The only time I cheated in school was Kindergarten.
Even at that young age, numbers never made sense to me. But they made sense to Emily! And so I casually glanced at her answers on the way to my first ever 100%, sticker covered counting page! Thankfully, my 1st grade teacher realized I couldn't tell addition from subtraction and got me straightened out the following year.
So yes, I cheated.
But, did Jesus?
That's the question I was recently asked through my role as an online writer with GotQuestions.org
"Could Jesus really be a complete sacrifice if He rose from the dead? Isn't that cheating?"
I think it's a great question. And the good news is that Jesus didn't cheat death, He beat death!
Neither Jesus' death or resurrection were to be a surprise, clearly stating the need for both on numerous occasions:
"The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Luke 9:22
So while Jesus knew that He was appointed both to die and to rise again, that didn't make His death any less of a sacrifice or hardship. In fact, to see the distress of Jesus crying out, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?", grabs me every time. So don't be of the impression that the cross was a breeze for Jesus since He would rise again.
Jesus rising from the dead wasn't cheating death, but beating death! His resurrection proved to everyone that when He offered us eternal life, He could deliver! Jesus says in John 10:28, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish." If Jesus were still dead, there would be no reason to believe such a claim.
So Jesus rising from the dead doesn't diminish the life and death He lived to become our complete sacrifice. Instead, it serves as the ultimate proof that Jesus can deliver on absolutely every promise He makes.
(Where was this shirt when I really needed it?!)
Even at that young age, numbers never made sense to me. But they made sense to Emily! And so I casually glanced at her answers on the way to my first ever 100%, sticker covered counting page! Thankfully, my 1st grade teacher realized I couldn't tell addition from subtraction and got me straightened out the following year.
So yes, I cheated.
But, did Jesus?
That's the question I was recently asked through my role as an online writer with GotQuestions.org
"Could Jesus really be a complete sacrifice if He rose from the dead? Isn't that cheating?"
I think it's a great question. And the good news is that Jesus didn't cheat death, He beat death!
Neither Jesus' death or resurrection were to be a surprise, clearly stating the need for both on numerous occasions:
"The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Luke 9:22
So while Jesus knew that He was appointed both to die and to rise again, that didn't make His death any less of a sacrifice or hardship. In fact, to see the distress of Jesus crying out, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?", grabs me every time. So don't be of the impression that the cross was a breeze for Jesus since He would rise again.
Jesus rising from the dead wasn't cheating death, but beating death! His resurrection proved to everyone that when He offered us eternal life, He could deliver! Jesus says in John 10:28, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish." If Jesus were still dead, there would be no reason to believe such a claim.
So Jesus rising from the dead doesn't diminish the life and death He lived to become our complete sacrifice. Instead, it serves as the ultimate proof that Jesus can deliver on absolutely every promise He makes.
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