The young boy stood with his back arched, his head cocked back and his hands clenched defiantly. “Go ahead, give it to me…”
The principal looked down at the young rebel. “How many times have you been here?”
The child sneered rebelliously, “Apparently not enough.”
The principal gave the boy a strange look. “And you have been punished each time, have you not?”
“Yeah I’ve been punished , if that’s what you want to call it.” The boy threw out his small chest, “Go ahead, I can take whatever you dish out. I always have.”
“And no thought of your punishment enters your mind the next time you decide to break the rules, does it?”
“Nope, I do whatever I want to do. Aint nothin’ you people gonna do to stop me either.”
The principal looked over at the teacher who stood nearby. “What did he do this time?”
“Fighting. He took little Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox.”
The principal turned to look at the boy, “Why? What did little Tommy do to you?”
“Nothin’, I didn’t like the way he was lookin’ at me, just like I don’t like the way that you’re lookin’ at me! And if I thought that I could do it, I’d shove your face into something.”
The teacher stiffened and started to rise, but a quick look from the principal stopped him. He contemplated the child for a moment and then quietly said, “Today my young student, is the day that you learn about grace”.
“Grace?, Isn’t that what you old people do before you sit down to eat? I don’t need none of your stinkin’ grace!”
“Oh but you do”. The principal studied the young man’s face and whispered. “Oh yes, you truly do…”
The boy continued to glare, as the principal continued, “Grace, in its short definition, is unmerited favor. You cannot earn it, it is a gift, and it is always freely given. It means that you will not be getting what you so richly deserve.”
The boy looked puzzled. “You’re not gonna whup me? You’re just gonna let me walk?
The principal looked down at the unyielding child. “Yes, I am going to let you walk.”
The boy studied the face of the principal, “No punishment at all? Even though I socked Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox?”
“Oh, there has to be punishment. What you did was wrong and there are always consequences to our actions. There will be punishment. Grace is not an excuse for doing wrong.”
“I knew it,” sneered the boy as he held out his hands, waiting for the punishment to begin, “Let’s get on with it.”
The principal nodded towards the teacher. “Bring me the belt.” The teacher presented the belt to the principal. He carefully folded it in two, and then handed it back to the teacher.
He looked at the child and said “I want you to count the blows.”
The principal rose from behind his desk and walked over to stand directly in front of the young man. He gently reached out and folded back together the young man’s outstretched, expectant hands.
He then turned to face the teacher with his own hands outstretched. One quiet word came from his mouth.
“Begin.” The belt whipped down on the outstretched hands of the principal.
CRACK!, Came the sound of the belt across the Principal’s hands.
The young man jumped two feet in the air. Shock registered across his face. “One” he whispered.
CRACK!, “Two.” His voice raised an octave.
CRACK!, “Three…” He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
CRACK!, “Four.” Big tears were now welling up in the eyes of the rebel. “OK stop! That is enough. Stop!”
CRACK!, Came the belt down on the callused hands of the principal.
CRACK!, The child flinched now with each new blow, tears beginning to stream down his face.
CRACK! CRACK! “No please”, the former rebel begged, “Stop, I did it, I’m the one who deserves it. Stop! Please. Stop…”
Still the blows came, CRACK! CRACK! One after another.
Finally it was over.
The principal stood with sweat glistening across his forehead, the beads of sweat were now trickling down his face.
Slowly he knelt down. He studied the trembling young man for a second time. Tears now poring from his small face.
Looking deep into his eyes, reaching out with his swollen hands, he cradled the face of the weeping child…
“This is Grace…”
Doesn’t this story describe exactly who all of us really are?
- Stubborn
- Selfish
- Willful
- Bad Attitude
- Rebellious
- Doing Whatever we want to
- All the time knowing that we are guilty
- Knowing that we really deserve punishment
And then our lives changed forever as we had heard what Jesus has done for us!
When we were at our worst and most rebellious time of our life, Jesus came and died for us and took the punishment for our sins.
Isaiah the Prophet wrote about Jesus 700 years before Jesus was born
Isaiah 53:6-11 All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on Jesus the guilt and sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins that he was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief.
Just as the very wise principal understood that He would never be able to teach that rebellious young man about goodness and mercy unless he demonstrated it in his own body.
Even as the little boy knew that he deserved punishment and that he was going to be punished. The one who had the right to punish him, stood in his place and bore the blows. In that single moment, that angry little boy learned more about real love than he could have ever learned in an entire lifetime.
He didn’t get what he knew he deserved. He received instead what he could never imagine; Grace. Someone who was innocent, took the punishment and let him go free.
And as that young man observed the one receiving the punishment for him, it broke his heart and made him into a new person!
This is the story of what Jesus did for us, what He accomplished for us on this Easter Morning.
