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Today the role of the apostles has not changed. They have to give great witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ so that grace will abound, and great grace will abound amongst the people for it is through this resurrection that the great hope is given unto us that we too can be resurrected to life, and by this new life we can be part of the Kingdom of God. What greater grace from Christ, to be with Him in His Kingdom.

We read how our Lord pained and made the commitment, and knew what stood before Him – the same way that we should make a commitment in our life. In the garden He asked His Father, ‘If it was possible that this cup should be taken from Him? Not my will, but thy will be done.’ He was not referring to the pain that stood before Him but knew when the sins of the world were placed on Him, His Father would have to leave Him because God can not stand in the presence of sin. Isaiah 54: 7 “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.”

God sent an angel to comfort Him and He prayed more earnestly, and it reads He sweated as it were drops of blood onto the ground, and Christ then knew that He had to become the  scapegoat for the sins of the people to fulfil the Mosaic law where once each year two animals were taken before the high priest. One was sacrificed to Jehovah and the blood from that sacrifice was placed upon the head of the other goat and the high priest asked that it be released so that the sins of the people be covered. It was released into the desert and wherever the people saw the blood on the ground, dripping from the head they knew that the scapegoat had passed and that their sins were now covered.

Our Lord became the scapegoat for all of our sins. In this we receive the grace of Christ, and in this we receive that great promise that as Christ made the commitment and as He had told the people for a sign, tear down this temple and in three days I will build it up. He was speaking about the temple of His body. We also have to be prepared to make that commitment, and that sign to those who ask of us – “Show us a sign?” We too must believe that this living temple of God, which is the Christian Church, although it will be seen to be put down, in three days in God’s time, it will also be raised up. It will be raised up by the power that rose Christ from the grave. The Apostle Paul said that power was the power of the Holy Ghost. Our Lord went into the grave as the Son of man, and through the resurrection, through the power of the Holy Spirit He came out of the grave as the Son of God. We look forward also to our final conversion at the next great resurrection day when our Lord returns.

Because of the great victory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and by His bodily resurrection from the grave we can see the fulfillment of God’s word Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and became the first fruits of them that slept.”