One can only speculate what transpired in the heavenlies on that resurrection morn.  The Creator of heaven and earth, angelic beings, animals, sea and plant life, and of humanity had shaken loose the bonds of physical death.  The tomb was empty!  Only the burial clothes neatly folded remained, and the stone which sealed the grave had been rolled away visible to all as proof that it was unoccupied. 

What an astonishing sequence of events were experienced by the women who came to care for the body of Jesus …  “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay” (Matt 28:1-6 NIV). 

The crucified Christ was not only risen, but never subject again to death for He ever lives.  His resurrection fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah given some six hundred years before the Cross … “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 

he will swallow up death forever” (Isa 25:7-8 NIV).  The Apostle Paul would declare … “Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting” (1 Cor 15:55 NIV)?  “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20-22 NIV). 

Paul’s message concerning the resurrection was echoed by the writer to the Hebrews to the Jewish believers who had placed their faith in Christ.  “Since the children [mankind] have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb 2:14-15 NIV).  Furthermore, upon His ascension back into heaven, the Heavenly Father declared … “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.'”  Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:21-25 NIV). 

The uniqueness of the Father’s declaration identified the only One by whom man can have relationship with God.  It is not through human effort but on the basis of faith in the grace provision of a crucified and risen Savior.  Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus that … “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8-9 NIV).  If man’s efforts and attainments could atone for sin, then the Cross was a travesty and the resurrection a fantasy. Though some still espouse that thinking, Paul’s rebuttal is flawless … “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20-23 NIV).