But before that first Easter morning, how much Jesus suffered for us?
The following account of that first Easter morning is from Matthew 26:57-66 and chapter 28:1-20 Mark 15:42-chapter 16:1-20 Luke 23:50-chapter 24:1-53 and John 19:38-chapter 21:1-25.
John 13:27 Now Jesus said to Judas, What you do, do quickly.
Matthew 26:36-39 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, And then Jesus began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.
Matthew 26:47-50 And while Jesus was still speaking, behold, Judas, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, Greetings, Rabbi and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, Friend, why have you come? Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.
John 19:1-3 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, Hail, King of the Jews And they struck Him with their hands.
John 19:8-10 Therefore, Pilate went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, Where are You from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?
Mark 15;4-5 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You! But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled
Matthew 26:63-64 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus said to him, It is as you said.
Luke 23:20-21 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. But they shouted, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him!
John 19:16-19 Then Pilate delivered Jesus to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, here they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Mark 15:27-31 With Jesus they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, save Yourself, and come down from the cross! Likewise the chief priests also, mocking.
Mark 15:33-34 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is translated, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
John 19:26-28 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son! After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst.
Luke 23:39-43 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Jesus, saying, If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. But the other criminal, answering, rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.
Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last.
John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Mark 15:38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Luke 24:1-6 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!
There will be many who will read this account of Jesus’ sacrifice, and have not realized all that Jesus has done for them. Perhaps this is your first time to understand that Jesus was dying for you on the Cross.
When you were at the worst moment of your life, when you were totally lost and completely messed up, when you were what you would describe as the ugliest part of your life, that is when Jesus was loving you the most.
Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
On this Resurrection Morning, you need to surrender your life to Jesus and let Him save you. We are going to give you that opportunity at the end of this study.
Others that are here this morning, for you, you are saved, but you are living like Jesus is still on this Cross. You are continually beating yourself up for all of the things that you have done in your life, and you cannot ever get past the Cross, or from the reality that Jesus already bled and died for all of your sins and those sins that others have committed against you. You have not yet come to the Reality that Jesus has been raised from the dead and you really are forgiven!
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
It is time to forgive yourself, and if there is someone in your life who has hurt you or disappointed you or taken advantage of you, it is time to forgive them and quit living in the past.
Some of you that are reading this today are really keeping Jesus on His Cross because although you know Jesus died a horrible death for you, and how much it cost Him to suffer for you, you will not die to your self and your old selfish self-centered life and surrender yourself to Jesus completely as Lord of your life.
You are not growing in your relationship with Jesus because you are still on the elementary things. You asked Jesus to save you, but you won’t allow Him complete Lordship of your life. You do what you want to do, say what you want to say, try to control your own life, and Jesus is not really Lord of your life! If Jesus is not Lord of your life and the one who controls you, then today you are in great danger of falling away from Jesus.
Hebrews 6:1-6 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
This Resurrection morning, it is time to lay your life on the altar of Jesus, and allow Him to come down from His Cross and Reign as Lord of your life.
Finally, there are some this article in which Jesus has saved you and He is Lord of your life, and you are trying to allow Him control of your life, but you live in a constant sense of defeat.
It is time to live your life in joy and victory, and understand that Jesus has already defeated every one of your enemies for you, you don’t have to live in defeat any longer because you are forgiven.
A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon.
Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window.
Now since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, he became petrified.
His father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it.
But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy.
His father saw the panic in his son’s face. Once again the father reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his hand.
There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. “Do you see this?” he said. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve taken the sting for you.”
Jesus took the sting of this life and the sting of death and put it into His hand. You do not have to be afraid anymore, You can live in freedom and peace this morning,
There are others who will read this article on Jesus’ Resurrection and have doubts about whether Jesus actually did raise from the dead. Is there any sound factual, historical evidence that Jesus actually did live and die 2,000 years ago and then was raised from the dead?
Is there historical, documented, factual evidence that Jesus really did raise from the dead?
Most of you have heard of Harvard Law School. What you may not be aware of is that the Law portion of Harvard was begun by Dr. Simon Greenleaf, a Christian. And amazingly, Dr Greenleaf, before he founded Harvard Law school, was an Atheist. One day Dr. Greenleaf was challenged by one of his students to try and disprove the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the historical evidence.
In 1846 Dr. Simon Greenleaf wrote a 3-volume work called “A treatise on the laws of evidence.”
This work is considered to be one of the single most important authorities on the legal procedure for handling and examining evidence in a court of law.
Dr. Greenleaf examined the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ to see if the internal evidence of the scriptures about Jesus’ death and resurrection were true or false.
The results are contained in a book that Dr. Greenleaf wrote called “An examination of the testimony of the four evangelist by the rules of evidence administered in the courts of justice.”
