The coolest question ever was posed to a small group of women who thought they were on their way to anoint Jesus' body.

"Why do you seek the living among the dead?"

God has a way of changing what we thought we were about to do into something so much better and, like Jeopardy, it usually comes in the form of a question. Ask the Apostle Paul, who years later thought he was on his way to round up more followers of the Way and put them in prison. 

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

Jesus' resurrection was the all-important second part of the process. You can't be resurrected until you die. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Jesus was about to show the universe how His rising from the dead would be a game-changer for everybody who correctly answers the question for themselves:

"Who do you say I am?"

"(Matthew 27:57-66 and 28:1-20) The Resurrection" by LUMO

PRAY

Through voices known and anonymous people otherwise unknown, You made your glory known. You spoke to us through two men walking along a road. You spoke to us through women who were the first to lay eyes on You. And now, by Your Spirit, You are still speaking to us, testifying of Your glory in the here and now and Your glory to come. You've raised Jesus and You're raising us too. For this, we glorify your name. Amen.

REFLECT

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” — Luke 24:25-26

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

— 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

RESPOND

Christ is risen indeed, but the Roman authorities and the Jewish religious leaders aren't going down without a fight. Because it suits their political purposes, they refuse to acknowledge it. Instead, they lie and say the disciples stole the body when soldiers slept. It helps the soldiers save face for losing a dead body. It helps the religious leaders save face because resurrection was exactly the thing they feared. Even though you couldn't find a disciple walking around in public that glorious weekend, that story gained traction. But how do we know what they said was a lie? Josh McDowell helps us with that question in our next installment.