Luke 24:5–6

Memory Verse

And they became afraid of them, and while they bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living with the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”

For three days and three nights, Christ’s body lay in the tomb. Because of the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, followed by the seventh-day Sabbath, the disciples were unable to visit the tomb until this time. Early in the morning, on the first day of the week, certain women who were among the disciples came, bringing the spices they prepared for Christ’s body. Upon arriving at the tomb, they encountered an event unlike any other, and more significant than any event that has ever transpired among men. The stone covering the entrance had been rolled away, the guards were nowhere to be found, and the tomb was empty. While they were perplexed by these sights, two men in white apparel appeared to them and said, “Why do you seek the living with the dead?”

Christ had told the disciples, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise again on the third day. Christ was, in fact, raised from the dead, just as the Scriptures had stated. His sacrifice for the sins of the people was accepted by God (Romans 4:25–5:1). Now, salvation is offered to all men (Titus 2:11), for there is only one name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Therefore, whoever calls upon His name will be saved (Romans 10:13).

Paul explicitly sets forth the good news by which we are saved in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4. There is no other message through which righteousness is imparted to men, for it alone possesses the inherent ability to save (Romans 1:16). According to the Scriptures, the message that saves is this: Christ died on behalf of our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Therefore, believe in His death on behalf of sins and His resurrection out from the dead three days later, and you will be saved.