Dr. Greenleaf came to the striking conclusion that according to the same rules that are used in a court of law to examine evidence, there is more evidence for the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ than any other event in all of human history.
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was so important that Jesus Himself based all of His claims as being the only one who can save us, on this single event. Jesus based the truthfulness of everything He said and did, upon whether or not He would raise from the dead after they crucified Him.
How many religious men or women do you know of that after they made all of their claims that stated that only they or their church can give to you eternal life, and then backed up their claims with this statement: I will raise myself from the dead in three days?
How many religious leaders have claimed that they have all of the answers and that you must follow their teaching to be saved, and yet today their bones are still in their grave?
Of all of the thousands of people that claimed they were the way to heaven, only Jesus proved that He is God and has power over death by coming back to life.
Who would you trust, a man that promised you eternal life, who is himself dead… Or a man who promises you eternal life, died Himself for your sins, was put into the grave, then three days later came back to life? Jesus is alive today and forevermore?
He is risen! He is not here!
Jesus himself predicted that He would rise on the third day. He based all of His claims that He was the only Savior of the world on whether or not He did raise from the dead after He was crucified.
For the Christian, we have more solid Historical evidence to support our trust in Jesus than any other religion of the world.
The old testament has more than 365 detailed predictions about one who would come and die and then be raised from the dead. What are the odds that one person in all of human history, could fulfill just 8 of these 365 Old Testament prophesies?
Dr. Peter Stoner in his book Science Speaks, computed the odds of any one man in all history fulfilling just 8 of these prophecies.
Since Jesus claims to be this one man in all of history, let’s try to apply the test to His life.
Let’s make it really hard. We will pick 8 Old Testament prophecies that Jesus personally would have no control over?
- Place of His birth (Micah 5:2)
- Time of His birth (Daniel 9:25; Genesis 49:10)
- Manner of His birth (Isaiah 7:14)
- Betrayal by a close friend
- The Manner of His death (Psalm 22:16)
- The people who saw the death, their reactions (Mocking, spitting, staring, etc.)
- The Piercing of His side
- The manner of His Burial
Peter Stoner determined the probability of one man fulfilling eight of the prophecies of the Old Testament for the Messiah to be 1 in 10 to the 17th power.
Now let’s try to imagine what this means. If we took that many silver dollars 1 to the 17th power (100,000,000,000,000,000) and laid them over the State of Texas, they would cover the state two feet deep.
Mark one of the silver dollars, put it into the pile and then stir the whole mass thoroughly.
Blindfold a person, and tell him/her that they can travel as far as they want but must pick up one silver dollar and it will be the actual marked silver dollar.
What chance would this person have of picking up the right marked silver dollar the first time? It would be the exact same odds of anyone fulfilling eight of the Messianic prophecies by chance alone. 10 to the 17th power.
Peter Stoner then goes on to consider the possibility of any one person fulfilling 48 of the prophecies by chance. Here the odds jump to 1 in 10 to the 157th power. That number would look like this:
1 out of
100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
That number is larger than all of the estimated atoms in the universe! In fact, let’s be honest, this number is so incredibly huge that it is beyond the realm of anything reasonable.
All Scientists today agree that any number larger that 10 to the 25th power is considered an absolute impossibility.
This means that Jesus fulfilling all 365 Old Testament Prophecies perfectly is the One the Bible promised. Jesus is God and the only one who can save us.
If you think that Jesus planned these events in advance so that when He fulfilled them He would be hailed as the promised Messiah:
- How exactly, does someone arrange to be born in a specific family?
- How does one arrange to be born in a specified city, in which their parents don’t actually live?
- How does one arrange their own death – and specifically by crucifixion, with two others?
- How would you arrange to have your executioners gamble for your clothing (John 16:19; Psalms 22:18)?
- How does one arrange to be betrayed in advance?
- How does one arrange to have the executioners carry out the regular practice of breaking the legs of the two victims on either side, but not their legs?
- Finally, how does one arrange to be God?
- How does one escape from a grave and appear to people after having been killed?
Every religion in the world is based upon a philosophy or an idea NOT CHRISTIANITY: Only christianity is based completely upon A person.
The fact That Christianity’s leader Jesus, rose from the dead!
The Lord never asked us to believe anything about him by blind faith. This is why He gave us the documented facts as recorded in history.
The bible has recorded within its pages, the eyewitness testimony of the individuals that actually saw the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Then wrote them down for us.
Today we have more than 24,000 copies of the original manuscripts of the new testament. This is more than any other historical document in human history.
When we compare these manuscripts with our bible today we come to the startling realization that the bible as we have it today has come to us virtually unchanged from its original writing.
