter 12: verses 38 to 40,51 read earlier, Jesus Christ declared that He would be in the tomb for three days and three nights. This statement of His was taken into account by the chief priests and the Pharisees after His crucifixion, as we analyzed earlier in Matthew chapter 27: verses 62 to 66,51 who remembered that the Lord had said He would rise on the third day. However, according to the account of the various passages cited in relation to His death and resurrection, we do not find evidence that He was literally three days and three nights in the tomb, nor that He rose on the third day according to our calendar, even though this declaration appears repeatedly in the narrative. Nevertheless, some scholars have revealed that everything actually happened as the Lord had declared. According to the details of the account, He was crucified on the day corresponding to the Passover of the Lord. And in Leviticus chapter 23: verses 5 to 8,51  it says that the Passover was to be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month, called the month of Abib. And the following day, the fifteenth, was always to be considered a day of holy convocation, of rest or Passover Sabbath, which could coincide with any other day of the week, on which there was also a Sabbath corresponding to the traditional seventh day of the week. Besides, seven days after the first Passover Sabbath, that is, the twenty-second day of the same month, had to be a day of rest also called Sabbath. Therefore, it is assumed that the day Christ was crucified was a Wednesday, and the next day was the great day of the Passover Sabbath, which coincided with Thursday, then came Friday, and the Sabbath corresponding to the seventh day of the week. Thus, Christ was crucified on Wednesday and buried at sunset; consequently, He was in the tomb Wednesday night and Thursday (the Great Sabbath) [one night and one day]; Thursday night and Friday [two days and two nights]; and Friday night and Saturday (the seventh day of the week). He rose at the end of the Sabbath, so when the women arrived at the tomb on Sunday morning, they found that He had already risen. This accounts perfectly for a total of three days and three nights.