Simply put, Easter to me is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The event would mean nothing if it could not be corroborated with substantial historical evidence, which include witnesses.1
First of all, He died. He died in the hands of men who were experts in performing one of the most harrowing acts of execution ever known to man, namely the crucifixion. So horrendous was the technique that a new word had to be invented-"excruciating". 2
Many have tried to say that He did not really die, only swooned. Such an idea is prepostersous, since we know how the Romans and their soldiers treated their prisoners. Many died just from the flogging alone.3
In the gospels, Jesus is shown as having the symptoms of extreme bloodloss, with dehydration and a rising pulse rate. The water that gushed forth as the soldier pierced the dead body shows that edema had built around the heart, which is common for those who died such a death as Jesus did.4
The Roman soldiers were higly skilled in performing their duties. If they were derelict in those duties, they would face possible flogging, or even death themselves. So when Pilate heard that Jesus had died, he knew the information was reliable. 5
Then Joseph of Arimathea made sure to put the dead body in his own tomb. Only that would happen if he knew for sure that Jesus was dead. The gospels, reliable historical documents themselves, attest to his personal supervision of the body of Jesus. Why would he put a comatose man into a tomb, sealed by a one-ton piece of stone?6
So when people went back to the tomb to find that the body had disappeared, they may have gone to the wrong tomb. If that is so, then not only did they make a mistake, but so did the Roman guards, religious officials who wanted Jesus dead, as well as His own followers. Did they all get it wrong? The writer thinks not.7
Then who was the first person to see Jesus alive? A woman, which is interesting since the gospels were written by first-century Jewish men, who had the perspective of women being inferior. If these men were fabricating a story, wouldn't they have made the first witness a man? Again, the writer states to the negative.8
Then there are the men who changed. Peter was a coward until over forty days after the crucifixion of Jesus. He could not even face a young woman, during the trial of Jesus, to claim allegiance. Yet later, after the Pentecost, he faces thousands of people to claim that Jesus was alive. Why? Because he had seen Him so. 9
The most irrefutable piece of evidence is Paul, or Saul of Tarsus. Historians attest the man existed. He is seen at first as a man who violently persecutes Christians, only to later end up being one of them. 10
How could this have happened? Later, he also claimed to have seen Jesus alive from the dead. As a result, he writes over one-third of the New Testment and dies a martyr's death, when he could have denied Jesus and lived. 11
Ten of the twelve disciples also died a martyr's death claiming Jesus was alive. Why would they die for a lie?12
So what is the significance of Jesus rising from the dead? Then all He said bears being worthy of attention. He said if a man did not believe in Him, they would die in their sins. However, He also said that since He lives, those trusting in Him would live also. Simply said, gloriously done.13
For this, I write the following poem, dedicated to my Lord:14
The Expression of God 15
With the knell of death falling behind,16
The sun rises, to the Day of days;17
Our God is exuberant to show He is kind,18
His mercy is warm, as the sun’s rays.19
The stone cannot dare to hold back the Lord,20
An angel has moved with divine power;21
The King has arisen, having saved a mean horde,22
Jerusalem witnesses their God’s finest hour.23
O, thank the Lord, that this Sunday came,24
Through which we have peace, and are now shod;25
The empty tomb stands, the Spirit proclaims,26
Jesus is Lord, and equal as God.27
The Expression of God breathes again;28
The Life is unbound from the dark death;29
With His salvation for every man,30
He offers His Spirit, with just a breath.31
But then how could death hold Him,32
Being that He is the heart of the Father?33
Divine is He, with power against sin,34
He alone is God, there is no other.35
O, thank the Lord, that this Sunday came,36
Through which we have peace, and are now shod;37
The empty tomb stands, the Spirit proclaims,38
Jesus is Lord, and equal as God.39
Come to the Lord, and find life in Him,40
Pardon is found within His hand;41
Relate to the One, who lives again;42
See that His grace is ever so grand!43
Author notes
To me, Easter is Resurrection Day, where the Son of God rose from the dead, showing that He is God. His resurrection expresses that God was pleased with what His Son had done, having made the way for us from death.
What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
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It was good.
I think you did a very thorough and complete job, which is admirable in its own right. -
I almost forgot about this place WOW this is cool to be here! I'm glad to hear that the resurrection is not a metaphor
His death caused the disturbance of both physical and spiritual realms, even the tearing of the temple curtain! And the appearance of many departed "holy people" like Simeon!! It did affect the unseen world of the dead nothing you've seen before.. It must have been quite the scene for sure! It pushed over the boundaries of the other world. He has the keys of death and Hades in ransom for sin. If He had not clearly and unequivocally been raised in body as the permanent conqueror of death on behalf of the human race, we would never have hear of him and this story would have fizzled. Nice potent essay!!
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Thanks, OF4J! Your comments are also an encouragement to me.
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Thank you for your comments. I would like to see that article. Much of my material comes from a book called "The Case for Christ", by Lee Strobel, who was a court journalist, and used his expertise to gather up the evidence about what really happened with this Man called Jesus. He originally was an atheist, until his wife got saved. Later, she challenged him to use is training to gather up the evidence on the death and resurrection of Christ. He did, and had no other choice but to surrender to the Lord. That book was the result of his research.
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We've been talking about the death of Jesus and the resurrection theory in my philosophy classes (It's a christian college) and I got this one really cool article that is done by a professional working in the field of medicine, who wrote a death certificate for Jesus, based on the account given in scripture. He made it quite clear that from the account, Jesus was clearly dead.
