resurrection confidence

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

Matthew 26:32

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He prepared His disciples for what was ahead. Jesus knew He was going to be betrayed by Judas. He knew that He would be charged with capital crimes by the Jewish religious authorities. He knew He would be handed over to the Romans. He knew He would die by crucifixion. Jesus was not taken by surprise because He knew that His atoning work was why He had come to this world in the first place.

The real surprise for the disciples was not that He knew this. He had been predicting His death by this means for quite some time. The part that had to be puzzling was He insistence that He would be brought back to life. The disciples were familiar with crucifixion. Nobody survived it. It was a brutally, if not excruciating, effective means of permanent execution. Crucifixion meant death. But Jesus very confidently claimed that He would be the first and only crucifixion victim to be raised back to life after such a tortuous death. And when that happened, He would walk away from His grave and back to Galilee where they would see Him and walk with Him again.

Resurrection changes everything. Resurrection defeats death. Resurrection confirms everything Jesus taught. Resurrection secures His atoning work on the cross for our sins. And resurrection guarantees forever our future in Christ with God. Jesus, facing the cross, is already confident in His resurrection. Hallelujah! What a Savior!