“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:5,6).

Throughout Christ’s earthly ministry, He frequently predicted His coming suffering and death, but never without the simultaneous prediction of resurrection following that death. “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matthew 16:21). “The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again” (Matthew 17:22,23). “The chief priests and . . . the scribes . . . shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him: And the third day He shall rise again” (Matthew 20:18,19).

Of course, Christ did rise from the dead following the brutal cross, and in so doing vindicated Himself and His message. Had He stayed in the tomb, His detractors would have been right, He was merely a deluded threat to Rome then, and a sham today.

Instead, Herod, who sought to kill the young Christ-child, is himself dead and gone. So are all the Pharisees, priests, scribes, and Romans who crucified Him. They may not have acknowledged Him then, but they now know He is who He claimed to be, although this knowledge came too late for most of them. Likewise the “God is dead” theologians of today will one day reluctantly bow the knee to the risen Lord.

By the sign of the resurrection, we have assurance that Christ’s message is true and His promises trustworthy. Because of His victory over sin and death, any sinner may find forgiveness and salvation. But if this fact is rejected, uttermost darkness looms. JDM