We've been talking about several other theories (like "Jesus didn't really die", "it was all mass hallucination", and my favorite, "it was really Jesus' unkown twin who was seperated from Jesus at birth who appeared to the disciples.") and have gone through them all, demonstarating that the resurection is the BEST explaination of the facts, far and away.
Wonderful poem, and good arguments. I enjoyed this very much. It's not often that I get these two at once.
In Christ,
Steve -
CONGRATULATIONS on winning a dold. This was a wonderful poem and story. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. Take care, Sandy
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Wow!! What an amazing write and poem!! You put it all together my friend. From the biblical facts, to what a lot of people try to say wasn't true, you show them that it is true and that it did happen> This write is definitely annointed by the Holy Spirit Himself!! Praise God that we have people like you willing to take a stand for the Lord. I loved this piece and I applaud it for it is worthy to be applauded!! For death could not keep Our savior in the ground!! Praise God!! This was amazing my friend!! God Bless You!!
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"They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."--Luke 18:33
This is a quote from Jesus. If He didn't die, then He lied here, or at least didn't know what He was talking about. Is that the Lord we're supposed to follow? Either He died, or He didn't. If He didn't die, then there is no resurrection. If not, then we are fools, as Paul said.
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Wow, this was a great poem which was excellently written I liked the way you first of all gave us the facts of His death and resurrection, then gave us a fantastically crafted poem which was also amazing Keep writing, this was a fantastic write which I liked a lot
All the best,
Thanks for your comment
Pozo
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Aslan, Jesus had to die. He didn't just appear dead. With all the bloodloss alone from the scourging, He should have died. There are no theories here; just good logic.
What is interesting is that with so much edema having built up around His heart that it must have been crushed by the pressure. It is possible that He died of a broken heart, literally.
Edited on Mar 26, 2:36 p.m. because 'Fat Fingers'. -
Your evidence is indersputable and I am interested in the water pouring from Jesus' side because I had begun to form my own theory on that but yours is medical so factual. I had thought that because he rose from the dead that maybe the body was in some kind of suspended state, dead but not really dead. That maybe God kept his and Lazarus' bodys from being truly dead but your 'edema' building around the heart makes sense. I'll have to find out what exactly that means.
I don't think Peter being a coward counts for much though because I'm sure he learned his lesson well after denying Jesus.
Basically I think that even the staunchest athiest would have trouble arguing with your theories!
Your poem is marvellous and I like the way you concentrate on the resurrection. I have been dwelling on his death and torture this week, even watching 'The Passion' again which was really harrowing and emotional for me so it is good to focus on what happened after.
I love that you call Jesus 'The heart of the Father' which is such a beautiful way of viewing it that I hadn't thought of.
Overall exellent writes and I can see that you put a lot of effort into them. Good luck in the contest!
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hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
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Thanks for your comments! God bless!
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Thanks for your comments. God bless!
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Thank you...I have added an apologetic dissertation on the Resurrection. My hope is that this satisfies the requirments. I have also notified Samplette. God bless you both!
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Thanks for sharing this wonderful piece. It flows wonderfuly and the message is for all of us. I really liked this stanza,
Come to the Lord, and find life in Him,
Pardon is found within His hand;
Relate to the One, who lives again;
See that His grace is ever so grand!
God Bless, Alvina
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Good work and good luck in the contest.
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Happy Easter!
A piece that lets your light shine before all men, and I have enjoyed this piece your heart has truly penned, keep on sending, as this message is mending, like the flock the Lord does tend!
Timothy The Poetic Weaver
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This is indeed a beautiful piece of poetry. It has the feel of a hymn.
You should edit the background by changing the link colour to something that contrasts more with the bakground. The links are hard to read. In fact invisible to me unless highlighted. -
Amen
All I say is "AMEN". So few words with such a powerful message. May God bless you and keep you. God bless. -
AMEN!!! This IS so beautiful!! Great job!! This touched my heart. How amazing!! WOW! I love this! Keep writing!
God Bless!!
~Ashley~ -
Thank you for your comments. They are most gracious. Jesus is Lord!
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Masterpiece
I must say that this is a beautiful piece of work here. You have created a masterpiece in your labor of love for us to read and reread with joy. I am going to applaud this because it is an excellent write. -
This is a beautiful piece of poetry. You did forget a part of the entry requirements. Actually, what you put in your author comment would work for the other part. Please reread the contest requirements again, and I will be back to read again at judging. The poem is the second half of the contest.
Thank you so much for entering the contest. You've done a wonderful job.
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This is a beautiful piece of poetry. You did forget a part of the entry requirements. Actually, what you put in your author comment would work for the other part. Please reread the contest requirements again, and I will be back to read again at judging. The poem is the second half of the contest.
Thank you so much for entering the contest. You've done a wonderful job.
S♠m
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Thanks, kewtieface! Love ya!
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Thank you, Lapis Lazuli. I am glad we have the uncommon Lord in common. Be blessed this Easter Season!
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Beautiful! The way you have expressed Easter is, well, beautiful! You have brought the true purpose of the day to life. I am honoured to have shared your feelings and beliefs through this!
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Bob, this is beautiful...
Yes, He lived, died, gave... but had He not risen again from the gave... His death would have had NO purpose! Truly, the most important thing... His victory over death, when He arose, showing us life anew...
Awesome job my friend. God bless you! ~Melissa♥
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