Living Out the Resurrection

My daughter is a big Star Wars fan. This Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the theater release of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and she wanted to commemorate it by watching the film. Naturally, we went to see it. In this episode, Anakin Skywalker transitions to the dark side, becoming a Sith Lord. The pivotal force behind this transformation was Anakin’s desperation to prevent his wife from dying in childbirth. Having already lost his mother, he was determined to do anything—no matter the cost—to avoid another devastating loss. Master Yoda warned him that death was a natural process, but Anakin would not accept it.

In a similar way, Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that He was going to die. He came to lay down His life. Initially, they struggled to understand, as Jesus often spoke in parables, but even when He became more explicit, they could not accept it. For example, Simon Peter once took Jesus aside and rebuked Him for speaking of His death. Jesus, in turn, rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan.” (Matthew 16:23) Jesus recognized that trying to prevent His sacrifice was aligned with a demonic agenda. This parallels one of the three temptations Jesus faced, when Satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world if He would avoid the cross and worship him instead. The enemy always offers shortcuts that bypass death, but true victory comes only through death and resurrection.

Jesus taught that death is not only natural but necessary for transformation. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24) Spiritual growth follows the same pattern. Whoever is unwilling to die—spiritually—cannot bear fruit or save themselves.

Yet Jesus didn’t stop at death. He also declared that He would rise again. He would not remain dead. In Mark’s account (Mark 16), after His resurrection, Jesus rebukes His disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe the testimony that He had risen, even though He had warned them beforehand.

Unbelief and hardness of heart are twin dangers that undermine our ability to walk in resurrection life.

• Unbelief is when you do not fully believe what is written in God’s Word. It reveals a trust issue—do you accept the Word only when it makes sense to you, or do you embrace it completely? Unbelief often begins subtly, showing up as delayed obedience, partial trust, or the elevation of personal agendas over God’s commands. It can stem from fear, doubt, or a refusal to surrender. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
• Hardness of heart is the refusal to change even after encountering clear evidence of God’s power. It grows when we resist correction despite repeated signs of God’s presence. The Israelites in the wilderness witnessed daily miracles—pillars of cloud and fire, manna from heaven—yet they hardened their hearts. Hardness often reflects a deeper problem with our relationship to the Word of God. Even miracles and signs will not heal a hardened heart. Pharaoh exemplifies this tragic pattern, repeatedly resisting God’s hand. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)

These two issues—unbelief and hardness—are deeply intertwined with our response to God’s Word. They must be actively confronted. We cannot assume that witnessing miracles or having one powerful experience with God will permanently cure unbelief. Instead, we must daily submit to God’s Word and cultivate a soft, teachable heart. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26). If we fail to address these heart conditions, we will remain stuck in the wilderness and miss out on the fullness of resurrection life that Jesus freely offers.

How Jesus addressed unbelief and hardness of heart after the resurrection

Jesus took deliberate steps after His resurrection to break the stronghold of unbelief and hardness of heart. These steps are not one-time actions but practices we must continually embrace in our walk with Him:

1. Jesus made sure they saw the empty tomb — “Come and see where they laid Him.”
   It is important that we go past the cross to the empty tomb. The cross shows the body hanging helplessly, but the empty tomb shows the body is gone—signifying complete victory over sin and death. As children of God, we do not live toward victory; we live from a place of victory. We do not need to question whether the Word of God is true—it is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). Jesus is not stuck on the cross and He did not remain in the tomb. We need a daily revelation of the empty tomb. Mary believed because she saw the empty tomb. So must we—daily remembering that our Savior is alive.
2. Jesus showed Himself to them — the empty tomb and the risen Lord must go together.
   Jesus didn’t simply leave an empty tomb behind; He revealed Himself alive to His disciples. It was not enough for them to see an empty place—they had to encounter the risen Christ. In John’s account, Jesus appeared to Mary even before ascending to the Father (John 20:17), emphasizing how critical it is to personally encounter the living Savior. Seeing the empty tomb without seeing Jesus would not have been enough. Mary believed because she saw both the empty tomb and the risen Savior. We, too, need a daily revelation of Jesus through His Word and the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus showed them His scars — He did not erase them.
   The risen Christ still bore the nail marks. His scars were not removed; they became an eternal testimony of God’s great deliverance. In Scripture, prophets and apostles often recounted God’s deliverance from the beginning to strengthen their faith for future promises. Celebrate your scars—they are reminders of where God has brought you through. Never forget the “days of small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10). Remembering past deliverances builds faith for greater things like resurrection. This also teaches us to submit to death daily—dying to self—because we know that death is never the end in God’s kingdom.
4. Jesus took time to open their eyes to the Scriptures.
   Jesus spent about 40 days with His disciples after His resurrection, patiently teaching and opening their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45, Acts 1:3). He knew that revelation would not happen automatically; their minds had to be opened to grasp the mysteries of God. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us of the importance of gathering together—because the gathering of believers was the forum Jesus consistently used to strengthen, reveal, and prepare His followers. If even the disciples needed constant teaching and fellowship after seeing miracles, so do we.

These steps were not just for the early disciples; they are necessary for us today to confront and overcome unbelief and hardness of heart. Jesus’ victory over death demands that we actively address these conditions. His resurrection is not just a historical event—it is a daily reality we are called to walk in, if we continually get rid of unbelief and hardness of heart.

Bible Readings
Monday- Psalm 78:1-35
Tuesday- Exodus 8:1-15
Wednesday- Matthew 13:10-17;53-58
Thursday- 1 Peter 3:8-22
Friday- 1 Samuel 15:10-35
Saturday- Numbers 13