As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” —Luke 19:37-40
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. —Luke 24:1-3

Why Should I Listen? (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, The Message)

For thousands of years, tens of millions of people have claimed Jesus’ tomb was empty and that Jesus appeared to more than

people over a period of 40 days, not as a ghost but as a resurrected human. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

Eight Days That Changed the World

Day 1: Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday

Day 2: Jesus Clears the

(John 2:13-19)

Day 3: Jesus Teaches at the Mount of

(Mark 13:1-5, 32-33, 37)

The Mount of Olives is a place of

and overlooks Gethsemane and the Temple.

Day 4: Judas

Jesus (Luke 22:1-6)

Day 5: Jesus Washes Feet, Shares the Passover (Matthew 26:26-28)

Jesus Prays in the Garden, Is Arrested, and

Malchus (Luke 22:47-53)

Day 6: Jesus Is Denied, Tried,

, and Buried

All the Gospel writers tell us that Jesus died on the

.

Jesus is not the

. Jesus is the

Reveal Answer

!

It wasn’t

that held Jesus on the cross. It was

Reveal Answer

!

Jesus died the way he lived – with his arms wide open. —Andy Stanley

Jesus died at 3pm on Friday afternoon just before

sunset.

Day 7: The Day All

Is Gone

New life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark. —Barbara Brown Taylor

Day 8: The

Day

The resurrection isn’t just a surprise happy ending for one person; it is instead the turning point for everything else. —N.T. Wright

Resurrection Day is the day when God will

all things.

What Easter Means to Me

Easter means not even a blood-stained murder scene is beyond the power of God to

evil to good.

Easter means the worst thing is never the

thing.

The death of Jesus Christ, the Son of

, means the death of death itself.

Jesus put

to death.

Easter means that when Jesus said, “It is finished,” he is really saying, “It has

.”

Easter means God’s love and power are available to you

(if you choose to

Reveal Answer

).

If you choose to be truly

, your pride cannot be offended.

Easter means that the rich, the powerful, and the schemers don’t have the

word after all.

Easter means that the

of the world is possible and has begun.

Jesus will be personally present, the dead will be raised, and the living Christians will be transformed. —N.T. Wright

When it comes to Easter, I don’t just believe it. I’m

on it.

Jesus’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. —N.T. Wright

Action Step

Die to your own project or agenda so that you can show up as

for someone else.