Darkness and Dawn
Only Jesus Christ the risen Saviour has the power to rescue souls. His suffering brought a saving work of mercy and grace to the whole world. And He invites everyone to come to Him.
Like the narratives of Christ's birth, the accounts of His crucifixion and resurrection are so familiar that we can miss the full intensity of the unexpected event. Though Jesus warned His disciples, they were not at all prepared for the trauma of His death or the shock of His Resurrection. Because we know the outcome, it's hard for us to identify with what they must have felt.
Although we may wish we could have been present at Jesus' birth, who wishes to have seen His cruel, torturous death? Few want to read the details of what He suffered. We've sanitized Easter with aromatic lilies and colourful eggs.
But we must know exactly why the Father let His Son hang on the cross and why Jesus chose not to escape it. We need to grasp the glory of His resurrection. What blending of love and power can we see in these events? It's almost as if Jesus could hear the tearful praises of future believers singing:
My sin—O, the bliss of this glorious tho't—
My sin—not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!1
We hope these resources will help you better understand what really happened when Jesus died and rose from the dead, why there was no other alternative, and why it makes all the difference today!
¹Horatio Spafford, “It Is Well with My Soul.”
Only Jesus Christ the risen Saviour has the power to rescue souls. His suffering brought a saving work of mercy and grace to the whole world. And He invites everyone to come to Him.
Scripture details Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and how His sweat was like great drops of blood. He willingly entered into the suffering so we could be reconciled to God.
Matthew 28:1–15 shows how Jesus’ harshest critics attempted to explain away the empty tomb. So what really happened? Join Pastor Chuck Swindoll as he carefully examines the historical evidence to reveal the only explanation of the empty tomb: God raised Jesus from the dead.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll explains the spectacular, often-overlooked events in Matthew 27:51–66 as he teaches how God provides His people with hope in dark times.
The final hours of Jesus’ life were about as excruciating as anyone can endure. Matthew 27:27–50 shows how He suffered violent scourging, incessant mocking, and hours of unimaginable pain hanging on the cross until He finally offered His last breath.
Here’s a great fishing story from Chuck Swindoll that helps us understand Peter’s experience in John 21 a little better.
If you want to get beyond the grave you need to trust in the One who Himself has gotten beyond the grave and lives forever.
Travel back with Pastor Chuck Swindoll to the scene of John 11 when Jesus intentionally let His friend Lazarus breathe his last so that He could call him back from death. After his deceased body lay for days in a tomb, Lazarus walked out at Jesus’ command!
Aron Lee Ralston’s story of being trapped under a boulder is just as unbelievable as Jesus’ Resurrection. But that doesn’t make it any less true.
Just before Christ died on the cross he said, “It is finished!” His death covered over our sins completely. There is nothing left that needs to be finished by man.