Jesus is the master of the grave

Here we are with another Easter season upon us and another great time to reflect on the redemption of mankind through Jesus.So often the cross is the religious symbol for Easter. People wear crosses as jewelry, decorate with them, eat the cross shaped chocolates, sing about them in songs and hymns, etc. However, the cross is only a part of God's story of redeeming mankind back into relationship with Him. The real testimony of God's love is the empty tomb. Why? Because all other religions have a god with the body of their founders still in the grave, but Christianity has a risen Savior and an empty tomb.Although skeptics throughout the ages have tried to squelch this fact in order to disprove that Jesus rose from death to life, the truth remains that Jesus lives today. Even the soldiers who stood watch over the sealed tomb were bought off to lie about the events which really happened.Matthew 28:11-15Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers and said, "You are to say 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.' And if this should come to the governor's ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble." And they took the money and did as they had been instructed and this story was widely spread among the Jews and is to this day.But you may ask, how can we know that Jesus rose from death to life again on that first day of the week? Proof is needed for the skeptics of today.May I offer some proof for thought. Jesus appeared to many individuals including Mary, the disciples, the two men on the road to Emmaus and hundreds more. Jesus even ate food with some of them. They could touch Him; He wasn't a figment of their imagination or a hallucination. He was real, living, breathing, walking, talking, eating, etc. All of these individuals shared their Jesus encounter with others.When reality set in with His disciples and those who listened to His teachings, they began to piece together all the words which Jesus spoke about His death and resurrection before the events happened. Everything which Jesus said came true. Even the prophet Isaiah wrote of these events approximately 700 years beforehand which all came true. Read Isaiah 53. The disciples knew without a shadow of any doubt of Jesus' resurrection and that He truly was the Son of God. Most of the disciples died torturous deaths proclaiming what they KNEW! Humans do not willingly die for what might be true or what could have happened. The disciples knew that they knew that Jesus was alive and accomplished the will of His Father. That is the message they proclaimed!This leads me to ask you, how certain are you in the death and resurrection of Jesus? Does the empty tomb excite you more than the cross? Do you willingly accept the truth of God's word (containing the Holy Spirit inspired stories of those who witnessed everything) for the purpose of Jesus' coming down to earth?I'm sure other aspects of this life changing event could be discussed here, but I leave you with this question. What is your Jesus encounter story? Although He isn't physically present with us today, the Holy Spirit is. Through the Holy Spirit, we can know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is who He says He is and believe this truth. We can have that personal relationship with God through Jesus. What a fabulous message for this Easter season!Happy resurrection day!Gail loves the Lord most of all. She delights in her calling to be a wife to Ed Malick and a mother to seven children ages 23 to 40 and grandmother of sixteen. Ed is sixth generation on the homestead family farm in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan.