He Is Risen: The Heart of Our Faith Studies
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He Is Risen: The Heart of Our Faith
Beginner Easter Special

He Is Risen: The Heart of Our Faith

Admin User · 20 March 2026

Easter is more than bunnies and eggs — it's the hinge on which all of history turns. This study explores the resurrection of Jesus: what happened, why it matters, and what it means for you today.

1 Opening

Welcome to Easter

If you're here, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Easter is the biggest day on the Christian calendar — bigger than Christmas, bigger than any other celebration. Why? Because without Easter, there is no Christianity. Without the resurrection, Jesus is just another good teacher who died tragically. But with the resurrection, everything changes.

This isn't a study about spring or new beginnings or feel-good platitudes. This is about a historical event that split time in two: Jesus of Nazareth died, was buried, and three days later walked out of the tomb alive.

If that's true — and we believe it is — then nothing is the same. Not death. Not sin. Not your past. Not your future. Everything is different because of Easter morning.

This Week's Question

What really happened on Easter morning — and why does it matter?

2 Scripture

KJV NET

1Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 5But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” 8So they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9But Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

1Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the aromatic spices they had prepared. 2They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood beside them in dazzling attire. 5The women were terribly frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8Then the women remembered his words, 9and when they returned from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11But these words seemed like pure nonsense to them, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down and saw only the strips of linen cloth; then he went home, wondering what had happened.

1Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed. 12Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. 18Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone. 20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. 22For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be eliminated is death. 27For he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says “everything” has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him. 28And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

1Now very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. 2So she went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, 7and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed. 9(For they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.) 10So the disciples went back to their homes. 11But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. 12And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Mary replied, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”). 17Jesus replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her.

3 Explanation

The Story: What Happened at the Tomb

Let's start with the facts. Jesus was crucified on Friday. He died — not metaphorically, not symbolically, but actually dead. A Roman soldier confirmed it. His body was taken down, wrapped in burial cloths, and laid in a borrowed tomb. A massive stone was rolled in front of the entrance. Roman guards were posted to make sure no one stole the body.

And then, early Sunday morning, everything changed.

Key Verses to Sit With
"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it… The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.'"
— Matthew 28:1-2, 5-6
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time."
— 1 Corinthians 15:3-6
"I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."
— Revelation 1:18
Why the Resurrection Matters

Paul says it bluntly in 1 Corinthians 15:17: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." In other words, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, Christianity is a lie. We're wasting our time. Go home.

But if He did rise — and the evidence says He did — then everything changes:

  • Death is defeated. Jesus didn't just survive death; He conquered it. The grave couldn't hold Him. And because He lives, we will live too (John 14:19).
  • Sin is paid for. The cross dealt with our sin. The resurrection proves it worked. God accepted the sacrifice. The debt is paid in full.
  • Jesus is who He said He was. He claimed to be the Son of God. He said He would rise on the third day. He did. His resurrection is God's stamp of approval on everything Jesus said and did.
  • We have hope. Not wishful thinking — hope. A confident expectation that because He rose, we will too. Death is not the end. The tomb is not the final word.
The Evidence

Some people say the resurrection is a myth, a legend that grew over time. But the evidence doesn't support that:

  • The empty tomb. No one — not the Romans, not the Jewish leaders, not Jesus' enemies — could produce a body. If they had, Christianity would have died in a week.
  • The eyewitnesses. Over 500 people saw Jesus alive after His death (1 Corinthians 15:6). Many were still alive when Paul wrote that letter — meaning people could fact-check him.
  • The transformation of the disciples. These were men who ran away when Jesus was arrested. Peter denied Him three times. But after the resurrection, they were willing to die for the message that Jesus was alive. People don't die for something they know is a lie.
  • The birth of the church. Within weeks of the crucifixion, thousands of Jews in Jerusalem — the very city where Jesus was killed — were proclaiming that He had risen. If it was a hoax, it would have been exposed immediately.

The resurrection is not a fairy tale. It's the most well-attested event in ancient history. And it changes everything.

I know some of you are skeptical. That's okay. The disciples were too. Thomas refused to believe until he saw Jesus with his own eyes and touched His wounds. Jesus didn't condemn him for doubting — He showed up and gave him the evidence he needed. If you're struggling to believe, ask God to show you. He's not afraid of your questions. He's not threatened by your doubt. He's big enough to handle it. And He's patient enough to meet you where you are.

4 Application

Making It Personal

The resurrection isn't just a historical fact — it's an invitation. Jesus didn't rise from the dead to prove a point. He rose to offer you life. Real life. Eternal life. Life that starts now and never ends.

Here's the question: Do you believe it?

Not just intellectually. Not just "Yeah, I guess that probably happened." But do you believe it enough to stake your life on it? To let it change how you live, how you see yourself, how you face death?

Because if Jesus really rose from the dead, then:

  • Your past doesn't define you. He makes all things new.
  • Your sin doesn't disqualify you. He paid for it on the cross and proved it at the tomb.
  • Your death doesn't end you. Because He lives, you will live too.

This Easter, don't just celebrate a holiday. Encounter the risen Christ. He's not dead. He's alive. And He's calling your name.

Reflection Questions
  • What would change in your life if you truly believed that Jesus is alive right now?
  • What doubts or questions do you have about the resurrection? Bring them to God honestly.
  • How does the resurrection give you hope in the midst of your current struggles?
  • Who in your life needs to hear that Jesus is alive? How can you share that hope with them?

Reflection Questions

What evidence does the Bible give us that the resurrection really happened?

Why does Paul say our faith is "futile" if Christ has not been raised? (1 Corinthians 15:17)

How did the disciples change after encountering the risen Jesus? What does that tell us?

What would change in your life if you truly believed that Jesus is alive right now?

How does the resurrection give you hope in the midst of your current struggles?

Log in to record your answers.

5a Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are not dead. You are alive. You conquered sin, death, and the grave — and You did it for me. Help me to believe it. Not just in my head, but in my heart. Let the reality of the resurrection change how I live, how I love, how I face each day. You are risen. You are alive. And because You live, I can face tomorrow. Thank You. In Your powerful name, Amen.

5b Closing

He Is Risen!

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." — Matthew 28:6

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