Every single one of the remaining Apostles, were all so convinced that they had seen Jesus die then be raised from the dead, that they all died as a result of their refusal to deny Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Remember Peter during Jesus’ Crucifixion? Where was He? Hiding in the shadows. He denied 3 times he even knew Jesus.
What kind of a man was Peter after Jesus was raised from the dead?
When Peter was being killed by crucifixion because he would not deny Jesus rose from the dead, Peter asked that they crucify him upside down, because he was not worthy of being crucified the same way Jesus was.
Now many people will carry on with a lie for a long time, but how many people are willing to carry on a lie so far that they will have to die for that lie?
Did you notice what happened to all of Saddam Hussein’s Faithful Followers after it was reported that he had been killed?
They ran like scared rats. They knew that Saddam was a lie, and they were not willing to die for him.
If The disciples had made up the whole story about Jesus dying on the Cross, then coming back to life 3 days later, do you really believe that they would be willing to die for that story if it was a lie?
- Matthew killed by a sword.
- Mark dragged through the streets until dead.
- Luke hanged on a large olive tree in Greece.
- John placed in a boiling pot of oil but it did not hurt him, later banished to the isle of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation.
- Peter crucified upside down in Rome.
- James beheaded in Jerusalem.
- James the younger beaten with a club and thrown off of a cliff.
- Phillip was hanged.
- Bartholomew whipped until dead.
- Andrew crucified preaching to those placing him there until he died.
- Thomas run through with a lance.
- Jude killed by arrows.
- Matthias beheaded.
- Barnabas-beheaded.
- Paul beheaded.
Until you have both seen Jesus crucified, and risen from the dead, you will not be able to live for Him.
A man once wrote: “Our pastor said that on Easter, Jesus just swooned on the Cross and that the disciples simply nursed Him back to health, what do you think?”
The pastor wrote back; Dear friend, beat your pastor with a leather whip 39 times turning his back into ribbons of flesh. Nail Him to a Cross for 6 hours so that just to take breath of air he has to push himself up on the nail that is through his pierced feet. Dislocate his shoulders, and elbows by hanging from on the cross. Run a spear through his heart, embalm him, put him in an airless tomb for 3 days, then see what happens.
John 19:39-41 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came to bring the mixture of spices to embalm Jesus, they would not have done so unless He was absolutely dead. Joseph and Nicodemus would have wrapped Jesus’ body in strips of pure white linen which could not have even one spot or stain upon them. Each strip was then sewn together.
Wood pounded into gum aloes and a gummy substance known as myrrh was placed between the folds of the strips of cloth wrapped around the body beginning at the feet ending in a separate piece just for the head.
When the encasement was all finished, it weighed about 120 pounds.
The roman soldiers who oversaw Jesus’ Crucifixion were experts at detecting when a man had died. They would not have taken Jesus down from the Cross unless He was Completely dead.
When the Spear was run through Jesus’ side, the Scriptures says that Blood and water came from the wound. Medically speaking, this is death by heart failure from a rupture of the heart. Jesus literally died of a broken heart, there was no mistake, Jesus was definitely dead.
Remember Dr. Simon Greenleaf’s Account of the Eyewitness testimony of those who saw Jesus die and after he rose from the dead?
According to the same rules that are used in every court of law today to examine evidence: There is more evidence for the Historical Resurrection of Jesus Christ than any other event in all of human history.
According to this Eyewitness testimony, over 500 people saw Jesus alive after He was raised from the dead on Easter Morning!
7 Proofs of Jesus’ Resurrection from the eye witness accounts:
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (Paul Said) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 1st that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and 2nd that He was buried, and 3rd that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 4th After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 5th After that He was seen by James, then 6th by all the apostles. 7th Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
Probably most incredible, is that Paul describes the fact that he saw Jesus himself with his own eyes. Paul was not even a believer before that moment when Jesus showed Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus.
Notice that Paul says that at the time of his writing this account, most of those people who saw Jesus raised from the dead were still alive. In other words: ”If you don’t believe me just ask any of the 500 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive after He was put to death.
If you took these 500 eyewitnesses, most of whom were still alive and placed them into a court room and each eyewitness only gave 6 minutes of testimony of what they saw with their own eyes, we would have an accumulation of over 50 hours of reliable eyewitness testimony!
This would be more than enough to convince any court of law that Jesus did raise from the dead.
The Lord made sure that there were abundant eyewitnesses that Jesus did raise from the dead.
John 11:20-26 (Mary and Martha’s Brother Lazarus has been dead for 4 days) Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to Him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?
This is the question Jesus is asking you this morning, Resurrection, Great! Jesus Died for me, Awesome!
The real question is: Do you believe this?
Have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday, He is Risen!
Rob Robinson
