Physical Death and
Resurrection of Jesus-Verses

Jesus spiritually redeemed us,
willingly gave His life as atonement for our sins. Here is how the Fatherís plan
of salvation for all believers was physically implemented here on earth.

On Easter morning
we can proudly proclaim ďHe is risen,Ē
and expect an equally confident reply ďHe
is risen indeed.Ē Easter commemorates the events leading up to Jesus
Christís death and celebrates His resurrection from the dead, the beginning of
Godís New Covenant (Heb 8:8-13) with us. This monumental event took place
nearly 2000 years ago, yet would change the way the world would live forever,
would finally set believers free from their sins (Ro 6:18).

*And the angel answered
and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath
been crucified. He is not here; for he
is risen, even as he said. Come,
see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples, He is risen from the dead; Matt 28:5-7 ASV

*For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of Godis eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Ro
6:23 KJV

Jesus
was crucified, arose from the dead during the annual festivals of Passover and
The Feast of Unleavened Bread in 30AD
(Lk 22:1). These Old Covenant ceremonies were
required by God and held annually in Jerusalem
in our months of March or April (Ex 12:14-15, 24-27). Our Lord instituted these
ceremonies when He freed His chosen nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery. This
happened after Israel
had been in captivity for 400 years (Ge 15:13) almost
1500 years before Jesus would die for our sins.

God
put plagues on Egypt until
their Pharaoh freed Israel
(Ex 11:1). The last plague was the death of all the first born males in Egypt
(Ex 12:12). To protect the Israeliteís first born from this plague, the Lord
told them to choose a lamb without blemish on day 10 of what was to become
their first month (Ex 12:2-3). On day 14 of their first month, at twilight they
were to slaughter the lamb (Ex 12:6), marking their door with its blood so the
angel of death would ďpass overĒ their homes, their firstborn would be then be
spared (Ex 12:7, 13). This plague devastated the Egyptian Pharaoh and he set Israel
free. The Jewish nation hurriedly left Egypt, eating unleavened bread as
they left, not having the time to use yeast, to let the bread rise (Ex
12:33-34).

The
Lord also commanded Israel annually to celebrate these same Passover and
Unleavened Bread Feasts, on the same day of the month the Feasts originally
occurred (Ex 12:17-18). The Passover on day 14 of the first month, followed by
the Feast of Unleavened Bread on day 15 of the first month, and lasting for
seven days (Nu 28:16-17). The Passover Lamb was to be eaten as it was during
the original Passover. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread no yeast was to be
eaten, nor in their possession (Dt 16:4), and the
first and last days were to be Sabbaths (Nu 28:18, 25).††

*For I will pass through
the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land
of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign
for you on the houses where you are.
And when I see the blood, I will pass
over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. So this day shall be to you a
memorial; and you shall keep it as a
feast to the Lord throughout
your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. Ex 12:12-14 NKJV+

Our
Heavenly Father wanted the Israelites to always remember their bondage and that
He alone saved them from captivity (Ex 12:17-20, 24-28). But our Lord also
wanted to use these celebrations to symbolize the Messiah He had promised to
send Israel.
Christ would come as the lamb, would be the lamb, His sacrificial blood alone
would forgive our sins (Rev 5:12-13), was our Fatherís plan of salvation devised
before creation (Rev 13:8). Promised to us when Adam and Eve first sinned (Gen
3:15), completed when Jesus Christ became the New Covenant Passover Lamb to
save us (1Cor 5:7). Jesus alone was qualified to become the Passover Lamb, for
only He had no blemishes, no sins (1Pe 1:19). Our Savior was sacrificed for our
sins, willingly dying in our place (Ac 8:32-35). Our Heavenly Father can now
ďpass overĒ any transgressions covered by the blood of Jesus, forgiving our
sins (Rev 7:14-17), remembering them no more (Heb 10:16-17).

*The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
"Behold! The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world! †Jn 1:29 NKJV+

*They will make war
against the Lamb, but the Lamb will
overcome them because he is Lord of
lords and King of kings--and
with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." Rev 17:14 NIV+

Jesus
is the Son of God (Mk 1:1), and on the third day He arose from the dead (Ac
10:38-42). Jesus is alive, He has risen
indeed! But we must go farther than that. Just as Israelís first born were saved by
the blood of the lamb, we through the blood of our lamb Christ have been saved
from all of our sins. We have been freed
from the power of Satan (Ro 16:20, 1Jn 3:8), our sinful flesh (Ro 8:1-10), the
evil of the world (Gal 1:4). We have been freed from the fear of death (1Co
15:55-57, Heb 2:14-15), from the threat of eternal damnation in Hell (Ro 5:9).
Through Christís atoning death our spirits can now be made holy, perfect (Heb
10:14), we can become one with our God again, come into His spiritual Kingdom
(Eph 2:5-6). Our soul and spirit can live in Godís heavenly Kingdom above when
we our bodies die (2Cor 5:6-9). And like Jesus body was raised up from the
dead, ours will to on the last day, when Jesus comes again. Jesus will reunite
our spirit and bodies, glorify our body like His (1Co 15:42-49). Take us to a
new heaven, a new earth to live with Him forever (Rev 21:1).

*But he said to them,
"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen!
He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.Mk 16:6-7 NKJV+

*and from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the
kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by
his blood,Rev 1:5 NIV+

Christ has also set us free from all ceremonial laws and
regulations, because through His death and resurrection He has fulfilled them
all. Jesus instituted the Lordís Supper, offering His body and blood to replace
the lamb as our Passover Supper of life (Matt 26:26-29). We need not worry
about religious festivals, new moon celebrations or the regular Sabbath. We no
longer need a priest or anyone else to approach God for us, Christ is our
mediator (1Ti 2:5, Heb 12:24). We can go directly, anytime, to Jesus, our
eldest brother, our best friend, and talk with Him (Eph 3:12), have our sins
forgiven by Him (Heb 4:16). This is what Christianity is all about. Faith, love
and hope in a risen Savior (1Co 13:13) who has set us free to be Children of
God (Jn 1:12-13).

*Therefore do not let anyone judge you
by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to
come; the reality, however, is found
in Christ. Col 2:16-17 NIV+*We continually remember before our God
and Father your work produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love, and
your endurance inspired by hope in
our Lord Jesus Christ.1Thess 1:3 NIV+

The death and
resurrection of Jesus is recorded in all four Gospels and used below: Matthew
chapters 26-28, Mark chapters 14-16, Luke chapters 22-24, and John chapters
17-21.

All Godís plans
were made before creation (2Ti 1:9-10) and it is easy to notice the little
things that fit perfectly into place, which made it possible for Christ to die
for our salvation, to arise as the Son of God (1Cor 15:3-4). The situation at
the time, Romeís occupation of Israel, the Jewish Church trying to remain as a
functioning body and not be destroyed by the Roman oppressors, made the perfect
background for Christís crucifixion. The churchís leadership was trying to keep
their people from striking out against the hated Romans, scared of Roman
reprisals which would strip power from the Jewish religious leaders (Jn 11:48). The High Priest and other leaders of the
Sanhedrin believed it was better for one man die, than have Rome turn on the
whole nation (Jn 18:14). Getting rid of Jesus,
killing Him would help bring political peace, stability (Lk
22:2).

*Then the chief priests and the Pharisees
called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they
asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him
go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come
and take away both our place and our nation." Then one of them, named
Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at
all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." Jn 11:47-50 NIV+

Many
Jewish believers at that time believed Jesus was the chosen Messiah, but
incorrectly believed He who would set them free from Roman oppression. Jesus
was not trying to establish a physical kingdom here on earth (Matt 26: 52-54). Jesus
was the true Son of God (Mk 3:11, Lk 22:70), the
Messiah who came to establish His Fatherís SpiritualKingdom
once more (Lk 17:21). Jesus came as atonement for our
sins, so believers could become spiritually holy (1Pe 2:5), spiritually
children of God once more (Eph 1:3-10). Our Saviorís battle is not for physical
things, but is for our spiritual souls (Matt 16:24-26), trying to push out all
evil so He alone can live in our hearts (Eph 3:16-17).

*Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would
not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." †Jn 18:36 NASB+

*And be not afraid of
them that kill the body, but are not
able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.Matt 10:28 ASV

As
Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread approached, Jesus raised His friend
Lazarus from the dead, gave him life again, in Bethany (Jn
11:38-44). Word of this miracle had spread, Jesusí notoriety was at its highest
and growing (Jn 11:45-48). This made Jesus a serious
threat to the Church leadership, they had to respond, and they wanted to kill
Him (Matt 26: 3-5). The chief priests also wanted to kill Lazarus so there
would be no miracle (Jn 12:10). But they had to be
careful not to stir up the crowds who supported Jesus and would be coming for
the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrations (Mk 14:2). The chief
priests eagerly accepted the offer of Judas to help capture Jesus for thirty
pieces of silver (Matt 26:14-15, Mk 14:10-11). Judas would now be looking for
the first opportunity to turn Jesus over to them (Matt 26:16).†

*Now the Passover and
the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests
and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. "But not during the Feast," they said,
"or the people may riot." Mk 14:1-2 NIV+

*Then one of the twelve,
named Judas Iscariot, went to the
chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they
weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.From
then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.Matt 26:14-16 NASB+

Jesus
had avoided His enemies by going away to Ephraim which was near the desert (Jn 11:54). Here Jesus would not be caught prematurely, for
He was to die as the lamb at the Passover celebration (Rev 7:14). Jesus avoided
Jerusalem on
the regular Sabbath before Passover, for the chief priests had many watching
for Him (Jn 11:57). Just as the Passover Lamb had to
be tested, it could have no blemishes, so Jesus must be tested by the people,
the Pharisees, the Chief Priests, and all the leadership of the church (Matt
16:21). Their accusations would keep getting more severe until the end (Mk
14:55-59). They would try and make Jesus an imposter, someone who did not know
the law, someone who should be killed for teaching against the Word of God,
blaspheming Godís holy name (Mk 14:63-64), opposing Caesar (Jn
19:12).

*And He began to teach
them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and
chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days
rise again. Mk
8:31 NKJV+

Jesus
withstood all testing, some believed in Him, others still refused to believe
even with all the miracles He had performed (Jn
12:37-40). Jesus came out of seclusion on Sunday, Nisan 9, by going to Bethany, where He was
well known, where His most famous miracle had been performed, to be with
friends and believers in Him (Jn 12:1). Many of these
believers would be at Jerusalem
for His triumphant entry riding a donkey the next day, Monday Nissan 10 (Jn 12:12). They would also get the word around so Jesus
would be accepted, cheered while being chosen as the favorite, the Passover
Lamb, of the people (Jn 12:17). Yet this entry on a
donkey meant Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah (Matt 21:4-5, Zec 9:9), a claim which would infuriate the Jewish leaders
even more (Matt 21:15).

*The disciples went and did as Jesus had
instructed them. They brought the donkey
and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the
road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The
crowds that went ahead of him and
those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna
in the highest!"Matt 21:6-9 NIV+

Jesus
on Preparation night, Nissan 14, the night before the Passover Lamb was to be
eaten, offered His own body and blood in the Lordís Supper to replace the
Passover Lamb that was eaten (Matt 26:26-29, See
Lordís Supper). Jesus then
initiated His death by telling Judas to go and get the guards who would capture
Him (Jn 13:21-30). Jesus was in control of when He
would die, the same time as the Passover lamb, which Jesus would replace, would
become (1Cor 5:7).

Later that night
Jesus had to face the most agonizing test He would ever face, to follow His
Fatherís will, be crucified for the sins of the world in the morning (Matt
26:39, 42, Lk 22 42-44). It was more than physical
punishment Jesus would suffer. Spiritually our Savior would have the sins of
the world placed upon Him, dying as a replacement for all sinners (2Cor 5:21,
1Jn 2:2). Our Father hates sin, would spiritually forsake His Son for all the
believersí sins He bore (Matt 27:46).

*And as they were
eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it
to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and
gave it to them, saying,
"Drink from it, all of you. For this is My
bloodof
the new covenant, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins. But I
say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that
day when I drink it new with you in My
Father's kingdom." Matt
26:26-29 NKJV+

*Coming out, He went to
the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and
His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them,
"Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And He was withdrawn
from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying,
"Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel
appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed
more earnestly. Then His sweat became
like great drops of blood falling
down to the ground. Lk
22:39-44 NKJV+

Jesus would be
abandoned by His disciples. Judas would betray Him with a kiss, identifying
Jesus, so the chief priests, elders, and guards of the Jewish temple could
arrest Him (Mk 14:44-46). Peter at first remained loyal, tried to defend Jesus.
Peter used a knife Jesus had the disciples get to fulfill Scripture (Lk 22:36-38) and cut off the ear of the High Priestís
servant (Jn 18:10). Jesus would rebuke Peter, heal
the servantís ear (Lk 22:51), and allow the temple
guards to take Him (Lk 22:54). All other disciples
would flee as Jesus was led away (Matt 26:56). Peter would follow the mob to
the High Priestís house (Matt 26:58) where Jesus would be mocked and beaten (Lk 22:63-65). Here even Peter would abandon Jesus. Claiming
three times he did not know his Savior, the last with a curse (Matt 26:69-74).
Fulfilling Jesus words to Peter, before the rooster crows you will deny me
three times (Mk 14:72).

*But Jesus said to him,
"Judas, are you betraying the
Son of Man with a kiss?" †Lk
22:48 NKJV+

*And Peter remembered
the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will
deny Me three times." So he
went out and wept bitterly. Matt 26:75 NKJV+

All alone Jesus
was tried early on preparation morning by the Jewish Leadership of the temple (Lk 22:66). Jesus was falsely accused of many things, but
when He told the truth, told them He was the Son of God, they condemned Jesus
to death for blasphemy (Matt 26:63-65). They spat in His face and beat him
(Matt 26:67-68). Then they took Jesus before the Roman governor Pilate. Pilate
could find no fault in Jesus, sent Him to King Herod who had jurisdiction over Galilee, where Jesus was from (Lk
23:1-7). Herod mocked Jesus and returned Him to Pilate (Lk
23:8-12). Pilate then tried to save Jesus, for it was the custom to release one
prisoner during the Passover Feast. Pilate offered the crowd the choice of
freeing either Jesus, or Barabbas a known criminal (Matt 27:15-18). The angry
crowd chose Barabbas, demanding Jesus be crucified, and began chanting ďcrucify
HimĒ (Matt 27: 22-23). Pilate then relented, putting the responsibility of
Christís execution upon the crowd, who readily accepted the liability for
shedding His blood (Matt 27:24-25). Pilate then had Jesus severely flogged,
scourged, (Mk 15:15) and sentenced Him to be crucified (Matt 27:26). The Roman
soldiers put a royal robe around Jesus and crown of thorns on His head. They
mockingly called Jesus the King of Jews, and then took Him away to be crucified
(Mk 14:15-20).

*Then Pilate took Jesus
and had him flogged.Jn 19:1 NIV+

*Then the soldiers of
the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and
gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet
robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown
of thorns, they put it on
His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and
mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and
struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away
to be crucified.Matt 27:27-31 NKJV+

The Roman soldiers
took Jesus to Golgotha, a hill outside of Jerusalem
where crucifixions were done (Mk 15:22). They drove nails through Jesus wrists
and feet (Jn 20:27, Lk 24:37-40),
securing Him upon a cross that stood between two criminals condemned to die (Jn 19:18). The crowd jeered Jesus (Mk 15:29-31), but many
left when it suddenly turned dark in the middle of the day (Lk
23:32). While Jesus was being strangled to death upon the cross, He asked the
Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him, for many went along with the
crowd and did not know what they were doing (Lk
23:34). One of the criminals being crucified asked Jesus to remember him. Jesus
assured him that today he would be taken to Paradise
(Lk 23:40-43). Jesus also told John to take care of
His mother as they stood close by the cross (Jn
19:26-27). Suddenly Jesus would cry out in agony, for His Father had forsaken
Him (Mk 15:34), for the sins of the world were put upon Him (1Pe 2:24). Then
Jesus would call out saying it was finished (Jn
19:30), and give His spirit back to the care of His Father (Lk
23:46). Later the Roman soldier would stick a spear in Christ, and the blood
mixed with water showed that He had died, there was need to break His legs to
quicken His death (Jn 19:32-37).

*Greater love has no one than this, than to lay
down one's life for his friends.Jn 15:13 KJV

*But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then,
having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through
Him. Ro
5:8-9 NKJV+

When Jesus died
the ground shook, dead believers arose from their graves (Matt 27:51-53).
Guards who crucified Jesus trembled with fear, knowing they had crucified the
Son of God (Matt 27:54). The curtain in the temple where only the High Priest
could go before God was split in half (Mk 15:38). It is needed no more, for all
through Jesus can come directly to their God once more (Eph 3:12, Heb 4:14-16).
Jesus suffered the pain of torture, crucifixion, physically dying to defeat
death (Ro 5: 9-11). Spiritually Jesus went to Hell (Hades), suffering the
greatest pain that could be inflicted upon Him, rejection as a sinner by His Father
(Matt 27:46). Jesus had won the battle, had redeemed us, paid the price for our
sins, all the sins believers would ever commit (Heb 10:10). The great pain
Christ suffered in redeeming believers, showed His great love for us, glorified
His Father in Heaven (Jn 17:4). Our Savior had atoned
for our sins (1Pe 3:18).

*Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong
his days, and the will of the Lordwill prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the
light [of life] and be satisfied; by
his knowledge my righteous servant will justify
many, and he will bear their
iniquities.Is
53:10-11 NIV+

*Jesus spoke these
things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has
come; glorify Your Son, that the Son
may glorify You, Jn 17:1 NASB+

Though
Christís physical body was dead, was laid in the grave, His Spirit is God, has
been and will always be alive (Rev 22:12-13). After His physical death (Mk
15:37), Jesus would spiritually descend into Hell, Hades, leaving the sins all
of believersí there, proclaiming His victory (1Pe 3:19). He would then
spiritually ascend into the Kingdom
of God (Lk 23:43), announcing His victory there. It was finished (Jn 19:30), our Savior would now be able to give all
redeemed souls under the Old Covenant laws complete forgiveness (Ro 3:24-25),
finally bring them into His Fatherís Kingdom which they had been waiting for (Heb
9:15). That day Jesus would also welcome home to Paradise
the soul and spirit of the criminal on the cross, the sinner who had found
faith while dying with our Savior (Lk 23:42-43).

*he,
foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul
was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.Ac 2:31 NKJV+

*But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ
apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives
in his train and gave gifts to men." (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower,
earthly regions? He who descended is
the very one who ascended higher than
all the heavens, in order to fill
the whole universe.)Eph
4:7-10 NIV+

Then
just as Jesus had foretold (Matt 16:21, Lk 9:22), on
the third day from His death, the Spirit would reunite Christís spirit with His
dead body (Gal 1:1), making it physically alive once more (Lk
24:46-48). The Father would present His Son as His first fruits from the dead
(1Co 15:20). Jesusí physical resurrection was announced to the world by a
violent earth quake as an angel rolled away the stone from the grave (Matt
28:1-3). The guards at the tomb were so scared that they became like dead men
(Matt 28:4). Jesus showed Himself alive to the women (Matt 28:5-10), to Mary
Magdalene (Jn 20:13-18), then to the men on the road
to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-32), to Peter (Lk 24:34), then to His disciples (Lk
24:36-49). Before Jesus ascended into Heaven over 500 hundred would see their
risen Savior (1Cor 15:3-8). Christ is risen indeed (1Cor 15:20)! As Christ died
and was raised from the dead, so to will all believers (Ro 8:11), death has
been defeated (Ro 8:2), we will live in Paradise
with our Lord forever (Rev 2:7).†

*For as in Adam all die,
so also in Christ shall all be made
alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are
Christ's, at his coming. 1Co
15:22-23 ASV

*In my Father's house
are many mansions: if it were
not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.Jn 14:2-3 KJV